Experimental study of the ground motion on a large scale topographic hill at Kitherion (Greece)

We present the results of an experiment about the effects on the seismic ground motion of a hill of large dimensions (6km long, 3km large and 700m high) near Corinth (Greece). We installed 7 seismometers across the hill, and analyzed the ground motion with different methods: the classical spectral ratios (CSR) and the horizontal to vertical spectral ratios calculated both on noise (HVNR) and earthquake data (RF). The amplification at the resonant frequency (around 0.7Hz) is low, as expected, but one of the two stations installed at the top exhibits large amplification (up to a factor of 10) at 3Hz. The comparison between the H/V results and the CSR ones suggests that the former method is able to point out the fundamental frequencies of a hill. Amplifications and spatial localization predicted by numerical 3D modeling are consistent with the experimental data only at frequencies lower than 1Hz.