Localization of Near-Surface Anomalies Using Seismic Rayleigh Waves

Abstract

The presence of subsurface anomalies, such as cavities, faults, unknown tunnels, etc., either natural or man-made, can cause public safety hazards. The detection of these features requires the development of new methods. Seismic Rayleigh surface wave imaging is a relatively new non-destructive testing technique (NDT) which generates subsurface images without drilling boreholes into the ground, and in recent years has been widely used for soil characterization in geotechnical investigations. In the last decade, some researchers have applied the technique to near-surface imaging and showed the possibility and potential for engineering applications.

This research presents the development of a technique to process seismic Rayleigh waves to detect and image subsurface anomalies. This study conducted investigations of Rayleigh wave behaviors and developed a new strategy for Rayleigh wave isolation from raw field data. The strategy applies wavelet transforms, instead of the conventional spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) method, or popular multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) techniques, to pair-channel analysis of the isolated Rayleigh wave data for dispersion calculation. Finally, a simple steady inversion technique was applied to yield shear velocity as a function of both depth and distance, and shear velocity field images (SVF), for near surface section display.

This research consists of development, computer programming, field tests, data processing and interpretation. Three sites in different scenarios were used for seismic investigations: old mining tunnels in medium dipping coal seams in Stellarton coalfield, mining cavities in steeply dipping gold-bearing veins in West Waverley Gold District and an anomaly in nearly horizontal strata in Liverpool. All these sites are in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The results from seismic surface wave technique introduced in this research can be evaluated by field observations, documents and borehole logs. The satisfactory interpretations and success of this investigation shows that this technique is suitable for engineering application for subsurface investigations.