The opening of the Bay of Biscay - a review

The anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian Peninsula away from south Brittany during the Mesozoic has been demonstrated from palaeomagnetic data. Marine magnetic, seismic and gravity surveys have indicated that there is oceanic crust in the Bay of Biscay. Initial rifting began in the Triassic but the major part of the rotation of the Iberian Peninsula occurred during the Late Cretaceous. Two mechanisms for the opening of the Bay of Biscay have been proposed, firstly a simple anticlockwise rotation of the Iberian plate and secondly, a 350 km sinistral displacement of the Iberian plate along transform faults about a pole of rotation near Paris. Geological data, partly new, favours the first mechanism but with a pole of rotation approximately 100 km east of the west end of the Pyrenees rather than in the southeast corner of the Bay of Biscay. Geophysical data indicates a further small rotation of the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Eocene which resulted in the formation of the Pyrenees.     

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.     

HVSR estimation of site effects in Melilla (Spain) and the damage pattern from the 01/25/2016 Mw 6.3 Alborán Sea earthquake

The January 25, 2016, Mw 6.3 Alborán Sea earthquake shook the autonomous city of Melilla (Spain) with a macro-seismic intensity of VI (EMS-98). In spite of this low intensity, significant non-structural damages were reported, whose cost was estimated in more than 13 million euros. The damages were concentrated in the modernist district, which is considered the most important and valuable part of the city. This scenario is not new in Melilla, since historical and instrumental seismicity studies based on intensities felt in Melilla have revealed that earthquakes with intensities of V–VI have a return period of approximately 25 years. However, seismic microzonation studies have not been carried out so far. In this paper, we present a seismic microzonation study based on seismic noise measurements and the foreshock, mainshock and aftershock records of the January 25, 2016, earthquake. The seismic signals were processed using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique. The frequency amplification results were correlated with geological formations, and after that they were correlated with the distribution of damages. The lagoon and the recent alluvial deposits show the maximum number of damaged buildings and maximum frequency amplifications of 2–8 between 2 and 7 Hz. In the coastal deposits, some amplification in the same frequency range has been observed, but other formations show a minimum number of damaged buildings and a flat spectral response ratio. Two important factors in this damage pattern are the high vulnerability of ornamental facades characteristics (non-structural elements) of the modern architecture buildings and their location on the lagoon and the recent alluvial deposits where maximum site amplification is reached.     

HVSR estimation of site effects in Melilla (Spain) and the damage pattern from the 01/25/2016 Mw 6.3 Alborán Sea earthquake

The January 25, 2016, Mw 6.3 Alborán Sea earthquake shook the autonomous city of Melilla (Spain) with a macro-seismic intensity of VI (EMS-98). In spite of this low intensity, significant non-structural damages were reported, whose cost was estimated in more than 13 million euros. The damages were concentrated in the modernist district, which is considered the most important and valuable part of the city. This scenario is not new in Melilla, since historical and instrumental seismicity studies based on intensities felt in Melilla have revealed that earthquakes with intensities of V–VI have a return period of approximately 25 years. However, seismic microzonation studies have not been carried out so far. In this paper, we present a seismic microzonation study based on seismic noise measurements and the foreshock, mainshock and aftershock records of the January 25, 2016, earthquake. The seismic signals were processed using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique. The frequency amplification results were correlated with geological formations, and after that they were correlated with the distribution of damages. The lagoon and the recent alluvial deposits show the maximum number of damaged buildings and maximum frequency amplifications of 2–8 between 2 and 7 Hz. In the coastal deposits, some amplification in the same frequency range has been observed, but other formations show a minimum number of damaged buildings and a flat spectral response ratio. Two important factors in this damage pattern are the high vulnerability of ornamental facades characteristics (non-structural elements) of the modern architecture buildings and their location on the lagoon and the recent alluvial deposits where maximum site amplification is reached.

     

Local site effect of a clay site in Shiraz based on seismic hazard of Shiraz Plain

Propagation of seismic waves through soil layers would drastically change the frequency content and amplitude-based features of ground motions at the surface. These alterations are known as seismic site effects. Computation of site effects of high-populated areas such as large cities is of great importance (e.g., it is used in development of seismic microzonation of a region). Shiraz is one of the most populous cities of Iran and is located in a high seismic hazardous region. A representative clay site in this city is selected to assess local site effects. The time series and random vibration theory procedure in the frequency domain are implemented to analyze the aforementioned site. Furthermore, the nonlinear dynamic soil behavior is simulated by the equivalent linear method and the nonlinear method via DEEPSOIL program. Three types of soil column uncertainties such as shear wave velocity, modulus reduction, and damping ratio of soil layers as well as depth of underlying rock half-space (D _bed) are considered herein. The mean amplification and standard deviation of natural logarithm of amplification factors are computed for a variety of analysis types. The results of the current study show that the computed mean and standard deviation of amplification factor in ln units by considering only V _S uncertainty are in good agreement with the corresponding ones by considering V _S and modulus reduction and damping ratio variabilities simultaneously for the studied site. Furthermore, it seems that the effect of bedrock depth in definition of spectral shapes of the Iranian seismic building code should be taken into account.     

A BEM investigation on the influence of underground cavities on the seismic response of canyons

Two-dimensional site effects caused by cavities under topographical functions can considerably impact the seismic reaction of the ground surface. Due to the complexity of scattering issues by topographical features above subterranean cavity, few studies have been done in this field. In the present study, the seismic response of semi-sine-shaped canyons above a subterranean cavity (hole) of different dimensions, depths and locations is examined. The medium is assumed to have a linear elastic constitutive behavior exposed to vertically propagating incident SV and P waves. All calculations are performed using the direct boundary element technique in the time domain. It is observed that a cavity below a canyon can considerably change the ground response of the surface in different periodic bands. The seismic interaction between canyon and cavity with respect to various geometrical parameters will lead to different amplification patterns in the center and edge of the canyon. One of the most important results is the increase in amplification of long periods compared with the case of a canyon without cavity. Moreover, parametric research shows the fact that the cavity detail and canyon height, the ratio of cavity to the canyon size and cavity location impact on the seismic amplification of the canyon surface. Finally, spectral amplification coefficients of the canyon surface led by the cavity are reported for different cases of the canyon–cavity interaction.     

康定MS6.3级地震斜坡地震动响应监测分析

芦山MS7.0地震、鲁甸MS6.5地震诱发了大量的次生山地灾害,一些学者认为地形放大效应是其中的一个影响因素,但目前斜坡地震动响应研究仍然缺乏大量的实测数据支撑。通过在冷竹关两岸斜坡不同部位掘进平硐并放置强震监测仪器的方法,对沟谷两岸斜坡地震动响应特征进行研究,剖面较为完整地记录了康定地震两岸斜坡的地震动响应特征。监测数据揭示,(1)相对于康定姑咱参考站,位于右岸半岛状凸出山梁顶部1#监测点的水平和竖直向PGA放大系数分别达到了10.6～11.5、7.1,阿里亚斯强度最大,水平东西向比竖直向HVSR频比值达到11.1,卓越周期在低频部分;位于右岸山梁中部2#监测点水平和竖直向PGA放大系数分别达到了4.3～5.0、2.3;(2)左岸地形坡面起伏较小,记录的峰值加速度较小,仅在坡折部位5#监测点有明显的放大,水平与垂直峰值加速度放大系数分别为3.0～4.5、2.3,各监测点频比存在多个卓越周期,其放大效应在高频段更突出;(3)近直线型斜坡内(6#及7#监测点)放大效应相对较弱,且监测洞外侧放大系数大于水平深度较大的内侧。结果表明冷竹关两岸斜坡存在明显的地形放大效应,且右岸半岛状凸出山脊地形较左岸中高山斜坡地形放大效应显著。对比芦山地震该剖面放大系数,揭示了背坡面效应。     

On the amplitudes of correlations and the inference of attenuations,specific intensities and site factors from ambient noise

While techniques for retrieval of seismic velocities from wavelet arrival times in ambient noise correlations are now well established, interpretation of wavelet amplitudes remains unsatisfactory. It is clear that such amplitudes contain information on seismic attenuation, but they are also affected by ambient noise intensity, site amplification, and any nonlinear preprocessing that may have been applied to the noise signals. Disentangling these many factors in order to reliably recover seismic attenuation is challenging. It is argued here that noise intensity, while rarely isotropic or homogeneous, may nevertheless be modeled by a radiative transfer equation. It is then shown that this recognition sufficiently constrains the noise intensity that we may hope to fit measured correlation amplitudes to models for spatially varying attenuation and site amplification factors. One-bit preprocessing, it is shown, is not compatible with such fits except in the special case of spatially constant noise intensity. An alternative procedure for accelerating convergence is suggested. Numerical simulations for a case of homogeneous attenuation and homogeneous seismic velocity are presented in support of the assertions. Attenuation, site factors, and noise intensity are successfully retrieved from correlations of numerically simulated imperfectly diffuse waves measured on a linear array of sensors.     

The Gibraltar Arc seismogenic zone (part 2): Constraints on a shallow east dipping fault plane source for the 1755 Lisbon earthquake provided by tsunami modeling and seismic intensity

The Great Lisbon earthquake has the largest documented felt area of any shallow earthquake and an estimated magnitude of 8.5–9.0. The associated tsunami ravaged the coast of SW Portugal and the Gulf of Cadiz, with run-up heights reported to have reached 5–15 m. While several source regions offshore SW Portugal have been proposed (e.g.— Gorringe Bank, Marquis de Pombal fault), no single source appears to be able to account for the great seismic moment as well as all the historical tsunami amplitude and travel time observations. A shallow east dipping fault plane beneath the Gulf of Cadiz associated with active subduction beneath Gibraltar, represents a candidate source for the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.Here we consider the fault parameters implied by this hypothesis, with respect to total slip, seismic moment, and recurrence interval to test the viability of this source. The geometry of the seismogenic zone is obtained from deep crustal studies and can be represented by an east dipping fault plane with mean dimensions of 180 km (N–S) × 210 km (E–W). For 10 m of co-seismic slip an Mw 8.64 event results and for 20 m of slip an Mw 8.8 earthquake is generated. Thus, for convergence rates of about 1 cm/yr, an event of this magnitude could occur every 1000–2000 years. Available kinematic and sedimentological data are in general agreement with such a recurrence interval. Tsunami wave form modeling indicates a subduction source in the Gulf of Cadiz can partly satisfy the historical observations with respect to wave amplitudes and arrival times, though discrepancies remain for some stations. A macroseismic analysis is performed using site effect functions calculated from isoseismals observed during instrumentally recorded strong earthquakes in the region (M7.9 1969 and M6.8 1964). The resulting synthetic isoseismals for the 1755 event suggest a subduction source, possibly in combination with an additional source at the NW corner of the Gulf of Cadiz can satisfactorily explain the historically observed seismic intensities. Further studies are needed to sample the turbidites in the adjacent abyssal plains to better document the source region and more precisely calibrate the chronology of great earthquakes in this region.     

Seismic reflectivity of detachment faults of the Iberian and Tethyan distal continental margins based on geological and petrophysical data

Low-angle detachment faults are key to our understanding of the tectonic evolution of magma-poor rifted continental margins. In seismic images of present-day rifted margins the identification and interpretation of such features is, however, notoriously difficult and ambiguous. We address this problem by studying the structure and seismic response of such faults through a synoptic interpretation of petrophysical data and geological evidence from the distal segments of the present-day West Iberian and the ancient Tethyan margins. On the basis of the geologically well-constrained remnants of the Tethyan margins, which are spectacularly preserved and exposed in the Alps of Eastern Switzerland, vertical profiles at four key geological settings of a typical magma-poor rifted margin are constructed and their synthetic seismic responses are compared to the observed seismic data from corresponding locations in the present-day Iberian margin. The seismic structure of these profiles is considered as the sum of deterministic large-scale and the stochastic small-scale components. Both components are analyzed for all pertinent lithologies. The large-scale structures are derived from laboratory measurements on samples from both, the West Iberian and Tethyan margins, whereas the small-scale fluctuations are constrained predominantly on the basis of well-log data from the Iberian margin. Different realizations of the simulated stochastic small-scale velocity fluctuations illustrate the potential variability of impedance contrasts and its impact on the seismic response from lithological interfaces and fault structures. Our results indicate that the nature of the seismic response from low-angle detachment faults is largely determined through the fracture-healing behavior of the surrounding rocks. Geological evidence from the exposed fragments of the Tethyan margins indicate that fracture-healing is generally well developed in crustal lithologies, but largely absent in mantle lithologies. It is for this reason that low-angle, intra-crustal detachment faults tend to be seismically undetectable. Conversely, crust–mantle detachments have a complex and variable seismic response, depending on the nature of the damaged zone and on the frequency content of the seismic data. These model-based inferences are consistent with the available evidence from the present-day Iberian passive margin and thus open new perspectives for the interpretation of the corresponding seismic images.     

The catastrophic 1883 earthquake at the island of Ischia (southern Italy): macroseismic data and the role of geological conditions

This article presents the results of a detailed study of the effects of the 1883 earthquake, which occurred at the island of Ischia (Gulf of Naples) and produced the total destruction of buildings in the epicentral area (Casamicciola town). Despite the moderate magnitude, this event was characterised by very high intensities (I _max = XI degree MCS) mainly due to the shallow depth of the source. The study of the earthquake shows that the intensities, which decreased rapidly with distance, were affected by source directivity, according to the causative fault geometry and tectonic structures, while local amplification of damage was observed where soft soils outcrop. The attenuation of seismic intensity with distance was evaluated using the well-known relation of intensity versus epicentral distance (Blake’s method). The diverse gradients of attenuation, observed in different directions, were ascribed to the various geological features of the shallow crust of the island. In order to evaluate the role of geology in the damage level, we computed different attenuation models for stiff and soft soils outcropping on the island. A systematic local amplification of about 1 MCS degree associated to the presence of reworked tuffs was obtained. This study also shows the influence of geological conditions on the evaluation of macroseismic data and supplies useful elements to derive a predictive map of potential site effects.     

Influence of seismic acceleration on landslide susceptibility maps: a case study from NE Turkey (the Kelkit Valley)

Particularly in the last decade, landslide susceptibility and hazard maps have been used for urban planning and site selection of infrastructures. Most of the procedures for preparing of landslide susceptibility maps need high-quality landslide inventory map. Although the rainfall and seismic activities are accepted as triggering factor for landslides, designation of the triggering factor for each landslide in the inventory is almost impossible when well-documented records are unavailable. Therefore, during preparation of landslide susceptibility map, whole landslide records in the inventory map are used together without classifying based on the triggering factors. Although seismic activity is accepted as a triggering factor, possible effect of the use of seismic activity on production of landslide susceptibility map was investigated in this study, and the subject is open to discussion. For this purpose, a series of stability analyses based on circular failure and infinite slope model were performed considering different pseudostatic conditions. The results of analyses show that gentle slopes have higher susceptibility to failure than steeper ones, even if their stability conditions (susceptibilities) are similar for static condition. The seismic forces acting on failure surfaces may not be sufficiently taken into consideration in the conventionally prepared landslide susceptibility maps. Employing the general decreasing trend in stability condition based on slope face angle and the seismic acceleration, a new procedure was introduced for preparing of the landslide susceptibility map for a scenario earthquake. The prediction performance of occurring landslides increased after the procedure was applied to the conventionally prepared landslide susceptibility map. According to the threshold independent spatial performance analyses of the proposed methodology and the produced landslide susceptibility maps, the area under ROC curve values were calculated as 0.801, 0.933, and 0.947 for the maps prepared by considering conventional method and scenario earthquakes having M _w values of 5.5 and 7.5, respectively.     

Hazard mapping based on macroseismic data considering the influence of geological conditions

The object of this study is to consider directly the influence of regional geological conditions on the assessment of seismic hazard. It is assumed that macroseismic data at individual locations contain, in an average way, the influence of geological conditions.A Data Base referring to 199 historical (5) and instrumental (194, in the 1947–1993 period) events with macroseismic information in 1195 locations of Portugal was built. For any given seismic event, whenever macroseismic information was available at a location (town, village, etc.), an EMS-92 intensity value was estimated. To each one of those locations a geological unit, representing the most common type of soil, was assigned, based on the Geological Portuguese Map at a scale 1:500 000; the geological units were grouped into three categories: soft, intermediate and hard soils.The Data Base was used to determine the attenuation laws in terms of macroseismic intensity for the three different geological site conditions, using multiple linear regression analysis. The reasonability of the laws was tested by (i) checking residual distributions and (ii) comparing the map of isoseismals of important earthquakes with the isoseismals generated by the attenuation curves derived for each one of the three different soil classes, taking into consideration the soil class of each site. The main results of attenuation modeling are: high dispersion on macroseismic intensity data; all the models predict intensity values, for short hypocentral distances, lower than the ones observed; and for some important analyzed earthquakes and for the observed range of distances, the models confirm the expectancy that macroseismic intensity increases from hard to soft soil.The approach to obtain the hazard assessment at each location consisted in the use of the attenuation law specifically derived for the class of soil of that particular location. This method, which considers the influence of the regional geology, was illustrated with the mapping of hazard for the country for several return periods. Comparison with previous maps not taking into consideration the regional geological conditions emphasizes the importance of this new parameter. It can be concluded that (i) soil segmentation is clearly the cause for hazard increase in the region to the north of Lisbon, especially at sites with soft and intermediate soils as the ones in lower Tagus valley; the maximum increase on hazard is, in any case, less than one degree; (ii) when geological conditions are disregarded in the attenuation regression analysis, hazard pattern is similar to the one obtained for the case of hard soil everywhere.     

考虑场地效应的高陡岩质斜坡地震失稳机制

以金沙江乌东德水电站右岸的鸡冠山梁子高陡斜坡为典型实例,在斜坡表层地震动监测基础上,通过在斜坡弹性模型底部分别输入水平、竖向Ricker子波,发现：斜坡顶部低模量岩体材料在水平Rick子波激励下,易产生放大效应;而当输入竖向Rick子波时,易在模型表层地形凸起部位产生共振放大,其顶面表层卓越频率也与现场实测值基本一致。其次,对比分析了在分别输入汶川八角什邡加速度记录、典型鲁甸地震加速度记录时的斜坡弹塑性模型的稳定性和动力响应特征,发现：（1）斜坡在静力条件下可能存在3种不同位置潜在滑面,但输入两种地震波后,变形破坏区仅发生在顶部滑面位置;（2）输入汶川地震波时,斜坡顶部滑面剪应变增量明显大于输入鲁甸地震波时对应值,且前者的滑面出现明显整体拉破坏区,滑面上部水平、竖向残余变形也不收敛,处于震后斜坡失稳状态。后者滑面底部无明显的拉破坏区,滑面上部残余变形收敛,处于震后斜坡稳定状态;（3）斜坡水平、竖向加速度都在斜坡顶部低模量材料表层出现明显的放大现象,场地效应明显。此外,表层加速度普遍大于斜坡内部相应值,尤其是地形凸起位置。输入汶川地震波时斜坡顶部水平向加速度放大系数大于鲁甸地震波相应值,但竖向加速度放大系数两者基本一致。     

Dangerous ice phenomena on the lowland rivers of European Russia

The site amplification functions at 48 sites of NCR have been estimated in this study using the waveforms of locally recorded 23 earthquakes. Due to the absence of a suitable reference site in the region, the widely used horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique has been used for this purpose. The maps showing the spatial distribution of predominant frequencies and the site amplifications at different frequencies corresponding to the natural frequencies of the different-storey buildings have been presented. The predominant frequencies in general are found to be in the range 2.5–7.5 Hz with an average of 4.4 Hz for the region having older alluvium sediments and in the range 1.1–6.4 Hz with an average of 3.3 Hz for the region with the younger alluvium deposits. The average value of the site amplifications for the frequency band 3.0–10.0 Hz is in the range 2.0–5.3 for the sites with significant soil cover, while the spectral amplification corresponding to the predominant frequency varies from 2.5 to 7.5 at most of the sites. The spectral amplification level lies in the range 2.0–3.0 for the sites with less or no sediment cover. The spectral amplification levels presented for the different-storey buildings may be used for the mitigation of seismic hazard in the region. The estimated site amplification functions may be used in the simulation of the site-specific strong ground motions and therefore useful for the evaluation of seismic hazard of a region.     

Evidence of Amplification Effects in Fault Zone Related to Rock Mass Jointing

Results of geological, geomechanical and seismometric investigations aiming at the analysis of the seismic response in a carbonate ridge of the Nera River valley (Central Apennines – Italy) are discussed. Geological and geomechanical surveys were aimed at defining the stratigraphic and structural setting of the outcropping formations and the jointing conditions of the rock mass. Velocimetric records of both ambient noise and small-magnitude earthquakes were analysed in order to identify amplification conditions. The analysis was carried out in the time domain, through directional energy evaluation, and in the frequency domain, through H/V spectral ratios and spectral ratios with respect to a reference station. A local amplification factor was estimated from Housner intensity. The study revealed a significant seismic amplification in a fault zone. This effect was observed in intensely jointed and mylonitic rock masses, located inside moderately jointed rock masses, and is the result of specific geometries and significant impedance contrasts. A map of fault zones prone to amplification of ground motion was constructed, taking into account the jointing conditions of the rock masses and the structural setting of the investigated ridge. The study relied on an integrated methodological approach, which combined the available data under union and intersection criteria.     

Shear-wave velocity structure of the south-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula from Rayleigh wave analysis

In this study, we present the lithospheric structure of the south-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula by means of a set of 2D images of shear velocity, for depths ranging from 0 to 50 km. This goal will be attained by means of the inversion of the Rayleigh wave dispersion. For it, the traces of 25 earthquakes occurred on the neighbouring of the study area, from 2001 to 2003, will be considered. These earthquakes have been registered by 11 broadband stations located on Iberia. All seismic events have been grouped in source zones to get an average dispersion curve for each source-station path. The dispersion curves have been measured for periods between 2 and 45 s, by combination of two digital filtering techniques: Multiple Filter Technique and Time Variable Filtering. The resulting set of source-station averaged dispersion curves has been inverted according to the generalized inversion theory, to get S-wave velocity models for each source-station path. Later, these models have been interpolated using the method of kriging, to obtain a 2D mapping of the S-wave velocity structure for the south-eastern part of Iberia. The results presented in this paper show that the techniques used here are a powerful tool to investigate the crust and upper mantle structure, through the dispersion analysis and its inversion to obtain shear velocity distributions with depth. By means of this analysis, principal structural features of the south-eastern part of Iberia, such as the existence of lateral and vertical heterogeneity in the whole study area, or the location of the Moho discontinuity at 30 km of depth (with an average S-velocity of uppermost mantle of 4.7 km/s), have been revealed. Other important structural features revealed by this analysis have been that the uppermost of Iberian massif shows higher velocity values than the uppermost of the Alpine domain, indicating that the massif is old and tectonically stable. The average velocity of the crust in Betic cordillera is of 3.5 km/s, while in the Iberian massif is 3.7 km/s. All these features are in agreement with the geology and other previous geophysical studies.     

Crustal structure in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula

Seismic investigations to determine the crustal structure in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula have been initiated in 1970. First experiments were carried out during July 1970, when a series of ten shots was fired off Cabo de Sines (Portugal) in shallow water and recorded up to distances of 185 km along a SE-profile towards Huelva (Spain). The profile was reversed in December 1970, when a series of twelve shots was fired off the south coast near Fuzeta (east of Faro) and recorded up to distances of about 260 km along a NW-profile towards Cabo da Roca west of Lisboa. A considerable increase in the seismic efficiency of the explosions could be achieved by generating standing waves in the water.

The structure deduced exhibits some peculiar features. Below the Palaeozoic sediments a fairly high velocity of 6.4 km/sec is found for the dome-shaped basement in that area. The lower crust, which is separated from the upper crust by a distinct velocity inversion (with a minimum velocity of about 5.3–5.6 km/sec), is characterized by a velocity of 7.1 km/sec. From the geological evidence and the sequence of seismic velocities it must be concluded that the upper crustal block in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula has been uplifted by about 2–5 km since Permo-Triassic time, thus emphasizing the significance of vertical movement in tectonic activity.

The top of the upper mantle (8.15 km/sec) was detected at a depth of 30 km close to the Atlantic coast in the west, while near the Algarve coast in the south the depth to the M-discontinuity is about 34–35 km. This result in conjunction with studies of earthquake focal mechanisms confirms the suggestion that the Iberian block is being underthrust under the African plate.     

A newly dated Cretaceous hydrothermal event in the Iberian Ranges (Eastern Spain) and its significance within the Mesozoic thermal history in the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula hosts the world-class Hg mining district of Almadén. Besides pre-Hercynian ore bodies, alpine-cycle Hg-bearing veins are also present in the eastern Iberian Ranges (Espadán deposits). We present both the first absolute ages (84±4 and 85±3 Ma) for a post-Hercynian Hg deposit in Spain, obtained from primary muscovites, and a complete compilation of published Mesozoic radiometric absolute ages of the Iberian Peninsula. We deduce that there are three main thermal episodes that affected the Iberian Peninsula, which have been revealed after the comparison among the magmatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal ages. Moreover, the Espadán hydrothermal system was active when both the Cretaceous alkalic magmatism took place in Southern Portugal and in the Pyrenees, and during the opening of the Bay of Biscay.     

GIS-based multi-criteria earthquake hazards evaluation using analytic hierarchy process for a nuclear power plant site,west Alexandria,Egypt

Nuclear power plants are designed to prevent the hazardous effects of the earthquakes and any external events to keep the safety of the plant. Ninety-one shallow seismic refraction profiles were performed to determine shear wave velocity of the engineering layers at the site of El Dabaa area that is situated to the northern coastline of Egypt for seismic hazard microzonation evaluation according to hazard index values. A microzonation is a procedure of delineating an area into individual zones having different ranks of numerous seismic hazards. This will aid in classifying areas of high seismic risk which is vigorous for industrial design of nuclear structures. The site response analysis requires the characterization of subsurface materials considering local subsurface profiles of the site. Site classification of the area under investigation was undertaken using P- and S-waves and available borehole data. The studied nuclear power plant site has been characterized as per NEHRP site classification using an average velocity of transverse wave (V _s ³⁰ ) of depth 30 m which acquired from seismic survey. This site was categorized into two site classes: the major one is “site class B,” and the minor one is “site class A.” The attenuation coefficient, the damping ratio and the liquefaction potential are geotechnical parameters which were derived from P- and S-waves, and have their major effects on the seismic hazard contribution. 1D ground response analysis was carried out in the places of seismic profiles inside the site for estimating the amount of ground quaking using peak ground acceleration (PGA), site amplification, predominant frequency and spectral accelerations on the surface of ground by the DEEPSOIL software package. Seven factors (criteria) deliberated to assess the earthquake hazard index map are: (1) the peak ground acceleration at the bedrock, (2) the amplification of the site, (3) the liquefaction potential, (4) the main frequency of the earthquake signal, (5) the average V _s of the first 30 m from the ground surface, (6) the depth to the groundwater and (7) the depth to the bedrock. These features were exemplified in normalized maps after uniting them to 0–1 scores according to some criteria by the minimum and maximum values as linear scaling points. Multi-criteria evaluation is an application of multi-criteria decision analysis theory that used for developing a seismic hazard index map for a nuclear power plant site at El Dabaa area in ArcGIS 10.1 software. Two models of decision making were used in this work for seismic hazard microzonation. The analytic hierarchy process model was applied to conduct the relative weights of the criteria by pairwise comparison using Expert Choice Software. An earthquake hazard index map was combined using Weighted Linear Combination model of the raster weighted overlay tool of ArcGIS 10.1. The results indicated that most of the study site of the nuclear power plant is a region of low to moderate hazard; its values are ranging between 0.2 and 0.4.