Abstract: | A numerical method is developed which can be used to determine the characteristics of Rayleigh wave propagation in a homogeneous medium where, at each surface point, the radius of curvature is large compared to the wavelength of Rayleigh waves. This method is deduced from experimental results on seismic modeling of some simple cases.In the general case we compute two effects of surface topography on the Rayleigh waves: a dispersion and attenuation of the waves due to the whole path and a local modulation of the displacement components depending on the local curvature. Therefore, both effects are not to be neglected in the case of precise measurement of the velocities and of the amplitudes from which the attenuation factor is carried out. |