In-situ attenuation measurements in soils

Abstract Field experiments have been carried out in different geological conditions to study seismic attenuation of soils. Measurements were made on seismic refraction and cross-hole data. Two methods—spectral ratio and rise-time techniques—were used to determine the in-situ attenuation factor 1/Q or its inverse, the quality factor Q, for P and S waves. A good agreement between the two methods is generally found when a source-dependent constant C is considered in the rise time law (τ = τ0 + Ct/Q).Qp value values ranging from 3 to 6 have been measured in very different soil conditions.Qs values are generally lower.