Method of Suppressing Rayleigh Waves Based on the Technology of Time-Domain Differential Detection

Seismic exploration is widely used in shallow engineering applications, yet extracting reflected wave information remains challenging due to contamination from Rayleigh waves. To overcome this, we propose a common shot point time-domain differential method that leverages the distinct velocity contrast between slow Rayleigh waves and faster P-wave reflections. These waves exhibit lower velocity and minimal dispersion in the radiation direction under the same seismic source excitation. This study establishes two closely spaced track records termed “far main and near slave” along the direction of the measurement line to counteract this interference. This method employs the difference in travel time between Rayleigh waves and subsurface interface reflection waves for time-domain differential analysis. The interference is minimized while preserving the reflected wave signal by conducting slight amplitude compensation on the far-field Rayleigh wave signal and subtracting the master and slave records. The application of time-domain differential detection technology in shallow engineering seismic exploration and marble plate thickness detection experiments demonstrated that this method effectively eliminates the influence of Rayleigh surface waves and enhances the resolution of reflection signals from anomalous bodies. Additionally, this study examines the impact of boundaries on time-domain differential technology. Without relying on long array shot records, this approach provides a promising result for Rayleigh wave suppression and offers broad potential in elastic wave exploration.