Combined use of geophysical methods in site characterization

Geophysical tests are widely used in site characterization for geotechnical and geoenvironmental applications. A wide range of methods is available to reconstruct geometrical features of the subsoil accounting for different responses of soils as a porous medium and for the characteristics of the pore fluid. Seismic tests provide the advantage of an evaluation of the mechanical response of the medium, although only at very small strain levels, with the possibility of testing geomaterials in their undisturbed state on site. Interpretation of wave propagation in different frameworks can provide information at several levels of details. One crucial aspect of non-invasive geophysical method is that they are based on the solution of an inverse problem aimed at estimating soil parameters. Combined use of different geophysical datasets can provide more robust approaches, increasing the reliability of the final reconstructions. Several applications are reported in this respect with particular focus on surface wave methods, which are getting more and more popular because of their cost and time effectiveness.