SEISMIC WAVES FROM A TRANSDUCER AT THE SURFACE OF STRATIFIED GROUND

Abstract

Vibration impulses of variable frequency and duration have been generated by means of an electrically excited vibrator and the resulting seismic waves recorded at the ground surface along a 200‐ft traverse. The first arrivals were refractions from the water table and a deeper clay‐siltstone interface, and these checked with the results of a standard refraction survey. The amplitudes of displacement of the refracted waves varied in each case with approximately the inverse square of distance; the critical distance was marked by a discontinuity of amplitude. Two later impulsive arrivals recorded within 50 msec of the first were interpreted respectively as a transformed reflection from 85 ft depth and an ordinary compressional reflection from 200 ft depth. A dispersive Rayleigh wave gave an independent estimate of the shear velocity and thickness of the surface layer. Air‐coupled waves of frequencies 70.8 cps and 330 cps were recorded and have been related to the first‐ and third‐mode Rayleigh waves respectively.