Improved seismic profiling by minimally invasive multimodal surface wave method with standard penetration test source (MMSW-SPT)

Abstract

Abstract Surface waves propagating in layered media inherently possess multimodal dispersion characteristics. However, traditional surface wave testing methods employing measurements at the free surface usually capture only a single apparent dispersion curve, especially when using short geophone arrays common to near surface and geotechnical-scale investigations. Such single-mode or fragmented multimode apparent dispersion curves contain only a fraction of the possible dispersion information, thus limiting the accuracy of inverted profiles. To enable more robust measurement of higher Rayleigh-wave modes, a recently developed hybrid minimally invasive multimodal surface wave method is combined herein with the widely used geotechnical standard penetration test (SPT), which is employed as a practical and ubiquitous downhole source. Upon superimposing surface wave dispersion data for a range of SPT impact depths within the soil, higher modes can be measured more consistently and reliably relative to traditional non-invasive testing methods. As a result, misidentification of multiple dispersion modes can be practically eliminated, significantly improving the accuracy and certainty of inversion results.