Attenuation of shear waves in near-surface sediments

Abstract

In situ measurement of compressional and shear speed and compressional attenuation in near-surface marine sediments is a well-developed technology but techniques required to measure shear attenuation have lagged behind. In this paper, a pulse technique based on transposition is used to measure wave attenuation. Compressional attenuation determined by transposition compared favorably with standard techniques, confirming use of this approach for shear waves. Shear attenuation was much higher than compressional attenuation but within the range of previously reported measurements.