Surface wave studies for shear wave velocity and bedrock depth estimation over basalts

Shear wave velocity (V _S) estimation is of paramount importance in earthquake hazard assessment and other geotechnical/geo engineering studies. In our study, the shear wave velocity was estimated from ground roll using multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) technique making use of dispersive characteristics of Rayleigh type surface waves followed by imaging the shallow subsurface basaltic layers in an earthquake-prone region near Jabalpur, India. The reliability of MASW depends on the accurate determination of phase velocities for horizontally traveling fundamental mode Rayleigh waves. Inversion of data from surface waves resulted in a shear wave velocity (V _S) in the range of 200–1,200 m/s covering the top soil to weathering and up to bedrock corresponding to a depth of 10–30 m. The P-wave velocity (V _P) obtained from refraction seismic studies at these locations found to be comparable with V _S at an assumed specific Poisson’s ratio. A pair of selected set of V _S profiles over basalt which did not result in a hazardous situation in an earthquake of moderate magnitude are presented here as a case study; in other words, the shear wave velocity range of more than 200 m/s indicate that the area is highly unlikely prone to liquefaction during a moderate or strong earthquake. The estimated depth to basalt is found to be 10–12 m in both the cases which is also supported by refraction studies.     

Liquefaction Hazard Assessment of Earth Quake Prone Area: a Study Based on Shear Wave Velocity by Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW)

The shear wave velocity (V_S) profile based on the dispersive characteristics of fundamental mode of Rayleigh type surface waves indicate underground stiffness change with depth as well as near surface stiffness. The most important utility of shear wave velocity (V_S) is to estimate the liquefaction hazard potential of an area particularly in seismically active region. Rayleigh type surface waves were utilized to estimate the velocity (V_S) of shallow subsurface covering a depth range of 30–50 m employing multichannel analysis of surface waves. The liquefaction hazard map predicts an approximate percentage of an area that will have surface manifestation of liquefaction during an earth quake. The surface wave data acquired in an earth quake prone region of Jabalpur (Seismic zone III), India, yields a velocity (V_S) range of 200–750 m/s corresponding to the subsurface depth of 30–35 m. The results were analyzed for possible liquefaction hazard in the study area and presented here besides the N values.     

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) for seismic site characterization using 2D genetic algorithm at Bahrah area,Wadi Fatima,Saudi Arabia

The present study deals with the seismic site classification of Bahrah area, Wadi Fatima, to characterize the local site conditions. The dynamic behavior of sediments was studied by the application of surface wave inversion. The multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) shallow geophysical technique was utilized for site classification. MASW survey was carried out at 66 sites along with 13 seismic refraction profiles at suitable localities. MASW and seismic refraction profiles were processed and compared with the available borehole data. The integration of MASW techniques with seismic refraction and borehole data progressively enhanced the subsurface visualization and reliability of the shear wave velocity estimation in the subsurface in the study area. The subsurface shear-wave velocity model was achieved by the solution of an inverse problem-based dispersion of surface waves and propagation in a vertically heterogeneous medium. The 2D genetic algorithm was employed for the inversion of dispersion curves to obtain velocity and thickness of subsurface layers. The depth to engineering bedrock and velocity of shear waves in the first 30 m was deciphered and mapped. The depth of bedrock in study area varies from 4 to 30 m, and V _{S 30} ranges from 320 to 800 m/s. The most of study area falls in B and C class categories in addition to few sites of D class according to the NEHRP guidelines.     

Spatial Distribution of Shear Wave Velocity for Late Quaternary Alluvial Soil of Kanpur City,Northern India

Empirical correlation between standard penetration resistance (SPT-N) and shear wave velocity measured by seismic downhole techniques are prepared of the alluvial soil of quaternary age for the Kanpur city. The Kanpur city is having seismic threat from Himalaya and it falls in seismic zone III according to seismic zones of India. Standard penetration test as well seismic downhole test has been carried out up to 30 m at twelve different locations of Kanpur city. The measured SPT-N values and shear wave velocity values are used to develop empirical correlation between SPT-N and shear wave velocity. The proposed correlations have been compared with the existing regression equations by various other investigators. It is found that the proposed correlation exhibit good performance (10 % error bar). Also the measured shear wave velocity has been used to prepare spatially distributed contour map of 50, 75 and 100 m/s using ArcGIS-9 software. It is observed that the shear wave velocity values for the northern part of Kanpur city vary from 125 to 825 m/s. In southern part, it is varying from 125 to 500 m/s where as in the central part of the city the shear wave velocity varies from 125 to 375 m/s. The eastern part of the city also shows some variation in shear wave velocity which ranges from 250 to 625 m/s. The western part of the city shows the variation of shear wave velocity from ≤125 to 500 m/s. The soil type of the study area are classified as per NEHRP and new Italian O.P.M.C classification system as B, C and D type soil with having site period of 0.1–0.9 s and Poisson’s ratio varying from 0.1 to 0.4.     

Application of MASW in road failure investigation

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) survey was conducted to measure shear wave velocities in order to ascertain the likely causes of road failure along LASU-IBA expressway in Alimosho local government area, Lagos, Nigeria. MASW data were acquired along the express road. The acquired dataset was processed and transformed into two-dimensional structure reflective of depth and surface wave velocity distribution within a depth of investigation using SurfSeis software. The MASW shear wave velocity data were compared to geophysical data that was acquired along the same profile. The comparison was also done with geotechnical data that had been acquired prior to the study some meters away from the study area. The correlation between N values to measured shear wave velocity using MASW was generated. The comparison illustrates the accuracy and consistency of MASW-derived shear wave velocity profiles. We concluded that (1) the low-velocity region that varies between 100 and 250 m/s at surface down to 4 m beneath the surface is characterized by loose/peat materials and may have been responsible for the road failure within the study area; this region depicts a very loose compaction area. (2) The MASW technique is a time–cost-effective tool for obtaining reliable shear wave velocity profiles, and (3) the MASW is particularly attractive in areas that cannot be readily assessed by other geophysical and geotechnical tools.     

Advanced performance in geotechnical engineering using tomography analysis

This paper presents the technique to demonstrate reliable two-dimensional (2-D) tomography of near-surface soil through multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) method. The MASW method is used as seismic method for determining the shear wave velocity profile of near-surface soil with better performance. Normally, this method represents one-dimensional (1-D) soil layer profile to delineate anomalous subsurface materials and detect soil characteristics in geotechnical investigations. Conventionally, the MASW method is able to represent depth corresponding shear wave velocity through 1-D representation. In this paper, this method is improved through representation of depth and distance versus shear wave velocity profile using 2-D tomography analysis in geotechnical investigations. The outcomes of the newly developed method are more reliable and informative in comparison to the outcome of the conventional MASW method. The significance of this research is incorporating advanced tomography technique with MASW method to obtain 2-D tomography of geotechnical characteristics with consistency.     

Geospatial contour mapping of shear wave velocity for Mumbai city

Shear wave velocity is one of the most important input parameter in the analysis of geotechnical earthquake engineering problems, particularly to estimate site-specific amplification factor and ground response study. Dynamic in situ tests such as spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) or multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) are very expensive. Also due to lack of specialized personnel, these tests are generally avoided in many soil investigation programs. Worldwide, several researchers have developed correlations between the SPT ‘N’ value and shear wave velocity ‘V _s’, which are useful for determining the dynamic soil properties. In the present study, more than 400 numbers of soil borehole data were collected from various geotechnical investigation agencies, government engineering institutes and geotechnical laboratories from different parts of Mumbai city, which is financial capital of India with highest population density. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop the correlation between the SPT ‘N’ value and shear wave velocity ‘V _s’ for various soil profile of Mumbai city and compared with other existing correlations for different cities in India. Using Geographical Information System (GIS), a geospatial contour map of shear wave velocity profile for Mumbai city is prepared with contour intervals of 25 and 50 m/s. The scarcity of database or maps of shear wave velocity profile for Mumbai city will make the present geospatial contour maps extremely useful and beneficial to the designer, practitioners for seismic hazard study involved in geotechnical earthquake engineering.     

Determination of shear wave velocity and depth to basement using multichannel analysis of surface wave technique

The dispersive characteristics of Rayleigh type surface waves were utilized to estimate shear wave velocity (Vs) profile followed by imaging the shallow subsurface granitic layers in the heart of Hyderabad. The reliability of Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) depends on the accurate determination of phase velocities for horizontally traveling fundamental mode Rayleigh waves. Multichannel recording leads to effective identification and isolation of various factors of noise. Calculating the 1-D shear wave velocity (Vs) field from surface waves ensures high degree of accuracy irrespective of cultural noise. The main advantage of mapping the bed rock surface with shear wave velocity (Vs) is the insensitivity of MASW to velocity inversion besides being free from many constraints such as contrast in physical properties etc. Modeling of surface waves data results a shear wave velocity (Vs) of 250?C750 m/s covering the top soil to weathering and up to bedrock corresponding to a depth range of 10?C30 m. Further, the computed N values (which is an indicator of site characteristic) based on the harmonic shear wave velocity up to a depth of 5 m is found to be quite high (> 25?C30) well above 5 indicating the site to be safe and strong enough and not prone to liquefaction. A pair of selected set of results over granites are presented here as a case study highlighting the salient features of MASW.     

Estimation of shearwave velocity in drifts using multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) technique — A case study from Jammu & Kashmir,India

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is a non-destructive seismic prospecting method utilizing Rayleigh waves for imaging and characterizing shallow sub-surface structure. Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) studies were conducted in drift areas of two bridge sites in the hilly terrain of J&K for imaging and characterizing shallow sub-surface structure. The purpose of the present study is to estimate the shear wave velocity (V_S) and subsurface structure in four drifts made in a hilly terrain for construction of two bridges. Rayleigh waves are having dispersive properties, travelling along or near the ground surface and are usually characterized by relatively low velocity, low frequency, and high amplitude. The study area comprises of Tertiary group of rocks which are underlain by Siwalik group. The main rock type in the study area is dolomite which has undergone various geological processes like weathering, jointing, fracturing and shearing. MASW data was collected inside four drifts in the mountainous terrain of J&K state which are located on either sides of Chenab river. The data was analyzed by relevant processing software using dispersion and inversion technique. Shear wave velocities were estimated up to 30 m depth. Average shear wave velocity (V_S ³⁰) up to top 30m was also computed. It is observed that, V_S in the range 400–800 m/s upto 10–15 m corresponding to weathered rock, followed by compact dolomite rock up to the depth of about 30 m with V_S in the range 1200–1600 m/s. Some low velocity zones are also identified from these sections which represent shear zones.     

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.     

Pseudo-dynamic approach of seismic active earth pressure behind retaining wall

Knowledge of seismic active earth pressure behind rigid retaining wall is very important in the design of retaining wall in earthquake prone region. Commonly used Mononobe-Okabe method considers pseudo-static approach, which gives the linear distribution of seismic earth pressure in an approximate way. In this paper, the pseudo-dynamic method is used to compute the distribution of seismic active earth pressure on a rigid retaining wall supporting cohesionless backfill in more realistic manner by considering time and phase difference within the backfill. Planar rupture surface is considered in the analysis. Effects of a wide range of parameters like wall friction angle, soil friction angle, shear wave velocity, primary wave velocity and horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations on seismic active earth pressure have been studied. Results are provided in tabular and graphical non-dimensional form with a comparison to pseudo-static method to highlight the realistic non-linearity of seismic active earth pressures distribution.     

Factors controlling building susceptibility to earthquakes: 14-year recordings of Islamic archaeological sites in Old Cairo,Egypt: a case study

Cairo City has a large number and different forms of Islamic archaeological sites, in particular, at El-Gammalia and El-Moez streets, as well as Coptic archaeological sites, e.g. at Mari Gergis. Human interference and activities at these historical areas resulted in flooding such sites’ foundations with domestic water, deteriorating its basal courses by salt weathering. The 1992 earthquake is another natural environmental hazard severely affecting many of these sites. The aim of the current study is to examine some factors (of bedrock and buildings) that are expected to control building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes by taking 38 Islamic archaeological sites in the El-Gammalia area as a representative case study. Detailed field recordings of site damage category before and after the quake and continued recording of damage features generated by the 1992 quake over the last 14 years, measuring depth to sub-surface water, measuring buildings’ height before the quake and bedrock sampling at these sites for geotechnical investigations were all considered for achieving this aim. The data has been processed mathematically and graphically (using the Excel package) to examine the main factors responsible for building susceptibility to damage by earthquakes. The selected archaeological sites give an excellent representation of the factors controlling building susceptibility to damage by quakes; it is found that the sites with heights (before the quake) ranging from 12 to 14 m are the most affected ones; the sites with the highest damage category before the quake were more susceptible to more damage by the quake; the sites that had been built on alluvium soil were more affected than those built on the Eocene limestone. The age of these sites has, to a small extent, indirect control on sites’ susceptibility to damage by the quake, particularly in parts flooded with domestic water (i.e. affected by salt weathering). The depth to sub-surface water is an effective parameter on sites’ basal courses (through salt weathering), which, indirectly, control a building’s susceptibility to quakes, particularly where the depth of water ranges from 0.6 to 1.6 m in alluvium bedrock. The alluvium soil at the study area has a liquid limit ranging from 62% to 82%, plastic limit from 37% to 86% and plasticity index from 26% to 46% and free swelling from 27% to 81%. These geotechnical limits for such alluvium bedrock indicate that its clay minerals are mostly montmorrillonite.     

Efficiency of seismic attributes in detecting near-surface cavities

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of using seismic attributes to detect near-surface cavities. The methods used in this study include interpreting dispersion curves and amplitude mapping of the multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) technique and interpreting the delay in first arrivals of compressional waves. To test these methods, a seismic survey was conducted above a known near-surface cavity in Al-Suman Area, Saudi Arabia. The cause of the cavity is carbonization in the area; there are many cavities similar to this one. The seismic data were collected using a seismograph system with 48 vertical geophones. Both techniques show a tangible result for detecting the cavity. The 2D section of shear wave velocity, which was obtained by inverting the dispersion curves from the MASW technique, leads us to determine the shape of the cavity, as described by a low-velocity zone. Frequency against relative offset is plotted and shows a significant frequency drop in the presence of the cavity, which also provides an indication to the presence of cavity underneath. This interpretation is matched by the interpretation of observed delays in first arrivals of compressional waves. The integration of both P wave seismic refraction and MASW gives confidence in the result and matches observations of the existing cavity closely.     

Verification of a new method for evaluation of liquefaction potential analysis

The seismic response of existing earth dams in Iran is important after an earthquake both to provide emergency supplies and to society as well as to ensure structural safety in engineering terms. Better seismic capacity of earth dam results in less structural damage and reduced impacts following an earthquake disaster. Indirect as well as direct costs following earthquakes have gained much attention from both the engineering and socioec onomic research communities in the last few decades. This study is a valuable tool used to study the response of geotechnical structures to infrequent or extreme events such as earthquakes. The Avaj earthquake (2002, Iran) was applied to a series of model tests which was conducted to study the response of soil profiles under seismic loading. The acceleration records at different locations within the soil bed and at its surface along with the settlement records at the surface were used to analyze the soil seismic response. A combination of several software packages with a generated visual user interface computer code by authors named as “Abbas Converter” were employed to evaluate the variation of shear modulus and damping ratio with shear strain amplitude to assess their effects on site response. The proposed method was applied to the Korzan earth dam of Hamedan province in Iran. Site response analysis using the measured shear wave velocity, estimated modulus reduction, and damping ratio as input parameters produced good agreement with the computed site response in this study.     

Seismic microzonation for Penang using geospatial contour mapping

Shear wave velocity (V _s) and the fundamental site period of the subsurface condition are the primary parameters that affect seismic soil amplification in particular sites. Within the topmost layer of the soil, which measures 30 m, the average shear wave velocity V _s30 is commonly used to build codes for site classification for the design of earthquake-resistant structures and to conduct microzonation studies. In this study, the development of a microzonation map for V _s30 distribution, National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program V _s30 site classification, and a fundamental site period for Penang are presented. The multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) test was conducted for more than 50 sites with available borehole data to develop the microzonation maps. The ten selected V _s profiles measured by MASW show a good correlation with the data obtained using empirical correlations in a previous study. The highest V _s values were identified at the northeastern and southeastern parts of Penang Island, corresponding to the shallow bedrock and the outcrop zone. Conversely, the lowest V _s values were found in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the Penang mainland owing to the thick layer of soft clay and silt deposits. The site period map shows the variation in site periods, with the highest value of 1.03 s at the western part of the Penang mainland and the lowest value of 0.02 s at the eastern part of the Penang Island. The microzonation maps developed in this study are vital to studies on seismic hazard and earthquake mitigation programs in Malaysia.     

Liquefaction potential evaluation of the quaternary alluvium, Western Ankara (Turkey)

Liquefaction of the soils is a major problem during and after earthquakes, and can lead to severe damage. A wide range of experience in dealing with natural hazards was gained in the capital city of Ankara after several earthquakes occured in Kaman (1938), Gerede (1944), and Duzce (1999), and in later events. The recent findings after the Orta (2000) and Bala (2005, 2007) earthquakes proved that Ankara should not be designated as a nonseismic hazard zone, as it has been previously. The Quaternary age alluvium is located in the nearby suburbs of Etimesgut, Macunkoy, Cuglu, Avdan, and Kazan. A high density of population and structures is spread over this alluvium, which contains a high percentage of cohesive soils associated with sand and gravel lenses. The depths of the groundwater level ranges between 6.0 and 8.0?m in west Etimesgut, 3.0?m in Macunkoy, 5.0 to 7.0?C8.0?m in Cuglu/Avdan, and 4.5?C7.0?m in southern Kazan. The average S wave velocities of the alluvium derived from the ReMi were 140?m/s in Etimesgut, 200?m/s in Macunkoy, 134?m/s in Cuglu/Avdan, and 200?m/s in Kazan, respectively. Liquefaction evaluation is conducted by standard penetration blow count, shear wave velocity, and threshold acceleration. Varying horizontal accelerations of the input motions in the soil stratigraphy were generated via the Quad4m program. Geotechnical investigation and proper soil improvement should be carried out in order to prevent structural damage.     

从地震层析速度确定原位岩土力学参数

地震纵横波层析成像速度与岩土弹性力学参数有关,多道面波分析（MASW）采用类似二维反射地震处理,得到共中点互相关道集（CMPCC）提取面波频散曲线,由面波频散曲线反演二维速度结构,在岩土结构分层等方面有良好的效果。通过同一剖面的折射地震波层析成像得到纵波速度结构,对岩土层的动弹模量和泊松比等力学参数进行分析,为下一步地质工程设计及岩土力学试验提供参考。     

Exploration of an alluvial aquifer in Oman by time-domain electromagnetic sounding

 One-third of the population of Oman depends upon groundwater extracted from the alluvium of the Batinah Plain, on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. Deep geophysical exploration techniques were used to determine the depth and nature of the alluvium and the boundaries of the aquifer. The base and structural controls of the alluvial basin at its contact with Tertiary marine sediments and Cretaceous ophiolite were mapped with seismic reflection data, recorded originally for oil exploration. The base of the alluvium dips northward from the foothills of the Northern Oman Mountains, reaching a maximum depth of 2000 m at the coast. The varying facies of the alluvium are grossly characterised by different, overlapping ranges of electrical resistivity, depending largely on the clay content and degree of cementation. Resistivities near the coast are reduced by saline intrusion. These variations of resistivity were mapped with time-domain electromagnetic sounding along 400 km of profile, to distinguish among the three zones of the alluvial aquifer. The wedge of saline intrusion was also delineated, up to 10 km from the coast. The thickness of the saturated gravel aquifer ranges from 20–160 m in an area greater than 600 km². Received, April 1997 · Revised, January 1998 · Accepted, April 1998     

Seismic microzonation of Bangalore,India

In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the seismic hazard considering local site effects by carrying out detailed geotechnical and geophysical site characterization in Bangalore, India to develop microzonation maps. An area of 220 km², encompassing Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has been chosen as the study area. Seismic hazard analysis and microzonation of Bangalore are addressed in three parts: in the first part, estimation of seismic hazard is done using seismotectonic and geological information. Second part deals with site characterization using geotechnical and shallow geophysical techniques. In the last part, local site effects are assessed by carrying out one-dimensional (1-D) ground response analysis (using the program SHAKE2000) using both standard penetration test (SPT) data and shear wave velocity data from multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) survey. Further, field experiments using microtremor studies have also been carried out for evaluation of predominant frequency of the soil columns. The same has been assessed using 1-D ground response analysis and compared with microtremor results. Further, the Seed and Idriss simplified approach has been adopted to evaluate the soil liquefaction susceptibility and liquefaction resistance assessment. Microzonation maps have been prepared with a scale of 1:20,000. The detailed methodology, along with experimental details, collated data, results and maps are presented in this paper.     

Research of reservoir watershed fine zoning and flood forecasting method

In the present study, a set of correlation relations between standard penetrations tests (SPT-N values) and shear wave velocity (Vs) for different categories of soils is developed for Dholera region, Gujarat state, Western India. Shear wave velocities were measured using multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW at 42 sites) and by PS logging (at 16 sites). SPT-N values were taken in total 87 geotechnical boreholes at depth interval of 3 m. Seismic site classification is done as per National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program of the USA. Total 336 pairs of SPT-N values and Vs data at different depths are used to develop the regression correlation between uncorrected SPT-N value and Vs and compared with the results of other workers from India and worldwide for all soils type. It is found that regression correlations developed for clay and all soils are almost similar to each other, for sand, the coefficient value is less and for silt, it is higher. The new regression equation gives good prediction performance. The present correlation can be used for the seismic hazard study for the study area and also for the other areas having similar soil strata using a process of validation.