Soft Sediment Characterization using Seismic Techniques at Beni Suef City, Egypt

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-401
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Meneisy ◽  
Mostafa Toni ◽  
Awad A. Omran

It is well known that the local geological characteristics in terms of topographic setting and the existence of soft sediments over bedrock may affect earthquake waves and cause seismic amplification. These effects are called “site effects”. Microtremors which provide an efficient practical tool for site effects estimation were recorded at 43 sites in Beni Suef City, Egypt. The recorded seismic signals were analyzed using the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) method. The targeted site parameters are the fundamental frequency ( f0) and the corresponding amplitude of seismic waves ( A0). Selected H/V curves with clear peak frequency have been inverted to infer the S-wave velocity profile of the underlying sediments. Information about subsurface sediments needed for the inversion process was extracted from available boreholes data. Moreover, the estimated values of f0 and A0 have been used for a preliminary calculation of the seismic vulnerability index ( Kg) which represents an indicator of soil liquefaction potentiality in the event of future earthquakes at the study area. The estimated H/V curves reveals significant variations in f0 and A0 parameters, reflecting variations in the soil characteristics (thickness and type) at the study area. The estimated values of f0 are (0.4–3.7 Hz), and commonly decrease from east to west. The A0 values vary from flat H/V curves (without any clear peak) at rock sites to 7.8 near to the Nile River and in the cultivated areas. The obtained velocity profiles could investigate S-wave structure down to 200 m depth. The estimated Kg varies from 10 to more than 50 μstrain/gal. The highest Kg values are noticed in the west and northwest in the study area were the soft sediments exist with considerable thickness, while the smallest Kg values are noticed in the south east where limestone and stiff soil occur near the ground surface.

Author(s):  
Hayato Nishikawa ◽  
Tomiya Takatani

To evaluate the site effects above the engineering base rock with an S-wave velocity of 300m/s, microtremor measurements on the ground surface were conducted in Maizuru, Japan. An estimation method of S-wave amplification spectrum using the microtremor H/V spectral ratio was applied at the ground surface, estimating S-wave amplification spectrum without any ground information based on the microtremor measurement results. It was found that the evaluation of S-wave amplification spectrum needs a revision on the microtremor H/V spectral ratio, using some coefficients on the microtopography classification and the shape of the microtremor H/V spectral ratio.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hengxin Ren ◽  
Ling Zeng ◽  
Yao-Chong Sun ◽  
Ken’ichi Yamazaki ◽  
Qinghua Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this paper, numerical computations are carried out to investigate the seismo-electromagnetic signals arising from the motional induction effect due to an earthquake source embedded in 3-D multi-layered media. First, our numerical computation approach that combines discrete wavenumber method, peak-trough averaging method, and point source stacking method is introduced in detail. The peak-trough averaging method helps overcome the slow convergence problem, which occurs when the source–receiver depth difference is small, allowing us to consider any focus depth. The point source stacking method is used to deal with a finite fault. Later, an excellent agreement between our method and the curvilinear grid finite-difference method for the seismic wave solutions is found, which to a certain degree verifies the validity of our method. Thereafter, numerical computation results of an air–solid two-layer model show that both a receiver below and another one above the ground surface will record electromagnetic (EM) signals showing up at the same time as seismic waves, that is, the so-called coseismic EM signals. These results suggest that the in-air coseismic magnetic signals reported previously, which were recorded by induction coils hung on trees, can be explained by the motional induction effect or maybe other seismo-electromagnetic coupling mechanisms. Further investigations of wave-field snapshots and theoretical analysis suggest that the seismic-to-EM conversion caused by the motional induction effect will give birth to evanescent EM waves when seismic waves arrive at an interface with an incident angle greater than the critical angle θc = arcsin(Vsei/Vem), where Vsei and Vem are seismic wave velocity and EM wave velocity, respectively. The computed EM signals in air are found to have an excellent agreement with the theoretically predicted amplitude decay characteristic for a single frequency and single wavenumber. The evanescent EM waves originating from a subsurface interface of conductivity contrast will contribute to the coseismic EM signals. Thus, the conductivity at depth will affect the coseismic EM signals recorded nearby the ground surface. Finally, a fault rupture spreading to the ground surface, an unexamined case in previous numerical computations of seismo-electromagnetic signals, is considered. The computation results once again indicate the motional induction effect can contribute to the coseismic EM signals.


Solid Earth ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1001-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Carcione ◽  
F. Poletto ◽  
B. Farina ◽  
A. Craglietto

Abstract. The earth's crust presents two dissimilar rheological behaviors depending on the in situ stress-temperature conditions. The upper, cooler part is brittle, while deeper zones are ductile. Seismic waves may reveal the presence of the transition but a proper characterization is required. We first obtain a stress–strain relation, including the effects of shear seismic attenuation and ductility due to shear deformations and plastic flow. The anelastic behavior is based on the Burgers mechanical model to describe the effects of seismic attenuation and steady-state creep flow. The shear Lamé constant of the brittle and ductile media depends on the in situ stress and temperature through the shear viscosity, which is obtained by the Arrhenius equation and the octahedral stress criterion. The P and S wave velocities decrease as depth and temperature increase due to the geothermal gradient, an effect which is more pronounced for shear waves. We then obtain the P−S and SH equations of motion recast in the velocity-stress formulation, including memory variables to avoid the computation of time convolutions. The equations correspond to isotropic anelastic and inhomogeneous media and are solved by a direct grid method based on the Runge–Kutta time stepping technique and the Fourier pseudospectral method. The algorithm is tested with success against known analytical solutions for different shear viscosities. A realistic example illustrates the computation of surface and reverse-VSP synthetic seismograms in the presence of an abrupt brittle–ductile transition.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 713-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghassan I. Al‐Eqabi ◽  
Robert B. Herrmann

The objective of this study is to demonstrate that a laterally varying shallow S‐wave structure, derived from the dispersion of the ground roll, can explain observed lateral variations in the direct S‐wave arrival. The data set consists of multichannel seismic refraction data from a USGS-GSC survey in the state of Maine and the province of Quebec. These data exhibit significant lateral changes in the moveout of the ground‐roll as well as the S‐wave first arrivals. A sequence of surface‐wave processing steps are used to obtain a final laterally varying S‐wave velocity model. These steps include visual examination of the data, stacking, waveform inversion of selected traces, phase velocity adjustment by crosscorrelation, and phase velocity inversion. These models are used to predict the S‐wave first arrivals by using two‐dimensional (2D) ray tracing techniques. Observed and calculated S‐wave arrivals match well over 30 km long data paths, where lateral variations in the S‐wave velocity in the upper 1–2 km are as much as ±8 percent. The modeled correlation between the lateral variations in the ground‐roll and S‐wave arrival demonstrates that a laterally varying structure can be constrained by using surface‐wave data. The application of this technique to data from shorter spreads and shallower depths is discussed.


Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sambit Naik ◽  
Young-Seog Kim ◽  
Taehyung Kim ◽  
Jeong Su-Ho

On 15th November 2017, the Pohang earthquake (Mw 5.4) had strong ground shaking that caused severe liquefaction and lateral spreading across the Heunghae Basin, around Pohang city, South Korea. Such liquefaction is a rare phenomenon during small or moderate earthquakes (MW < 5.5). There are only a few examples around the globe, but more so in the Korean Peninsula. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic survey of the secondary ground effects—i.e., soil liquefaction and ground cracks—developed during the earthquake. Most of the liquefaction sites are clustered near the epicenter and close to the Heunghae fault. Based on the geology, tectonic setting, distribution, and clustering of the sand boils along the southern part of the Heunghae Basin, we propose a geological model, suggesting that the Heunghae fault may have acted as a barrier to the propagation of seismic waves. Other factors like the mountain basin effect and/or amplification of seismic waves by a blind thrust fault could play an important role. Liquefaction phenomenon associated with the 2017 Pohang earthquake emphasizes that there is an urgent need of liquefaction potential mapping for the Pohang city and other areas with a similar geological setting. In areas underlain by extensive unconsolidated basin fill sediments—where the records of past earthquakes are exiguous or indistinct and there is poor implementation of building codes—future earthquakes of similar or larger magnitude as the Pohang earthquake are likely to occur again. Therefore, this represents a hazard that may cause significant societal and economic threats in the future.


2001 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. R41-R50 ◽  
Author(s):  
DUNCAN P. McLEOD ◽  
B. TOM KING ◽  
GEOFFREY E. STEDMAN ◽  
K. ULRICH SCHREIBER ◽  
TERRY H. WEBB

The second-order autoregressive AR(2) model is used to analyze rotational data for seismic events captured by a large ring laser gyroscope. Both the Sagnac frequency and linewidth estimates obtained from this model sense the rotational components of seismic waves. An event of magnitude M L = 6.5 at a distance of D = 5.4° from a large ring laser gyroscope operating at its quantum limit is used to compare the AR(2) model with the previous analytical phase angle method of analysis. The frequency, linewidth and analytic phase angle data each satisfactorily estimate the rotation magnitude. The direct detection of rotational motion in the P wave coda is observed, demonstrating the conversion to transverse S wave polarizations by the local geology.


1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Williams ◽  
William J. Stephenson ◽  
Arthur D. Frankel ◽  
Jack K. Odum

We measured P- and S-wave seismic velocities to about 40-m depth using seismic-refraction/reflection data on the ground surface at 13 sites in the Seattle, Washington, urban area, where portable digital seismographs recently recorded earthquakes. Sites with the lowest measured Vs correlate with highest ground motion amplification. These sites, such as at Harbor Island and in the Duwamish River industrial area (DRIA) south of the Kingdome, have an average Vs in the upper 30 m (V¯s30) of 150 to 170 m/s. These values of V¯s30 place these sites in soil profile type E (V¯s30 < 180 m/s). A “rock” site, located at Seward Park on Tertiary sedimentary deposits, has a V¯s30 of 433 m/s, which is soil type C (V¯s30: 360 to 760 m/s). The Seward Park site V¯s30 is about equal to, or up to 200 m/s slower than sites that were located on till or glacial outwash. High-amplitude P- and S-wave seismic reflections at several locations appear to correspond to strong resonances observed in earthquake spectra. An S-wave reflector at the Kingdome at about 17 to 22 m depth probably causes strong 2-Hz resonance that is observed in the earthquake data near the Kingdome.


Geophysics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1519-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Sun ◽  
George A. McMechan

Reflected P‐to‐P and P‐to‐S converted seismic waves in a two‐component elastic common‐source gather generated with a P‐wave source in a two‐dimensional model can be imaged by two independent scalar reverse‐time depth migrations. The inputs to migration are pure P‐ and S‐waves that are extracted by divergence and curl calculations during (shallow) extrapolation of the elastic data recorded at the earth’s surface. For both P‐to‐P and P‐to‐S converted reflected waves, the imaging time at each point is the P‐wave traveltime from the source to that point. The extracted P‐wave is reverse‐time extrapolated and imaged with a P‐velocity model, using a finite difference solution of the scalar wave equation. The extracted S‐wave is reverse‐time extrapolated and imaged similarly, but with an S‐velocity model. Converted S‐wave data requires a polarity correction prior to migration to ensure constructive interference between data from adjacent sources. Synthetic examples show that the algorithm gives satisfactory results for laterally inhomogeneous models.


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