Seismic microzonation
Encyclopedia
Seismic microzonation is defined as the process of subdividing a potential seismic or earthquake
prone area into zones with respect to some geological
and geophysical characteristics of the sites such as ground shaking, liquefaction
susceptibility, landslide
and rock fall hazard, earthquake-related flooding, so that seismic hazards at different locations within the area can correctly be identified. Microzonation provides the basis for site-specific risk analysis, which can assist in the mitigation of earthquake
damages. In most general terms, seismic microzonation is the process of estimating the response of soil layers under earthquake excitations and thus the variation of earthquake characteristics on the ground surface.
Regional geology can have a large effect on the characteristics of ground motion. The site response of the ground motion may vary in different locations of the city according to the local geology. A seismic zonation map for a whole country may, therefore, be inadequate for detailed seismic hazard assessment of the cities. This necessitates the development of microzonation maps for big cities for detailed seismic hazard analysis. Microzonation maps can serve as a basis for evaluating site-specific risk analysis, which is essential for critical structures like nuclear power plants, subways, bridges, elevated highways, sky trains and dam sites. Seismic microzonation can be considered as the preliminary phase of earthquake risk mitigation studies. It requires multi-disciplinary contributions as well as comprehensive understanding of the effects of earthquake generated ground motions on man made structures. Many large cities around the world have put effort into developing microzonation maps for the better understanding of earthquake
hazard within the cities.
It has long been recognized that the intensity of ground shaking during earthquakes and the associated damage to structures are significantly influenced by local geologic and soil conditions. Unconsolidated sediments are found to amplify ground motion during earthquakes and are hence more prone to earthquake damage than ground with hard strata
. Modern cities built on soft sediments are especially vulnerable to damage caused by amplified ground motions.
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake
of September 19, 1985 is a good example of earthquake damage to a modern city built on soft sediment. Though the earthquake epicenter
was located around 350 km from the city, the sites with soft clay deposits exhibited a huge amplification of ground motion resulting in severe damage. Mexico City is built on a thick layer of soft soil over a hard stratum. The western part of the city is located on the edge of an old lakebed, whereas, soft clay deposits filling the former lakebed underline the eastern part. In the lake bed area, the soft clay deposits have shear wave velocities ranging from 40 to 90 m/s and the underlying hard strata has a shear wave velocity in the range 500 m/s or greater. During the earthquake of 1985, the seismic waves were trapped in the soft strata. The soft soil layer allowed the upward propagating shear waves to propagate easily; however, the hard strata at the bottom acted like a reflector and bounced back the downward propagating waves. This kind of trapping of waves created a resonance and consequently resulted in an enormous amplification of the ground motion. As a result, the lake bed area suffered catastrophic damage; however, in the southwest part of the city, ground motions were moderate and building damage was minor. The acceleration
recorded in the hill-zones were relatively low-amplitude, short period ground motions compared to high amplitude and long period ground motion
s recorded at stations located in the lake zone.
Similar kinds of site amplification of ground motion were observed in the Loma Prieta earthquake
in October 1989. Deep clay deposits underlying sites around the perimeter of the San Francisco Bay
area amplified the ground motion tremendously in the San Francisco and Oakland area causing severe damage. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, founded on a deep clay site, was extensively damaged in this earthquake.
The site amplification phenomenon observed during these earthquakes clearly highlighted the possibility of severe ground motions on sites with soft soil profiles located at large distance from causative faults and underscored the importance of site specific risk analysis.
values can be used for seismic microzonation purpose. Shear wave velocity measurement and standard penetration test are generally expensive and are not feasible to be carried out at large number of sites for the purpose of microzonation. Ambient Vibrations
measurement (also called Microtremor
) has become a popular method for determining the dynamic properties of soil strata and is being extensively used for microzonation. Microtremor observations are easy to perform, inexpensive and can be applied to places with low seismicity as well, hence, microtremor measurements can be used conveniently for microzonation.
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
prone area into zones with respect to some geological
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and geophysical characteristics of the sites such as ground shaking, liquefaction
Liquefaction
Liquefaction may refer to:* Liquefaction, the general process of becoming liquid* Soil liquefaction, the process by which sediments become suspended* Liquefaction of gases in physics, chemistry, and thermal engineering* Liquefactive necrosis in pathology...
susceptibility, landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
and rock fall hazard, earthquake-related flooding, so that seismic hazards at different locations within the area can correctly be identified. Microzonation provides the basis for site-specific risk analysis, which can assist in the mitigation of earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
damages. In most general terms, seismic microzonation is the process of estimating the response of soil layers under earthquake excitations and thus the variation of earthquake characteristics on the ground surface.
Regional geology can have a large effect on the characteristics of ground motion. The site response of the ground motion may vary in different locations of the city according to the local geology. A seismic zonation map for a whole country may, therefore, be inadequate for detailed seismic hazard assessment of the cities. This necessitates the development of microzonation maps for big cities for detailed seismic hazard analysis. Microzonation maps can serve as a basis for evaluating site-specific risk analysis, which is essential for critical structures like nuclear power plants, subways, bridges, elevated highways, sky trains and dam sites. Seismic microzonation can be considered as the preliminary phase of earthquake risk mitigation studies. It requires multi-disciplinary contributions as well as comprehensive understanding of the effects of earthquake generated ground motions on man made structures. Many large cities around the world have put effort into developing microzonation maps for the better understanding of earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
hazard within the cities.
Effect of site conditions on earthquake ground motion
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
. Modern cities built on soft sediments are especially vulnerable to damage caused by amplified ground motions.
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
of September 19, 1985 is a good example of earthquake damage to a modern city built on soft sediment. Though the earthquake epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
was located around 350 km from the city, the sites with soft clay deposits exhibited a huge amplification of ground motion resulting in severe damage. Mexico City is built on a thick layer of soft soil over a hard stratum. The western part of the city is located on the edge of an old lakebed, whereas, soft clay deposits filling the former lakebed underline the eastern part. In the lake bed area, the soft clay deposits have shear wave velocities ranging from 40 to 90 m/s and the underlying hard strata has a shear wave velocity in the range 500 m/s or greater. During the earthquake of 1985, the seismic waves were trapped in the soft strata. The soft soil layer allowed the upward propagating shear waves to propagate easily; however, the hard strata at the bottom acted like a reflector and bounced back the downward propagating waves. This kind of trapping of waves created a resonance and consequently resulted in an enormous amplification of the ground motion. As a result, the lake bed area suffered catastrophic damage; however, in the southwest part of the city, ground motions were moderate and building damage was minor. The acceleration
Peak ground acceleration
Peak ground acceleration is a measure of earthquake acceleration on the ground and an important input parameter for earthquake engineering, also known as the design basis earthquake ground motion...
recorded in the hill-zones were relatively low-amplitude, short period ground motions compared to high amplitude and long period ground motion
Long period ground motion
Long period ground motion is ground movement during an earthquake with a period longer than 1 second. The frequency of such waves is 1 Hz or lower, placing them in the infrasonic part of the audio spectrum.-See also:*Love wave*S wave*P wave...
s recorded at stations located in the lake zone.
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
in October 1989. Deep clay deposits underlying sites around the perimeter of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
area amplified the ground motion tremendously in the San Francisco and Oakland area causing severe damage. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, founded on a deep clay site, was extensively damaged in this earthquake.
The site amplification phenomenon observed during these earthquakes clearly highlighted the possibility of severe ground motions on sites with soft soil profiles located at large distance from causative faults and underscored the importance of site specific risk analysis.
Methods of seismic microzonation
Dynamic characteristics of site such as predominant period, amplification factor, shear wave velocity, standard penetration testStandard Penetration Test
The standard penetration test is an in-situ dynamic penetration test designed to provide information on the geotechnical engineering properties of soil...
values can be used for seismic microzonation purpose. Shear wave velocity measurement and standard penetration test are generally expensive and are not feasible to be carried out at large number of sites for the purpose of microzonation. Ambient Vibrations
Ambient Vibrations
Various types of vibration sources are always producing so called Ambient Vibrations on the Earth ground . These vibrations are mostly surface waves propagating on the surface. Low frequency waves are generally called microseisms and high frequency waves are called microtremors...
measurement (also called Microtremor
Microtremor
Microtremor is a low amplitude ambient vibration of the ground caused by man-made or atmospheric disturbances. The term Ambient Vibrations is now preferred to talk about this phenomenon. Observation of microtremors can give useful information on dynamic properties of the site such as predominant...
) has become a popular method for determining the dynamic properties of soil strata and is being extensively used for microzonation. Microtremor observations are easy to perform, inexpensive and can be applied to places with low seismicity as well, hence, microtremor measurements can be used conveniently for microzonation.