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A comparison of surface and underground array measurements of ambient noise recorded in Naples (Italy)

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Abstract

In this study, we describe two experiments of seismic noise measurements carried out in Naples, Italy. The site allowed measurements to be obtained both at the surface and in a tunnel that is 120-m-deep. The main goal was to compare the seismic response evaluated at the surface to the in-tunnel response, through spectral, polarization, and resonance directivity analyses. In the 1 to 20 Hz frequency band, the noise level was up to 15 dB higher at the surface than in the tunnel. The polarization properties and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios appear not to be influenced by the tunnel geometry or by the topography. Some preferential alignments were observed in the polarization azimuths computed at the surface, which are likely to be due to local sources, rather than morphological features. The absence of directivity effects and the low noise levels in the tunnel make this site suitable for installing seismic stations. We also studied how the subsoil structure affects the seismic motion at the surface. The dispersive properties of the Rayleigh waves were investigated using the spatial autocorrelation method. A joint inversion of the dispersion data and the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios provided the subsurface Vs profile. The derived model has a low velocity contrast at depth, such as to generate moderate and broad H/V spectral ratio peak amplitude. The normalized spectral ratio appears more appropriate to identify the soil-resonance frequencies.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Edoardo Del Pezzo for critical reading of the manuscript. Special thanks to Danilo Galluzzo and Mario La Rocca for their participation to the field work. We thank the local council of Naples for providing borehole data at location SD. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions, which significantly improved the manuscript, and to Chris Berrie for editorial assistance. This study was supported through funding from the project “Studio degli effetti indotti dalla geologia di superficie sul moto sismico in due differenti siti in Campania, attraverso l’applicazione di tecnologie innovative, Regione Campania, L.R.n.5/02, 2007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università del Sannio, Via dei Mulini 59/A, 82100, Benevento, Italy

    Rosalba Maresca, Norma Damiano & Lucia Nardone

  2. Sezione di Napoli “Osservatorio Vesuviano”, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Via Diocleziano, 328, 80124, Naples, Italy

    Mauro A. Di Vito & Francesca Bianco

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  1. Rosalba Maresca
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  2. Norma Damiano
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  3. Lucia Nardone
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  4. Mauro A. Di Vito
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  5. Francesca Bianco
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Correspondence to Rosalba Maresca.

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Maresca, R., Damiano, N., Nardone, L. et al. A comparison of surface and underground array measurements of ambient noise recorded in Naples (Italy). J Seismol 18, 385–400 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-013-9414-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-013-9414-z

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