Love Waves and the Structure of the Upper Mantle

Summary An investigation is made as to what information on the upper mantle can be obtained from Love-wave dispersion. The method of calculation of the dispersion and intensity is based on the spectral theory of operators. The usual technique of interpretation of dispersion curves gives only a random sample from the great number of velocity-depth curves fitting the experimental data. Some methods of restricting this number are indicated. In particular, some peculiarities of higher-mode dispersion could be very important. An attempt at the joint interpretation of body (S) and surface (Love) wave data from the central part of U. S. A. is described.