Measuring shallow shear wave velocity profiles for earthquake ground motion estimation

Summary The strength of earthquake ground motions for use in seismic design and evaluation depends strongly on the shallow subsurface shear wave velocity profile. Noninvasive geophysical exploration methods for estimating the subsurface shear wave velocity profile, including SASW, MASW and ReMi, are much more efficient than borehole methods, especially for application to extended foundations, and their routine application for dam and embankment foundation evaluation is becoming commonplace. Single station methods such as H/V and HVSR based on the ratio of horizontal to vertical ground motions are also available, and a new method using the P to S wave conversion at the bedrock interface is described.