Influence of the Parameterization and a Priori Information on the Inversion of Surface Waves – Parametrical Study and Application

Inversion of Rayleigh dispersion curve does not provide one unique solution and the choice of the parameterization (number of layers, range of velocity and thickness values for the layers) is of prime importance for obtaining reliable results. The number of solutions can be reduced by a priori information (geologic log), as well as by the use of other sets of data, which can be easily introduced in the inversion process using direct search inversion techniques. The method is illustrated on both synthetic and real cases.