The boundary conditions which govern the componentsof stress at the free surface of a semi-infinite elastic halfspaceprohibit the propagation of SH-waves along thesurface. However, A. E. H. Love showed in 1911 that if ahorizontal layer lies between the free surface and thesemi-infinite half-space (Fig. 3.14a ), SH-waves within thelayer that are reflected at supercritical angles (see Section3.6) from the top and bottom of the layer can interfereconstructively to give a surface wave with horizontal particlemotions (Fig. 3.14b ). The velocity (b1) of S-waves inthe near-surface layer must be lower than in the underlyinghalf-space (b2). The velocity of the Love waves (VLQ)lies between the two extreme values: b1VLQb2.Theory shows that the speed of Love waves with veryshort wavelengths is close to the slower velocity b1 of theupper layer, while long wavelengths travel at a speed closeto the faster velocity b2 of the lower medium. This dependenceof velocity on wavelength is termed dispersion.Love waves are always dispersive, because they can onlypropagate in a velocity-layered medium.
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