Guided waves as superposition of body waves

We illustrate properties of guided waves in terms of a superposition of body waves. In particular, we consider the Love and SH waves. Body-wave propagation at postcritical angles–required for a total reflection–results in the speed of the Love wave being between the speeds of the SH waves in the layer and in the halfspace. A finite wavelength of the SH waves–required for constructive interference–results in a limited number of modes of the Love wave. Each mode exhibits a discrete frequency and propagation speed; the fundamental mode has the lowest frequency and the highest speed.