Online Certification Course

Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves

(MASW)

Since its first introduction in the late 1990s, the multichannel analysis of surface waves
(MASW) method has been utilized by an increasing number of practitioners for a growing
array of geotechnical projects, and further researched by many investigators worldwide. The
MASW method provides one of the most critically important geotechnical parameters-
stiffness of ground materials. It provides this information in terms of seismic shear-wave
velocity (Vs) distribution in both vertical and horizontal directions. From an elastic theory
viewpoint, shear wave velocity (Vs) is the most powerful indicator of a material's stiffness.

This course covers the basics of seismic surface waves, data acquisition, and data processing.
The course will cover the fundamentals in such a way that participants can, upon its
completion, engage in common applications such as seismic site characterization (Vs-30m)
and mapping soil/bedrock shear-wave velocity (Vs) cross sections. It will demonstrate how to
process surface-wave data, and each participant will be guided step-by-step in processing
actual field data sets.

All geotechnical engineers and researchers dealing with stiffness of ground and pavement can
benefit from attending this course and learning about this state-of-the-art seismic technique.

The Primary Objectives of the course are:

• to grasp basic concepts of seismic surface waves,

• to understand the overall field procedure for optimal data acquisition,
 • to provide first-hand experience in processing field data sets to generate two-
dimensional (2-D) shear-wave velocity (V) cross sections as well as 1-D profiles,
• to recognize typical applications of MASW, and
• to be fully flexible in data acquisition and processing so that one can handle
challenging situations more successfully.

Do you face any of the following challenges?

1. Inability to choose right data acquisition parameters
2. Failing to obtain data in difficult field conditions
3. Unable to get best results out of acquired data
4. Not able to understand processing steps
5. Not able to process the data in 2D
6. Not able to interpret the MASW section & translate it to geology

This course addresses all the above and more (Topics)….

Data Acquisition

• How to determine the critical parameters of source offset (X1), receiver spacing (dx),
number of channels, and survey interval for 2-D mapping
• How to choose the optimum receiver
• Are low-frequency phones (e.g., 4.5 Hz) really critical?
• Can higher-frequency phones (e.g., 14-Hz, 40-Hz, etc.) be used?
• How to choose the optimum source
• Sledge hammer (10-lb, 20-lb, etc.) or weight-drop?
• Passive Survey- When and how?

Dispersion Imaging (Complications and Causes)

• Understanding fundamentals of dispersion imaging

• Fundamental mode (M0) and higher modes (M1, M2, etc.)
• Computational artifacts from dispersion imaging
• Multi-source offset survey and dispersion images
• Methods to process passive data
• Common pitfalls

Inversion Analysis

• Different Approaches (Pros and Cons):

• Traditional fundamental-mode (M0) inversion
• Multi-mode inversion (M0, M1, M2, etc.)
• Inversion Results- What they represent
• Inversion Results- What to believe and what not to believe
• Common Pitfalls

Above is a tentative list of topics to be covered. More topics will be added as per requirement
of attending participants.
Course Delivery:
1. LMS based course delivery. Convenience to go through course videos and course
material at a time of your choice, and at your own pace.
2. Live sessions also available. Recording of all live sessions will be available on your LMS.
3. Training Videos & Training Modules (Reading material) on LMS
4. Membership of a member’s only Facebook group for interaction within the group
members on various aspects of MASW.
5. Email/ online support
6. Certificate from AF Academy on completion of course

Who Should Attend?

This will help professionals, engineers and geo-scientists dealing with sub-surface
investigation. The program is designed for new as well as experienced users of geophysics.
The program will also help project owners hiring services of geophysical surveys, enabling
them understand capabilities and limitations of the method and derive maximum return on
their investment on a geophysical survey.

Course Facilitators
Course will be conducted by a team lead by Dr Sanjay Rana.

Dr Rana a professional geophysicist, with 31 years of work

experience. He graduated in 1990 as Gold Medallist from
University of Roorkee (Now IIT-Roorkee) completing M.
Tech. (Applied Geophysics). Since then, he has carried out
geophysical investigations for more than 2000 projects
including projects in India, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Singapore,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Bhutan, Kuwait, etc.

Dr Rana has the privilege of pioneering use of near-surface

geophysics in India (private sector) in 1995.

He is invited regularly to training geophysicists on the latest techniques by various

departments and organizations. Also invited as a trainer for geophysics applications by
companies located abroad, and has conducted training in Singapore, Saudi Arab, Bahrain,
Kuwait, UAE, etc.

Investment
Regular Fee without discount is INR 36,000/ USD 720

Discounted fee is INR 18,000/ USD 360 + GST- Use code MASW50 for 50% discount valid till
23:59:59 July 9th. Option to pay in 3 equal instalments i.e. 7,000 per month. Visit
https://hmz.io/MASW to apply for the course.
For bulk registrations, please email at info@aquafoundation.in or WhatsApp at +91-
9818568825

Session Plan

(Start date is tentatively July 15, 2021 and final date will be communicated to registered
participants)

• Session-1 Basics of MASW

• Session-2 Designing a field survey
• Session-3 Data Collection in Difficult Field Conditions
• Session-4 Survey Parameters
• Session-5 Data Acquisition
• Session-6 Data processing
• Session-7 Data Interpretation
• Session-8 Case Studies & Special Topics

Other sessions will be added based on requests of course participants.

Notes:
• For LIVE delivery, one or more sessions can be clubbed together
• LIVE sessions will be spaced at 2-week interval
• All the sessions videos, reading material and notes will be available at LMS which
course participant can go through at a time of their convenience
• It’s not mandatory to attend the LIVE sessions. Participants can send their questions
by email after going through lectures on LMS