Site-specific earthquake response study for hazard assessment in Kolkata city,India

The assessment of local site effects on seismic ground motions is of great importance in earthquake engineering practice. Several destructive earthquakes in the past have demonstrated that the amplification of ground motion and associated damage to structures due to local site conditions is a significant consideration in earthquake hazard analysis. A recent paper published in this journal highlights the hazard posed by earthquakes in the megacity of Kolkata in India due to its seismic and geological settings. The seismic hazard assessment study speculates that the deep alluvial deposit in the city may increase the seismic hazard probably due to the amplification of the seismic energies. This paper focuses on the seismic response studies of the various soil strata (i.e. for local subsurface conditions) obtained from various construction sites in the city for predicted earthquake. It is very well recognized that site response studies (a part of seismic microhazard zonation for urban areas) are the first step towards performance-based foundation design or seismic risk analysis and mitigation strategy. One of the problems for carrying out site-specific study in Kolkata is the lack of recorded strong motion data in the city. Hence, this paper outlines a methodology to carry out site-specific study, where no strong motion data or seismic data are available. The methodology uses wavelet-based spectrum compatibility approach to generate synthetic earthquake motions and equivalent linear method for seismic site response analysis. The Mega City of Kolkata has been considered to explain the methodology. Seismic hazard zonation map by the Bureau of Indian Standards classifies the City of Kolkata as moderate seismic zone (Zone III) with a zone factor 0.16. On the other hand, GSHAP(Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program) map which is based on 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years specifies a maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 1.6 m/s² (0.163 g) for this region. In the present study, the seismic response has been carried out based on GSHAP. The results of the analysis indicate the amplification of ground motion in the range of 4.46–4.82 with the fundamental period ranging from 0.81 to 1.17 s. Furthermore, the maximum spectral accelerations vary in the range of 0.78–0.95 g.     

Evaluation of seismic soil-liquefaction at Guwahati city

Great earthquakes in the past (e.g. 1869 Cachar earthquake, 1897 great Assam earthquake) have caused large scale damage and ground liquefaction in the Guwahati city. Moreover, seismologists are of opinion that a great earthquake might occur in the unruptured segment of the North-East Himalaya that is near to Guwahati city. In this paper, the liquefaction hazard due to these events have been simulated. The obtained results are in general agreement with the reported damages due to the past earthquakes. The central part of the city (i.e. Dispur, GS road), that has large thickness of soft soil deposit and shallow ground water table, is highly vulnerable to liquefaction.     

Deterministic seismic microzonation of Kolkata city

This paper presents the deterministic seismic microzonation of densely populated Kolkata city situated on the world’s largest delta island with very soft and thick soil deposit in the surficial layers. A fourth-order accurate staggered-grid finite-difference algorithm for SH-wave propagation simulation in visco-elastic medium is used for the linear computation of ground motion amplifications in sedimentary deposit. Different maps such as for fundamental frequency (F ₀), peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity, and peak ground displacement are developed for variety of end-users communities, including structural and geotechnical engineers for performance-based designs, building officials, emergency managers, land-use planners, private businesses, and the general public. The scenario of simulated amplification factors in the different frequency bands revealed that the Kolkata city is very much prone to severe damage even during a moderate earthquake and very selective damage may occur at some of the localities during local and distant earthquakes. The deterministically predicted PGA at bedrock level is 0.0844 g and the maximum PGA predicted at the free surface is 0.6 g in Kolkata city due to maximum credible earthquake (M _w = 5.4) associated with Eocene Hinge Zone at a depth of 36 km. The seismic microzonation of Kolkata city reveals that the Nager Bazar and Nimtala areas are the safest regions with earthquake point of view.     

Long-period ground motion in the epicentral area of major earthquakes

In view of the potential importance of long-period ground motion in the design of large structures, near-field ground displacement is computed by the elastic dislocation theory for several earthquake fault models. The validity of such computations is confirmed by comparing the computed seismogram with the observed long-period seismogram of the 1923 Kanto earthquake. The ground motions are computed for three hypothetical earthquakes, a hypothetical Kanto earthquake, Tokai earthquake and Nemuro-Oki earthquake. The location and the nature of the faulting of these earthquakes are predicted by plate tectonics and precise earthquake mechanism studies. Major conclusions are: Tokyo may suffer, in the hypothetical Kanto earthquake, ground motions about half as large as those experienced in the 1923 Kanto earthquake; Hamamatsu, a large city on the Tokai coast, may experience in the hypothetical Tokai earthquake ground motions which are as large as, or even larger than, those experienced in the epicentral area of the 1923 Kanto earthquake; the hypothetical Nemuro-Oki earthquake may cause ground motions as large as those experienced in the 1968 Tokachi-Oki earthquake on the coastal cities in Hokkaido.     

Buildings Damages after Elazığ, Turkey Earthquake on January 24, 2020

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 24, 2020, has been effective in Turkey’s eastern regions. The earthquake, with recorded peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of 0.292 g, caused the destruction or heavy damage of buildings, especially in the city center of Elaz?? province. The purpose of this paper was to share the results of detailed investigation in the earthquake-stricken area. Additionally, the causes of damages and failures observed in the buildings were compared to those that had occurred in previous earthquakes in Turkey. In this study, the damages observed in especially RC buildings as well as in masonry and rural buildings were summarized, the lessons learned were evaluated, and the results were interpreted with reference to Turkish earthquake codes. In the study, it was particularly emphasized why the building stock underwent such damage even though the buildings were exposed to earthquake acceleration well below the design acceleration values.

     

Structural damages of the May 19, 2011, Kütahya–Simav earthquake in Turkey

Reconnaissance observations are presented on the building damage caused by the May 19, 2011, Kütahya–Simav earthquake in Western Turkey as well as an overview of strong ground motion data recorded during the earthquake is given. According to Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey, the magnitude of the earthquake is 5.7 in local magnitude scale. Although the earthquake can be regarded as a moderate event when considering its magnitude and strong motion recordings, it caused excessive structural damage to buildings in Simav district and several villages in the near vicinity. During the field investigation, different types of structural damage were observed mainly in the reinforced concrete frame buildings with infill walls and masonry buildings with various types of construction materials. Observed damage resulted from several deficiencies in structural and non-structural components of the buildings. Poor construction materials and workmanship, non-conforming earthquake-resistant design and construction techniques and non-ductile detailing are the main reasons for such an extensive damage, as observed in many past earthquakes in Turkey.     

Seismic Hazard Analysis for the Bangalore Region

Indian peninsular shield, which was once considered to be seismically stable, is experiencing many earthquakes recently. As part of the national level microzonation programme, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India has initiated microzonation of greater Bangalore region. The seismic hazard analysis of Bangalore region is carried out as part of this project. The paper presents the determination of maximum credible earthquake (MCE) and generation of synthetic acceleration time history plot for the Bangalore region. MCE has been determined by considering the regional seismotectonic activity in about 350 km radius around Bangalore city. The seismotectonic map has been prepared by considering the faults, lineaments, shear zones in the area and historic earthquake events of more than 150 events. Shortest distance from the Bangalore to the different sources is measured and then peak ground acceleration (PGA) is calculated for the different source and moment magnitude. Maximum credible earthquake found in terms of moment magnitude is 5.1 with PGA value of 0.146 g at city centre with assuming the hypo central distance of 15.88 km from the focal point. Also, correlations for the fault length with historic earthquake in terms of moment magnitude, yields (taking the rupture fault length as 5% of the total fault length) a PGA value of 0.159 g. Acceleration time history (ground motion) and a response acceleration spectrum for the corresponding magnitude has been generated using synthetic earthquake model considering the regional seismotectonic parameters. The maximum spectral acceleration obtained is 0.332 g for predominant period of 0.06 s. The PGA value and synthetic earthquake ground motion data from the identified vulnerable source using seismotectonic map will be useful for the PGA mapping and microzonation of the area.     

Research on the February 18, 1996 earthquake in the caves of Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet area, (eastern Pyrenees,France)

Eight caves have been investigated near Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet after the earthquake of 5.2 magnitude of February 1996 which occurred in the eastern Pyrenees (France) and caused moderate damage at the ground surface. The earthquake has been associated with the movement of an E-W fault. The caves had not been visited since the earthquake. Some damage, mainly collapses of soda straws and small rocks, could be attributed to this earthquake. The most interesting cave in the epicentral area is the Paradet cave which is situated on a recently activated fault plane. In this cave, soda straw falls could be attributed to the earthquake, but other more ancient damage was also observed. Analysis of the azimuth of fallen speleothems, which are natural pendulums, may indicate the directions, and an estimation of their mechanical properties gives the threshold of the seismic ground motion amplitude responsible for their collapse, thus supplying information to calibrate damage due to past earthquakes. A statistical study indicates that the main direction of the collapsed soda straws is E-W. Numerical simulations confirm that soda straws are relatively strong objects that may break under certain conditions during earthquakes.     

Soft sediments and damage pattern: a few case studies from large Indian earthquakes vis-a-vis seismic risk evaluation

India is prone to earthquake hazard; almost 65 % area falls in high to very high seismic zones, as per the seismic zoning map of the country. The Himalaya and the Indo-Gangetic plains are particularly vulnerable to high seismic hazard. Any major earthquake in Himalaya can cause severe destruction and multiple fatalities in urban centers located in the vicinity. Seismically induced ground motion amplification and soil liquefaction are the two main factors responsible for severe damage to the structures, especially, built on soft sedimentary environment. These are essentially governed by the size of earthquake, epicentral distance and geology of the area. Besides, lithology of the strata, i.e., sediment type, grain size and their distribution, thickness, lateral discontinuity and ground water depth, play an important role in determining the nature and degree of destruction. There has been significant advancement in our understanding and assessment of these two phenomena. However, data from past earthquakes provide valuable information which help in better estimation of ground motion amplification and soil liquefaction for evaluation of seismic risk in future and planning the mitigation strategies. In this paper, we present the case studies of past three large Indian earthquakes, i.e., 1803 Uttaranchal earthquake (Mw 7.5); 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake (Mw 8.1) and 2001 Bhuj earthquake (Mw 7.7) and discuss the role of soft sediments particularly, alluvial deposits in relation to the damage pattern due to amplified ground motions and soil liquefaction induced by the events. The results presented in the paper are mainly focused around the sites located on the river banks and experienced major destruction during these events. It is observed that the soft sedimentary sites located even far from earthquake epicenter, with low water saturation, experienced high ground motion amplification; while the sites with high saturation level have undergone soil liquefaction. We also discuss the need of intensifying studies related to ground motion amplification and soil liquefaction in India as these are the important inputs for detailed seismic hazard estimation.     

Research on the February 18, 1996 earthquake in the caves of Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet area, (eastern Pyrenees,France)

Abstract

Eight caves have been investigated near Saint-Paul- de-Fenouillet after the earthquake of 5.2 magnitude of February 1996 which occurred in the eastern Pyrenees (France) and caused moderate damage at the ground surface. The earthquake has been associated with the movement of an E-W fault. The caves had not been visited since the earthquake. Some damage, mainly collapses of soda straws and small rocks, could be attributed to this earthquake. The most interesting cave in the epicentral area is the Paradet cave which is situated on a recently activated fault plane. In this cave, soda straw falls could be attributed to the earthquake, but other more ancient damage was also observed. Analysis of the azimuth of fallen speleothems, which are natural pendulums, may indicate the directions, and an estimation of their mechanical properties gives the threshold of the seismic ground motion amplitude responsible for their collapse, thus supplying information to calibrate damage due to past earthquakes. A statistical study indicates that the main direction of the collapsed soda straws is E–W. Numerical simulations confirm that soda straws are relatively strong objects that may break under certain conditions during earthquakes. © Elsevier, Paris     

Seismic hazard assessment of Chennai city considering local site effects

Chennai city suffered moderate tremors during the 2001 Bhuj and Pondicherry earthquakes and the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. After the Bhuj earthquake, Indian Standard IS: 1893 was revised and Chennai city was upgraded from zone II to zone III which leads to a substantial increase of the design ground motion parameters. Therefore, a comprehensive study is carried out to assess the seismic hazard of Chennai city based on a deterministic approach. The seismicity and seismotectonic details within a 100 km radius of the study area have been considered. The one-dimensional ground response analysis was carried out for 38 representative sites by the equivalent linear method using the SHAKE91 program to estimate the ground motion parameters considering the local site effects. The shear wave velocity profile was inferred from the corrected blow counts and it was verified with the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) test performed for a representative site. The seismic hazard is represented in terms of characteristic site period and Spectral Acceleration Ratio (SAR) contours for the entire city. It is found that structures with low natural period undergo significant amplification mostly in the central and southern parts of Chennai city due to the presence of deep soil sites with clayey or sandy deposits and the remaining parts undergo marginal amplification.     

A review of strong motion studies in Gujarat State of western India

The present work reviews the strong motion studies done in Gujarat State of western India. Prior to the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, no strong motion instrument was in operation in Gujarat. After the earthquake, number of research institutes/universities from India and abroad deployed strong motion instruments to study aftershock activity, source dynamics, path and site effects. The strong motion recordings have enhanced the general understanding of the physics of earthquakes in the region. An attempt has been made to develop attenuation relationship for the Gujarat region from the actual ground motions recorded by the strong motion networks. The Government of Gujarat with the help from Asian Development Bank, World Bank (WB), Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, has established a permanent dense network of strong motion accelerograph (SMA) all over Gujarat. In addition, the Institute of Seismological Research has been established in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with the help of WB for carrying out seismological research. Recently, many important studies have been carried out using actual acceleration data obtained from a dense network of 54 SMA, as well as synthetic data generated using region-specific ground motion parameters. The recorded data are used to obtain region-specific ground motion parameters and ground motion prediction equation. A deterministic hazard analysis for the entire state of Gujarat has been carried out using site-specific ground motion parameters. The estimated peak ground acceleration and modified Mercalli intensity values have been used to estimate the vulnerability of the different types of buildings in 31 cities of Gujarat. As Gujarat has three distinct regions having varied geological conditions, the recorded strong motion data gave an opportunity to study the effect of geological and local-site conditions on the response spectra. This study for an intra-plate region like Gujarat is a pioneer work. Still, lots of research work need to be carried out as more and more data are available, such as development of more robust ground motion prediction equations and a 3D-velocity structure of Gujarat. Generation of shake maps in real time and a credible early earthquake warning system is need of the hour for disaster mitigation and management.     

季节冻土层对房屋地震破坏的影响

冬期地面形成一坚硬的季节冻结层,从而在一定程度上改变了地基土的动力特性,也就改变了地表层的卓越周期．１９８６年黑龙江省德都地区冬、夏两次地震震害调查发现,冬期地震对较刚性房屋破坏严重,而夏期刚好相反,即相对柔性结构房屋地震破坏严重．通过实地观测与室内分析计算,进一步研究了这一问题．     

Geotechnical aspects and ground response studies in Bhuj earthquake, India

The extent of damage and affected areas in Bhuj earthquake (26th January 2001) has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate a wide range of geotechnical issues. A large area in the Rann of Kutch experienced massive liquefaction resulting in ground subsidence and lateral flow. A large number of dams in the Kutch district suffered moderate to severe damages. Many buildings were damaged and collapsed in the city of Ahmedabad situated on the bank of the Sabarmati River. In this paper, the ground response studies at a site in Ahmedabad City along with observations of geotechnical aspects such as ground cracking, sand volcanoes and liquefaction of soils associated with the Bhuj earthquake are discussed. The ground response studies indicate that the varying degree of damage to multistorey buildings in Ahmedabad in the close proximity of Sabarmati river area was essentially due to the collapse and undesirable settlement of partly saturated silty sand deposits. Large settlements are attributed to amplification of the ground and the near resonance condition. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simulation of large earthquakes and its implications on earthquake insurance rates: a case study in Bursa region (Turkey)

Ground motion intensity parameters of past and potential earthquakes are required for a range of purposes including earthquake insurance practice. In regions with no or sparse earthquake recordings, most of the available methods generate only peak ground motion parameters. For cases where full ground motion time histories are required, simulations that consider fault rupture processes become necessary. In this study, a major novel use of simulated ground motions is presented in insurance premium calculations which also require ground motion intensity measures that are not always available through observations. For this purpose, potential earthquakes in Bursa are simulated using stochastic finite-fault simulation method with dynamic corner frequency model. To ensure simulations with reliable synthetic ground motions, input parameters are derived from regional data. Regional model parameters are verified by comparisons against the observations as well as ground motion prediction equations. Next, a potential large magnitude event in Bursa is simulated. Distribution of peak ground motion parameters and time histories at selected locations are obtained. From these parameters, the corresponding Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMI) are estimated. Later, these MMIs are used as the main ground motion parameter in damage probability matrices (DPM). Return period of the scenario earthquake is obtained from the previous regional seismic hazard studies. Finally, insurance rates for Bursa region are determined with implementation of two new approaches in the literature. The probability of the scenario event and the expected mean damage ratios (MDR) from the corresponding DPMs are used, and the results are compared to Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP) rates. Results show that insurance premiums can be effectively computed using simulated ground motions in the absence of real data.     

Seismic hazard in mega city Kolkata, India

The damages caused by recent earthquakes in India have been a wake up call for people to take proper mitigation measures, especially the major cities that lie in the high seismic hazard zones. Kolkata City, with thick sediment deposit (∼12 km), one of the earliest cities of India, is an area of great concern as it lies over the Bengal Basin and lies at the boundary of the seismic zones III and IV of the zonation map of India. Kolkata has been affected by the 1897 Shillong earthquake, the 1906 Calcutta earthquake, and the 1964 Calcutta earthquake. An analysis on the maximum magnitude and b-value for Kolkata City region is carried out after the preparation of earthquake catalog from various sources. Based on the tectonic set-up and seismicity of the region, five seismic zones are delineated, which can pose a threat to Kolkata in the event of an earthquake. They are broadly classified as Zone 1: Arakan-Yoma Zone (AYZ), Zone 2: Himalayan Zone (HZ), Zone 3: Shillong Plateau Zone (SPZ), Zone 4: Bay of Bengal Zone (BBZ), and Zone 5: Shield Zone (SZ). The maximum magnitude (m _max) for Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 8.30 ± 0.51, 9.09 ± 0.58, 9.20 ± 0.51, 6.62 ± 0.43 and 6.61 ± 0.43, respectively. A probability of 10% exceedance value in 50 years is used for each zone. The probabilities of occurrences of earthquakes of different magnitudes for return periods of 50 and 100 years are computed for the five seismic zones. The Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) obtained for Kolkata City varies from 0.34 to 0.10 g.     

Classification of road damage due to earthquakes

Earthquakes cause massive road damage which in turn causes adverse effects on the society. Previous studies have quantified the damage caused to residential and commercial buildings; however, not many studies have been conducted to quantify road damage caused by earthquakes. In this study, an attempt has been made to propose a new scale to classify and quantify the road damage due to earthquakes based on the data collected from major earthquakes in the past. The proposed classification for road damage due to earthquake is called as road damage scale (RDS). Earthquake details such as magnitude, distance of road damage from the epicenter, focal depth, and photographs of damaged roads have been collected from various sources with reported modified Mercalli intensity (MMI). The widely used MMI scale is found to be inadequate to clearly define the road damage. The proposed RDS is applied to various reported road damage and reclassified as per RDS. The correlation between RDS and earthquake parameters of magnitude, epicenter distance, hypocenter distance, and combination of magnitude with epicenter and hypocenter distance has been studied using available data. It is observed that the proposed RDS correlates well with the available earthquake data when compared with the MMI scale. Among several correlations, correlation between RDS and combination of magnitude and epicenter distance is appropriate. Summary of these correlations, their limitations, and the applicability of the proposed scale to forecast road damages and to carry out vulnerability analysis in urban areas is presented in the paper.     

Ground motion amplification due to shallow cavities in nonlinear soils

Subsurface cavities or stiff inclusions represent mechanical discontinuities for seismic waves propagating in soils. They modify the propagation pattern of seismic waves and alter soil response in correspondence to the ground level or building foundations. In the literature, different analytical and numerical solutions have been proposed to account for the effect of underground cavities or inclusions on the motion generated by P, S or R waves. In these former studies, the subsoil was assimilated to a homogeneous, isotropic and linear elastic halfspace containing one or more cavities. In the present study, the effect of subsurface cavities on ground motion amplification has been analysed accounting for soil stiffness degradation and associated damping increase with increasing levels of shear strains, a fundamental aspect of soil behaviour under earthquakes. The analysed model was inspired to a real case represented by the village of Castelnuovo (Italy), which during the 2009 Abruzzo earthquake suffered huge damage. The main shock (6 April 2009) caused the collapse of 50 % of the whole built environment. The historical centre of Castelnuovo rises on a hill. In its subsoil, there are many cavities with roofs 2–3 m below the ground level. The longitudinal NW–SE section of the hill has been investigated by 2D nonlinear site response analyses. A preliminary site response analysis was performed without modelling cavities, to identify ground motion amplification due to mere stratigraphic and topographic factors. The numerical model was later refined inserting: (1) a single cavity below the hilltop, (2) multiple cavities placed below the ground surface of the hill and (3) multiple cavities filled with concrete (inclusions). The performed study highlights the important role exerted by underground cavities on the ground motion computed at the hill surface. This effect should be properly considered for both microzonation studies and the correct determination of the seismic actions on specific buildings.     

Seismic hazard map of Coimbatore using subsurface fault rupture

This study presents the future seismic hazard map of Coimbatore city, India, by considering rupture phenomenon. Seismotectonic map for Coimbatore has been generated using past earthquakes and seismic sources within 300 km radius around the city. The region experienced a largest earthquake of moment magnitude 6.3 in 1900. Available earthquakes are divided into two categories: one includes events having moment magnitude of 5.0 and above, i.e., damaging earthquakes in the region and the other includes the remaining, i.e., minor earthquakes. Subsurface rupture character of the region has been established by considering the damaging earthquakes and total length of seismic source. Magnitudes of each source are estimated by assuming the subsurface rupture length in terms of percentage of total length of sources and matched with reported earthquake. Estimated magnitudes match well with the reported earthquakes for a RLD of 5.2% of the total length of source. Zone of influence circles is also marked in the seismotectonic map by considering subsurface rupture length of fault associated with these earthquakes. As earthquakes relive strain energy that builds up on faults, it is assumed that all the earthquakes close to damaging earthquake have released the entire strain energy and it would take some time for the rebuilding of strain energy to cause a similar earthquake in the same location/fault. Area free from influence circles has potential for future earthquake, if there is seismogenic source and minor earthquake in the last 20 years. Based on this rupture phenomenon, eight probable locations have been identified and these locations might have the potential for the future earthquakes. Characteristic earthquake moment magnitude (M _w ) of 6.4 is estimated for the seismic study area considering seismic sources close to probable zones and 15% increased regional rupture character. The city is divided into several grid points at spacing of 0.01° and the peak ground acceleration (PGA) due to each probable earthquake is calculated at every grid point in city by using the regional attenuation model. The maximum of all these eight PGAs is taken for each grid point and the final PGA map is arrived. This map is compared to the PGA map developed based on the conventional deterministic seismic hazard analysis (DSHA) approach. The probable future rupture earthquakes gave less PGA than that of DSHA approach. The occurrence of any earthquake may be expected in near future in these eight zones, as these eight places have been experiencing minor earthquakes and are located in well-defined seismogenic sources.     

A study of the seismic response of the city of Benevento (Southern Italy) through a combined analysis of seismological and geological data

A previous analysis [Improta, L., G. Di Giulio, and A. Rovelli (2005). Variations of local seismic response in Benevento (Southern Italy) using earthquakes and ambient noise recordings, J. Seism. 9, 191–210.] of small magnitude earthquakes recorded at 12 sites within the city of Benevento has stressed the significant role played by near-surface geology in causing variability of the ground motion. In this paper, we extend the study of the seismic response from 12 sites to the entire urban area. Based on inferences from the comparison at the 12 sites between earthquake and ambient vibration results, we have collected ambient noise at about 100 sites within the city, intensifying measurements across the main shallow geological variations. We use borehole data to interpret ambient noise H/V spectral ratios in terms of near-surface geology comparing H/V curves to theoretical transfer functions of 1D models along five well-constrained profiles.

On the basis of geological, geotechnical, and seismic data, we identify three main typologies of seismic response in the city. Each type of response is associated to zones sharing common soil conditions and similar soil classes according to building codes for seismic design. Moreover, we find that the spatial variation of the seismic response in the ancient town area is consistent with the damage pattern produced by a very destructive, well-documented historical earthquake that struck the city in 1688, causing MCS intensity of IX–X in Benevento.

Finally, we use ground motions recorded during the experiment by Improta et al. [Improta, L., G. Di Giulio, and A. Rovelli (2005). Variations of local seismic response in Benevento (Southern Italy) using earthquakes and ambient noise recordings, J. Seism. 9, 191–210.] to generate synthetic seismograms of moderate to strong (Mw 5.7, Molise 2002 and Ms 6.9, 1980 Irpinia) earthquakes. We calibrate the random summation technique by Ordaz et al. [Ordaz, M., J. Arboleda, and S.K. Singh (1995). A scheme of random summation of an Empirical Green's Function to estimate ground motions for future large earthquakes, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 85, 1635–1647.] using recordings of these earthquakes available in Benevento. After a satisfactory fit between observed and synthetic seismograms, we compute response spectra at different sites and speculate on effects of the geology class at large level of shaking, including soil nonlinearity. We find that large discrepancies from design spectra prescribed by seismic codes can occur for a wide sector of Benevento, especially for periods < 0.5 s.