is referred to the following references for more information (Park et al. 1998, Park et al. 2007, Foti et al.
2015, Foti et al. 2018, Vantassel & Cox 2022). Dispersion processing of surface wave data can be performed
on the raw recorded wavefield or, if using a sweeping source, the wavefield cross-correlated with the source
(Xia et al., 2000). The recordings can then be transformed to the frequency-wavenumber domain using
various wavefield transformations (e.g., Nolet & Panza 1976, McMechan & Yedlin 1981, Park et al. 1998,
Zywicki 1999, Xia et al. 2007, Luo et al. 2009a). For many datasets, the referenced transformations produce
similar, although typically not identical, estimates of surface wave dispersion (Foti et al. 2015, Rahimi et
al. 2021, Vantassel & Cox 2022). As such the MASW transform can be considered a source of dispersion
uncertainty (Vantassel & Cox 2022). If multiple shot locations are used for each sub-array, differences in
surface wave dispersion may also energy, these differences can also be quantified as part of the site-specific
dispersion uncertainty (Cox & Wood 2011, Vantassel & Cox 2022). However, due to the additional time
and effort required to use multiple transformations and multiple shot offsets, 2D MASW acquisitions
typically use a single transformation and a single shot location and do not quantify dispersion uncertainty.
Once the experimental dispersion data has been obtained through wavefield processing a model of
the subsurface is inferred through inversion (i.e., solving an inverse problem). Briefly, the inversion seeks
to find the 1D ground model whose theoretical dispersion data best fits the experimental dispersion data
measured in the field (Park et al. 1998). The 1D ground model in the inversion is defined by a set number
of layers each defined by their thickness, mass density, compression-wave velocity, and VS. The inverse
problem is challenging as it is ill-posed, non-linear, and mixed-determined, with no guarantee of a unique
solution (Foti et al. 2015). To find the ground models whose theoretical dispersion best fits the experimental
data there are two main search approaches: gradient-based and gradient-free. Gradient-based methods, also
referred to as local-search methods, rely on an initial starting model and the gradients of the misfit function
(typically an L2 norm) with respect to each of model’s parameter to converge to a local minimum through
an iterative process (Socco et al. 2010). Gradient-free methods, also referred to as global-search methods,
instead rely on sampling the model solution space to find the model(s) that best fit the data. These searches
can be purely random (earlier samplings do not affect later samplings) or adaptive (later samplings learn
from previous samplings). As local-search methods are faster than global-search methods (i.e., they
typically require the solution of fewer forward problems) they have been used in the vast majority of
previous 2D MASW studies (Foti et al. 2018). However, local-searches are known to be less rigorous then
global-search and as a result are susceptible to becoming stuck in sub-optimal solutions (i.e., local minima
and saddle points in the space of the inversion objective function) and should be used cautiously in
environments where an accurate starting model cannot be selected a priori (Socco et al. 2010).
In addition to the optimization algorithm, the inversion is also strongly influenced by the
inversion’s parameterization (i.e., the number of assumed layers and the upper and lower limits of each
parameter). Most 2D MASW studies consider only a single layering parameterization consisting of many
layers with fixed thickness. These layers are often of uniform thickness, but may increase in thickness with
depth (Xia et al. 2000). While the use of many layers may increase the ability of the inversion algorithm to
fit the target dispersion data, it can also result in unrealistic VS profiles with large changes in velocity over
short depth intervals, especially when velocity reversals are allowed at all layer boundaries (Song et al.
2020; Crocker et al. 2021). To address these issues, parameterization methods such as the layering ratio
(Cox & Teague 2016) and layering by number (Vantassel & Cox 2021) approaches can be used to
systematically investigate the sensitivity of the inversion to the choice of layering parameterization.
Once the inversion process has produced a 1D VS profile (or several 1D VS profiles if different
inversion layering parameterizations are considered and uncertainty is acknowledged) for each MASW sub-
array, those profiles can then be combined into a pseudo-2D VS cross-section. This is done by placing each