Open-Source MASW Inversion Tool Aimed at Shear Wave Velocity Profiling for Soil Site Explorations

Abstract

The shear wave velocity profile is of primary interest for geological characterization of soil sites and elucidation of near-surface structures. Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) is a seismic exploration method for determination of near-surface shear wave velocity profiles by analyzing Rayleigh wave propagation over a wide range of wavelengths. The inverse problem faced during the application of MASW involves finding one or more layered soil models whose theoretical dispersion curves match the observed dispersion characteristics. A set of open-source MATLAB-based tools for acquiring and analyzing MASW field data, MASWaves, has been under development in recent years. In this paper, a new tool, using an efficient Monte Carlo search technique, is introduced to conduct the inversion analysis in order to provide the shear wave velocity profile. The performance and applicability of the inversion scheme is demonstrated with synthetic datasets and field data acquired at a well-characterized geotechnical research site.