Effect of MASW field configuration on estimation of shear wave propagation velocity in sloped terrain

The shear wave propagation velocity (V_s) is used in many design codes as the principal parameter for seismic site classification. Among the different options for measuring V_s, geophysical methods such as MASW (multichannel analysis of surface waves) are widely used in professional practice due to their rapid implementation and low cost. The use of MASW to measure V_s in sloped terrain presents some variations when compared with a horizontal terrain, mainly in the survey spread configuration of the measurement. With the goal of identifying the principal variables that can affect the measurement of V_s in sloped terrain, this study evaluated the effect of the MASW survey spread configuration on the estimation of shear wave velocity propagation in a terrain with an average slope of 28°. The results show that using certain configurations produces a greater frequency content, which hinders interpretation and reduces the confidence of the measured velocity profile.