Seismic attenuation is a key process characterizing the state of planetary interiors. When the first seismic data collected in the framework of the Apollo missions were analyzed, it was promptly realized by seismologists that the long duration of lunar seismograms was indicative of a very low level of elastic energy dissipation in the lunar lithosphere as compared to the Earth (Latham et al., 1969). The inferred very high intrinsic shear quality factor Q μ ≈ 3,500 has later been attributed to the generally dry conditions on the Moon and more specifically to the absence of volatiles in the porosity of the lunar crust (Tittman, 1977;Tittmann et al., 1980). Absorption of energy through inelastic processes is one essential component of seismic attenuation. The other key mechanism is scattering which finds its origin in the presence of small-scale heterogeneities in the lithosphere (Aki, 1969;Dainty et al., 1974). The development of the coda following ballistic arrivals is a prominent manifestation of the central role played by scattering in shaping high-frequency seismograms (>1 Hz). In planetology, the scattering

When comparing different shear dislocation mechanisms, we find that the energy level in the coda can differ by up to 60 percent. While equipartition, depolarization and coda normalization remain fundamental guides to our understanding of the coda, their application requires a good a priori knowledge of the attenuation properties of the crust. Keywordscoda waves • polarized waves • crustal waveguide • radiative transfer • scattering • energy partition • seismic source