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Local site effect microzonation of Lorca town (SE Spain)

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Abstract

Local site effect assessment based on subsurface ground conditions is often the key to evaluate urban seismic hazard. The site effect evaluation in Lorca town (south-eastern Spain) started with a classification of urban geology through the geological mapping at scale 1:10,000 and the use of geotechnical data and geophysical surveys. The 17 geological formations identified were classified into 5 geological/seismic formations according to their seismic amplification capacity obtained from ambient vibration measurements as well as from simultaneous strong motion records. The shear-wave velocity structure of each geological/seismic formation was evaluated by means of inversion of Rayleigh wave dispersion data obtained from vertical-component array records of ambient noise. Nakamura’s method was applied to determine a predominant period distribution map. The spectral amplification factors were fourfold the values recorded in a reference hard-rock site. Finally, the capability of this study for explaining the damage distribution caused by the May 11th, 2011 Lorca destructive earthquake (Mw \(=\) 5.2) was examined. The methods used in this work are of assistance to evaluate ground amplification phenomena in urban areas of complex geology as Lorca town due to future earthquakes with applicability on urban seismic risk management.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all those who helped them during the survey, especially to the local government of Lorca town. This research was supported by the Spanish coordinate projects CGL2007-66745-C02-01-02/BTE and CGL2011-30187-C02-01-02 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the European Community with FEDER. Part of the work of the second author was under Juan de la Cierva contract at Universidad de Granada. The third author is also grateful to the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education for the ‘Ciência 2008’ Programme Contract C2008-IST/CVRM.1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. de Química y Física, University of Almería, 04120 , Almeria, Spain

    M. Navarro & A. García-Jerez

  2. Instituto Andaluz de Geofísica, University of Granada, 18070 , Granada, Spain

    M. Navarro, A. García-Jerez & F. Vidal

  3. Geo-Systems Centre (CVRM-IST), Technical University of Lisbon, 1049-001 , Lisbon, Portugal

    F. J. Alcalá

  4. Dept. de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    F. Vidal

  5. Department of Building Engineering, University of Kanagawa, Yokohama, Japan

    T. Enomoto

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  1. M. Navarro
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  2. A. García-Jerez
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Correspondence to M. Navarro.

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Navarro, M., García-Jerez, A., Alcalá, F.J. et al. Local site effect microzonation of Lorca town (SE Spain). Bull Earthquake Eng 12, 1933–1959 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-013-9491-y

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