Site Effect

In this work we studied the performance of different numerical approaches to simulate the large amplifications of long period earthquake ground motion within the Gubbio plain, a closed-shape intra-mountain alluvial basin of extensional tectonic origin in Central Italy, observed during the Umbria-Marche 1997 seismic sequence. Particularly, referring to the Sep 26 1997 Mw6.0 mainshock, we considered the following numerical approximations: (a) 3D model, including a kinematic model of the extended seismic source, a layered crustal structure, and the basin itself with a simplified homogeneous velocity profile; (b) 2D model of a longitudinal and transversal cross-section of the basin, subject to vertical and oblique incidence of plane waves with time dependence at bedrock obtained by the 3D simulations; (c) 1D model. 3D and 2D numerical simulations were carried out using the spectral element code GeoELSE, exploiting in 3D its implementation in parallel computer architectures. 3D numerical simulations were successful to predict the observed large amplification of ground motion at periods beyond about 1 s, due to the prominent onset of surface waves originated at the southern edge of the basin and propagating northwards. More specifically, the difference of 3D vs 2D results is remarkable, since the latter ones fail to approach such large amplification levels, even when an oblique incidence of plane waves is considered.

The April 6, 2009 L’Aquila earthquake was responsible for an “anomalous”, relatively high degree of damage (i.e. Is 7 MCS scale) at Castelvecchio Subequo (CS). Indeed, the village is located at source-to-site distance of about 40 km, and it is surrounded by other inhabited centres to which considerably lower intensities, i.e. Is 5–6, have been attributed. Moreover, the damage was irregularly distributed within CS, being mainly concentrated in the uppermost portion of the old village. Geophysical investigations (ambient seismic noise and weak ground motions analyses) revealed that site effects occurred at CS. Amplifications of the ground motion, mainly striking NE–SW, have been detected at the uppermost portion of the carbonate ridge on which the village is built. Geological/structural and geomechanical field surveys defined that the CS ridge is affected by sets of fractures, joints and shear planes—mainly roughly NW–SE and N–S trending—that are related to the deformation zone of the Subequana valley fault system and to transfer faults linking northward the mentioned tectonic feature with the Middle Aterno Valley fault system. In particular, our investigations highlight that seismic amplifications occur where joints set NW–SE trending are open. On the other hand, no amplification is seen in portions of the ridge where the bedrock is densely fractured but no open joints occur. The fracture opening seems related to the toppling tendency of the bedrock slabs, owing to the local geomorphic setting. These investigations suggest that the detected amplification of the ground motion is probably related to the polarization of the seismic waves along the Castelvecchio Subequo ridge, with the consequent oscillation of the rock slabs perpendicularly to the fractures azimuth.

It has long been observed that damage due to earthquakes depends greatly on local geological conditions. Alpine valleys represent a typical populated environment where large amplifications can take place owing to the presence of surface soils with poor mechanical properties combined to complex topography of the rock basin. In the framework of the EU Interreg IIIB SISMOVALP Project ‘Seismic hazard and alpine valley response analysis’, a stretch of the Tagliamento River Valley (TRV), located in the north-western part of the Friuli Region (Italy) and close to the epicentre of the 1976 Mw= 6.4 earthquake, has been investigated with the aim to define the buried shape of the valley itself.Two non-invasive, low cost, independent geophysical methods were used: (i) detailed gravity survey and (ii) H/V spectral ratio (HVSR) of microtremors.Because of structural geological complexity and active tectonics of the Friuli region, an irregular valley shape was expected in this area. The independent analysis performed by gravity and passive noise, and complemented with refraction seismic velocity profiles, confirms this hypothesis and leads to two models that were consistent, but for some small scale details. The maximum depth estimated is about 400–450 m in the southern part of the valley, while a mean value of 150–180 m is estimated in the northern part. The sediment thickness obtained for this stretch of the TRV is quite large if compared to eastern Alps Plio-Quaternary rates; therefore the valley shape imaged by this study better corresponds to the top of carbonate rocks.Finally, on the basis of the obtained morphology and some direct measurements, we conclude that the TRV features an overall 1-D seismic response (i.e. the resonance is related only to the sediment thickness rather than to the cross-section shape), but in its deepest part some limited 2-D effects could take place.

This study describes the results of a field trip to the area affected by the 12 May, 2008, Wenchuan
earthquake to analyse its impact on industrial facilities. The damage severity correlates well with the age
of the plant, with older facilities having suffered more extensive and severe damage than those built
more recently according to the latest design codes. The main cause of worker death and injury was the
collapse of warehouses, office and manufacturing buildings. This concerned mostly concrete structures
with insufficient confinement or poor reinforcement. The falling debris resulted in equipment damage
and loss, as well as pipe severing and crushing. Pipes were also severed or bent when connected tanks
were displaced or buildings collapsed. Numerous hazardous-materials releases occurred with spills being
the dominant accident scenario. In some sites soileliquefaction induced damage was evident, highlighting
the need to consider potential site effects when selecting the location for a facility. The impact of
the Wenchuan earthquake on chemical facilities confirms the findings from other earthquakes in terms
of typical Natech damage and failure modes, as well as of hazardous-materials release potential and
mechanisms.

We investigate 3-D basin structures and site resonance frequencies in the İzmit Bay area of Turkey by new geophysical surveys based on 239 single station microtremor and 405-point gravity measurements. A fundamental resonance frequency map of the İzmit Bay was produced from the main peak in the horizontal-to-vertical component spectral ratio (HVSR) of microtremors. The HVSR analysis of the microtremor data reveals single, double, broad peaked or no peak type HVSR curves varying in accordance with the surface geology and spatial extent of the three basins present in the İzmit Bay area. In the deepest sections of the İzmit, Gölcük and Derince basins of the İzmit Bay, the fundamental resonance frequencies are dominantly 0.24-0.30 Hz. These resonance frequencies should be taken into consideration along with higher mode frequencies to construct earthquake resistant structures in the İzmit Bay area. The 3-D gravimetric bedrock depth map of the İzmit basin shows that the basin has an asymmetric shape with its deepest section coinciding with the surface trace of the North Anatolian Fault. The northern shoulder of the basin has a gentle dip on the Kocaeli Peneplain side and the southern shoulder is much steeper, and it is bounded by the Samanlı Mountains. We derive a power-law relationship that correlates the fundamental site resonance frequencies with the sedimentary cover thickness obtained from the gravity and shear wave velocity data in the İzmit Bay. We use this relationship to estimate bedrock depths beneath Gölcük and Derince basins. Our estimation of maximum basin depths is 1400 m for the İzmit and is 800 m for the Gölcük and Derince basins. Finally, we have analysed a converted Sp phase from a local earthquake recording made at site CMP to calculate and verify the sediment thickness estimations obtained from our gravimetric and microtremor analyses. This calculation shows close agreement with that of the gravimetric and microtremor results. Our results show that the basins in the İzmit Bay area have a very thick sedimentary cover with very low shear velocities underlined by hard bedrock, forming a sharp impedance contrast. We anticipate that these results will be a key contribution to the quantitative assessment of seismic hazard for the İzmit Bay area before the occurrence of strong earthquakes in the Marmara region.

... Numbers of days to 50% flowering (number of days taken for half of the plot to reach anthesis), number of days to 95% maturity (number of days taken for about 95% of the plants to reach the hard dough stage), number of tillers plant −1 (tillers that were taller than half of the main ...

The performance-based liquefaction potential analysis was carried out in the present study to estimate the liquefaction return period for Bangalore, India, through a probabilistic approach. In this approach, the entire range of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and earthquake magnitudes was used in the evaluation of liquefaction return period. The seismic hazard analysis for the study area was done using probabilistic approach to evaluate the peak horizontal acceleration at bed rock level. Based on the results of the multichannel analysis of surface wave, it was found that the study area belonged to site class D. The PGA values for the study area were evaluated for site class D by considering the local site effects. The soil resistance for the study area was characterized using the standard penetration test (SPT) values obtained from 450 boreholes. These SPT data along with the PGA values obtained from the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis were used to evaluate the liquefaction return period for the study area. The contour plot showing the spatial variation of factor of safety against liquefaction and the corrected SPT values required for preventing liquefaction for a return period of 475 years at depths of 3 and 6 m are presented in this paper. The entire process of liquefaction potential evaluation, starting from collection of earthquake data, identifying the seismic sources, evaluation of seismic hazard and the assessment of liquefaction return period were carried out, and the entire analysis was done based on the probabilistic approach.

To provide quantitative information on the shear wave velocity structure of the İzmit Bay area, we conduct active–passive array surface wave and single-station microtremor measurements at 60 sites. We process these array measurements to produce combined Rayleigh wave dispersion curves that span a broad-frequency range (0.5–20 Hz). We also make use of horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) curves obtained from the single-station microtremor measurements to benefit from their close relation to the ellipticity of Rayleigh waves. Using the dispersion curve sensitivity to the absolute velocities and the shape of the HVSR curve sensitivity to the velocity contrasts of the velocity-depth model, we have applied a combined inversion technique to derive better constrained shear velocity models at each site. The derived shear velocity models are used to provide a Vs30 site classification map and information on the sediment-bedrock structure for the İzmit Bay area. The Vs30 map shows that the entire shoreline regions including artificial infill areas of the İzmit Bay have Vs30 values less than 200 m s−1, locally as low as 80 m s−1. The older sediment areas of the İzmit basin have Vs30 values ranging between 250 and 350 m s−1. The highest Vs30 values are associated with rock sites reaching about 950–1300 m s−1. We also present a high correlation between the Vs30 values and the phase velocity of Rayleigh wave corresponding to the 40 m wavelength (C40). The important implication of this correlation is that Vs30 may be estimated from C40 without inverting the dispersion curve. The inferred sediment-bedrock interface along a cross-section shows an antisymmetric V shaped basin with a sedimentary cover thickness reaching about 1200 m at the deepest part of the İzmit basin. This deepest part coincides in the map view where the North Anatolian fault zone crosses the basin in the east–west direction. The sedimentary cover thickness is found to be 750 m in the Gölcük–Derince basin.

The Tamar rift valley runs through the City of Launceston, Tasmania. Damage has occurred to city buildings due to earthquake activity in Bass Strait. The presence of the ancient valley, the Tamar valley, in-filled with soft sediments that vary rapidly in thickness from 0 to 250m over a few hundreds metres, is thought to induce a 2D resonance pattern, amplifying the surface motions over the valley and in Launceston. Spatially averaged coherency (SPAC), frequency-wavenumber (FK) and horizontal to vertical spectrum ratio (HVSR) microtremor survey methods are combined to identify and characterise site effects over the Tamar valley. Passive seismic array measurements acquired at seven selected sites were analysed with SPAC to estimate shear wave velocity (slowness) depth profiles. SPAC was then combined with HVSR to improve the resolution of these profiles in the sediments to an approximate depth of 125m. Results show that sediments thicknesses vary significantly throughout Launceston. The top layer is composed of as much as 20m of very soft Quaternary alluvial sediments with a velocity from 50m/s to 125m/s. Shear-wave velocities in the deeper Tertiary sediment fill of the Tamar valley, with thicknesses from 0 to 250m vary from 400m/s to 750m/s. Results obtained using SPAC are presented at two selected sites (GUN and KPK) that agree well with dispersion curves interpreted with FK analysis. FK interpretation is, however, limited to a narrower range of frequencies than SPAC and seems to overestimate the shear wave velocity at lower frequencies. Observed HVSR are also compared with the results obtained by SPAC, assuming a layered earth model, and provide additional constraints on the shear wave slowness profiles at these sites. The combined SPAC and HVSR analysis confirms the hypothesis of a layered geology at the GUN site and indicates the presence of a 2D resonance pattern across the Tamar valley at the KPK site.