On the Importance of Geolithological Features for the Estimate of the Site Response: The Case of Catania Metropolitan Area (Italy)

The evaluation of seismic site response in the urban area of Catania was tackled by selecting test areas having peculiar lithological and structural features, potentially favourable to large local amplifications of ground motion. The two selected areas are located in the historical downtown and in the northern part of Catania where the presence of a fault is evident. Site response was evaluated using spectral ratio technique taking the horizontal- to-vertical component ratio of ambient noise. Inferences from microtremor measurements are compared with results from synthetic accelerograms and response spectra computed at all drillings available for this area. Such method is particularly suitable in urban areas where the nature of the outcropping geological units is masked by city growth and anthropic intervention on the surface geology. The microtremor H/V spectral ratios evaluated at soft sites located within the downtown profile tend to be smaller than that usually reported in the literature for such soils. A tendency for amplifications to peaks near 2 Hz is observed only in some sites located on recent alluvial deposits. Evidences for amplifications of site effects (frequency range 4–8 Hz) were observed in the sampling sites located on the fault, with a rapid decrease of spectral amplitude just a few tenths of metres away from the discontinuity. Numerical simulations evidenced the importance of geolithological features at depth levels even greater than 20–30 m. Besides this, the results strongly confirm the importance of the subsurface geological conditions, in the estimate of seismic hazard at urban scale.     

The seismic history of Catania

A detailed study of the most significant seismic effects that took place in the city of Catania has been performed in order to build up a site catalogue, to assess seismic hazard directly from it and to provide the picture of damage scenarios which happened in the past. In the last 1000 years Catania was destroyed twice (1169 and 1693) and more or less severely damaged twelve times (e.g., 1542, 1818, 1848, etc.). Destruction or severe damage are mainly related to earthquakes occurring in the coastal sector of the Hyblean foreland, while slighter, moderate effects are usually due to earthquakes taking place in the seismogenic sources of the Messina Straits and in the inner Hyblean region. The analysis of the historical reports allowed to delineate the damage scenarios of the most relevant events. In particular, for the 1693 case-history it has also been possible to map the damage distribution with reference to the existing urban settlement of the city. The site catalogue was used for assessing seismic hazard; the obtained estimates show that the probability of occurrence for intensity 7 and 10 exceeds 99.9% for 150 and 500 years, respectively. These values, associated with the high vulnerability caused by the city growth which occurred mainly before the introduction of the seismic code (1981) and without ad-hoc planning policies, implies that the urban system is exposed to high seismic risk.     

Building stone employed in the historical monuments of Eastern Sicily (Italy). An example: the ancient city centre of Catania

An archaeometric study of the stone materials employed in the Late Baroque historical monuments of the ancient city centre of Catania was carried out. Lithological maps of a selection of monuments, transferred to a digital format, revealed that the stone materials are both magmatic and sedimentary rocks, the colours of which are matched in a peculiar type of bichromy. Particular attention focused on sedimentary rocks, which consist of various types of limestone quarried near the city of Syracuse (Hyblean Plateau, south-eastern Sicily). Carbonate rocks were characterised in terms of mineralogy, petrography and geochemistry, by studying rock samples from both monuments and historical extraction sites. Results showed that, although only one name was historically attributed to the above lithotypes (i.e. “Pietra di Siracusa‘’), they were quarried from many locations and, as they belong to various geological formations, they therefore exhibit great variety. In order to examine the durability of Hyblean limestones employed in works of cultural heritage interest, salt crystallisation tests were carried out according to standard procedure norms (UNI EN 12370 (1999) Determination of resistance to crystallisation of salts, 6p). Results are consistent with the forms of deterioration observed in the monuments, and highlight the close relationship between textural characteristics and damage. Our purpose is to provide a basic tool, which may be useful both for conserving monuments of cultural heritage and for their restoration.     

The seismic microzonation of the city of Catania (Italy) for the maximum expected scenario earthquake of January 11, 1693

Safety against earthquake hazards presents two aspects: structural safety against potentially destructive dynamic forces and site safety related to geotechnical phenomena, such as amplification, landsliding and soil liquefaction. The correct evaluation of seismic hazard is, therefore, highly affected by risk factors due to geological nature and geotechnical properties of soils. In response to these new developments, several attempts have been made to identify and appraise geotechnical hazards and to represent them in the form of zoning maps, in which locations or zones with different levels of hazard potential are identified. The geotechnical zonation of the subsoil of the city of Catania (Italy) suggests a high vulnerability of the physical environment added to site amplification of the ground motion phenomena. The ground response analysis at the surface, in terms of time history and response spectra, has been obtained by some 1D equivalent linear models and by a 2D linear model, using a design scenario earthquake as input at the conventional bedrock. In particular, the study has regarded the evaluation of site effects in correspondence of the database of about 1200 boreholes and water-wells available in the data-bank of the Catania area. According to the response spectra obtained through the application of the 1D and 2D models, the city of Catania has been divided into some zones with different peak ground acceleration at the surface, to which corresponds a different value of the Seismic Geotechnical Hazard. A seismic microzoning map of the urban area of the city of Catania has been obtained. The map represents an important tool for the seismic improvement of the buildings, indispensable for the mitigation of the seismic risk.     

The road map for seismic risk analysis in a Mediterranean city

The seismic risk analysis evaluation in the Mediterranean area is one of the main tasks for the preservation of Cultural Heritage and for the sustainable development of Mediterranean cities. The Mediterranean area is characterised by a medium–high level of seismic risk, so that earthquakes are the major cause for the destruction of monuments, residential and industrial buildings. A case history regarding the seismic risk analysis for the city of Catania (Italy) is presented, since the city has been heavy damaged in the past by strong earthquakes such as the 1169 earthquake (XI MCS), the 1542 earthquake (IX MCS), the 1693 earthquake (XI MCS) and the 1818 earthquake (VIII MCS) etc., which caused several thousands of deaths. Fault modelling, attenuation laws, synthetic accelerograms, recorded accelerograms and site effects are considered for the evaluation of the seismic action. Vulnerability of physical environment, related to the presence of cavities and to seismic-induced landslides and liquefaction has been analysed, with special reference to the new modelling of such phenomena and to the application of models to given areas. Soil–structure Interaction has been analysed for some geotechnical works, such as shallow foundation and retaining wall, by means of physical and numerical modelling. The paper deals with the vulnerability of physical environment (landslides, liquefaction, etc.), while the road map continues with the analysis of vulnerability of monuments and buildings, with the aim of the estimation of the seismic resistance required to defend against the seismic action given by the scenario earthquake. For the mitigation of seismic risk, structural improvements of R.C. buildings with different methodology and techniques have been analysed, as well as the guideline for the strengthening of buildings. The work shows that the seismic risk of the city is not a summation of the seismic risk of each building, because the vulnerability of the urban system plays an important role on the seismic risk evaluation of a given city. To this aim the vulnerability of the road infrastructures, lifelines, and urban framework have been also analysed in the project.     

Ground penetrating radar survey finalized to the recovery of the “S. Agata alla Badia” church in Catania (eastern Sicily,Italy)

Numerous archaeological sites dating to the greek-roman period have been found in the underground of the city of Catania (eastern Sicily, Italy). Their presence is a testimony of the several settlements that have followed in this area over time. In this work we have conducted electromagnetic surveys, consisting of ten georadar profiles, inside the church of “S. Agata alla Badia”, damaged during the earthquake occurred in eastern Sicily on 13 December 1990. The aim was to investigate the area where the church is located to obtain information useful for its structural recovery. Mechanical drillings were also carried out to reconstruct the local stratigraphy, which could be complicated by the presence of underground cavities and artefacts, as evidenced by recent excavations beneath the Catania Cathedral, in the nearby Piazza Duomo. From the interpretation of the GPR data, the presence of ancient masonry structures underlying the recent foundations was highlighted. In addition, the GPR survey allowed us to identify and locate reflective horizons in the subsurface, probably due to the presence of materials with different state of aggregation and/or to buried structures.     

Site response estimation and ground motion spectrum scenario in the Catania area

A realistic definition of seismic input for the Catania area is obtained using advanced modeling techniques that allow us the computation of synthetic seismograms, containing body and surface waves. With the modal summation technique, extended to laterally heterogeneous anelastic structural models, we create a database of synthetic signals which can be used for the study of the local response in a set of selected sites located within the Catania area. We propose a ground shaking scenario corresponding to a source spectrum of an earthquake that mimics the destructive event that occurred on 11 January 1693. Making use of the simplified geotechnical map for the Catania area, we produce maps which illustrate the spatial variability of the SH waveforms over the entire area. Using the detailed geological and geotechnical information along a selected cross section, we study the site response to the SH and P-SV motion in a very realistic case, adopting and comparing different estimation techniques.