Site amplifications in the city of Benevento (Italy): comparison of observed and estimated ground motion from explosive sources

A hybrid approach is applied to construct 2-D synthetic seismograms for explosive sources. The computation of the signals has been performed with a hybrid technique, that couples the modal summation method, describing the P-SV propagation from the source to a target area, to the finite difference method, allowing the computation of the 2-D response of the target area. We use this technique to study the site response in the city of Benevento (Southern Italy). The results are compared both with those obtained for the same model, but considering an extended double-couple source and SH wave propagation and with those derived from a direct analysis of experimental data obtained during the Benevento Seismic Risk Project, funded by the Commission of European Communities. The type and depth of the source and the source-receiver distance can provide different excitations, but the response of the target area, in terms of ratios of response spectra, remains in general stable in the high frequency range (>2 Hz). The explosive source does not excite lower frequencies and is therefore unable to provide estimates of site effects in this frequency range. We also show that it is important to consider both P-SV and SH waves when assessing site effects. Finally, a very good definition of a structural model from geological data is fundamental in order to explain the observed data in the time domain. The observed data validate our synthetic modelling for evaluating the site effects and for a tentative seismic microzonation of the city of Benevento.