Site characterization with ambient seismic noise at the Norwegian Geo Test Sites

Abstract

Summary The objective of this study is to find an efficient way to measure bedrock depth and geotechnical parameters through the estimation of shear wave velocity, Vs. The Norwegian Geo Test Sites (NGTS) initiative aims to establish five national test sites as field laboratory for testing innovative soil investigation and foundation methods. We have measured ambient seismic noise data as well as Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) data at two NGTS sites, Onsoy and Halden. The results of the shear-wave inversions are compared with ground-truth measurements from the two well-characterized sites. The results obtained with the passive seismic test and the MASW active test are quite similar despite the fact the passive method requires less time and equipment in the field.