High-Resolution S-Wave Reflection Survey in Urban Areas Using a Woven Belt Type Land Streamer

High-resolution S-wave reflection surveying has been successfully conducted on the paved surface in large urban areas by means of a Land Streamer, which was originally developed by the author. The Land Streamer is featured by non-stretch woven belt which acts as a towing member but also as a module to mount geophone units. Whereas each geophone unit is placed on the paved surface through a metallic baseplate instead of firm planting to the ground, the Land Streamer tool provides comparatively clean data even on the pavement resistant to traffic noises. Consequently, the tool is capable of expanding the opportunity of S-wave reflection survey in the urban areas where the surface is mostly paved and cultural noise is considerably high. A series of high-resolution S-wave reflection surveys conducted at paved surfaces in large urban areas successfully delineated detailed structures of the surficial layers shallower than 60 m, and proved the wide availability of the tool to engineering, environmental applications, and earthquake disaster prevention.