LAUSR

High-frequency surface-wave analysis methods have been effectively and widely used to determine near-surface shear (S) wave velocity. To image the dispersion energy and identify different dispersive modes of surface waves accurately is one of key steps of using surface-wave methods. We analyzed the dispersion energy characteristics of Rayleigh and Love waves in near-surface layered models based on numerical simulations. It has been found that if there is a low-velocity layer (LVL) in the half-space, the dispersion energy of Rayleigh or Love waves is discontinuous and ‘‘jumping’’ appears from the fundamental mode to higher modes on dispersive images. We introduce the guided waves generated in an LVL (LVL-guided waves, a trapped wave mode) to clarify the complexity of the dispersion energy. We confirm the LVL-guided waves by analyzing the snapshots of SH and P–SV wavefield and comparing the dispersive energy with theoretical values of phase velocities. Results demonstrate that LVL-guided waves possess energy on dispersive images, which can interfere with the normal dispersion energy of Rayleigh or Love waves. Each mode of LVL-guided waves having lack of energy at the free surface in some high frequency range causes the discontinuity of dispersive energy on dispersive images, which is because shorter wavelengths (generally with lower phase velocities and higher frequencies) of LVL-guided waves cannot penetrate to the free surface. If the S wave velocity of the LVL is higher than that of the surface layer, the energy of LVL-guided waves only contaminates higher mode energy of surface waves and there is no interlacement with the fundamental mode of surface waves, while if the S wave velocity of the LVL is lower than that of the surface layer, the energy of LVL-guided waves may interlace with the fundamental mode of surface waves. Both of the interlacements with the fundamental mode or higher mode energy may cause misidentification for the dispersion curves of surface waves.