DETERMINING Q OF NEAR-SURFACE MATERIALS FROM RAYLEIGH WAVES

Abstract

High-frequency (=<2 hz) rayleigh wave phase velocities can be inverted to shear (s)-wave for a layered earth model up 30 m below the ground surface in many settings. given s-wave velocity (vS), compressional (P)-wave velocity (VP), and Rayleigh wave phase velocities, it is feasible to solve for P-wave quality factor QP and S-wave quality factor QS in a layered earth model by inverting Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients. Model results demonstrate the plausibility of inverting QS from Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients. Contributions to the Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients from QP cannot be ignored when Vs/VP reaches 0.45, which is not uncommon in near-surface settings. It is possible to invert QP from Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients in some geological setting, a concept that differs from the common perception that Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients are always far less sensitive to QP than to QS. Sixty-channel surface wave data were acquired in an Arizona desert. For a 10-layer model with a thickness of over 20 m, the data were first inverted to obtain S-wave velocities by the multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) method and then quality factors were determined by inverting attenuation coefficients.