Dispersion in seismic surface waves

A non‐mathematical summary is presented of the published theories and observations on dispersion, i.e., variation of velocity with frequency, in surface waves from earthquakes and in waterborne waves from shallow‐water explosions. Two further instances are cited in which dispersion theory has been used in analyzing seismic data. In the seismic refraction survey of Bikini Atoll, information on the first 400 feet of sediments below the lagoon bottom could not be obtained from ground wave first arrival times because shot‐detector distances were too great. Dispersion in the water waves, however, gave data on speed variations in the bottom sediments which made possible inferences on the recent geological history of the atoll. Recent systematic observations on ground roll from explosions in shot holes have shown dispersion in the surface waves which is similar in many ways to that observed in Rayleigh waves from distant earthquakes. Classical wave theory attributes Rayleigh wave dispersion to the modification o...