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Site characterization of Algerian broadband seismic stations using earthquake and ambient vibration data: topographic and lithological site-effects investigation

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Abstract 

A reliable site characterization of a seismic monitoring station helps in the objective determination of the local magnitude. Therefore, 17 broadband stations of the Algerian seismic monitoring network, installed in various geological and topographic contexts, were selected to estimate site responses using earthquake and ambient vibration data. Results showed that most stations exhibited site-effects. At the Neogene topographic surface stations, the site response showed two frequency peaks. The first in low-frequency domain was observed at higher altitudes and varied inversely with elevation along a profile across the structure, which might be related to lithological site-effects. The second high-frequency peak, which is nearly constant along the profile, was also observed in the Mesozoic/Paleogene structures. This amplification was explained by the topographic site-effects. Based on these findings, deconvolution of the non-flat site responses of the studied stations from the seismic recording is recommended before any seismological application. It is shown that the seismic bedrock of northern Algeria is primarily Mesozoic, with shear wave velocity ≥ 1500 m/s.

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Data availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to be not opened to the public yet, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Editor-in-Chief Mariano García-Fernández and the anonymous reviewer for his careful reading of our manuscript and constructive comments. Also, the authors thank the staff of the ADSN service who provided the earthquake and ambient vibration data, as well as the staff of the broadband seismological stations who assisted, in particular, during the ambient vibration measurements. We thank Professor Mahmoud Hamlaoui from Sétif University and the staff of the ANRH service documentary for providing geological documents and drillings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre de Recherche en Astronomie Astrophysique et Géophysique (CRAAG), BP 63 Bouzaréah, 16340, Algiers, Algeria

    Khalissa Layadi, Fethi Semmane, Abdelkarim Yelles-Chaouche, Ahmed Saadi, Redouane Chimouni, Omar Haddad & Chafik Aïdi

  2. University Institute of Physics Applied to Sciences and Technologies, University of Alicante, Crta. SanVicente del Raspeig, 03080, Alicante, Spain

    Ahmed Saadi & Omar Haddad

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  1. Khalissa Layadi
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Correspondence to Khalissa Layadi.

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Highlights

The HVSRN technique helps to distinguish topographic-lithological site-effects.

Topographic site-effects are nearly constant regardless of the elevation.

Lithological site-effects vary inversely with elevation in Neogene Mountain.

Appendix

Appendix

HVSRN curves of ambient vibration measurement points from profiles across the topographic surfaces of the ATAF (at), CABS (ca), CASM (cs), CKHR (ck), EADB (ea), EMHD (em), OKGL (ok), and OTSS (ot) installation sites. Red arrows indicate frequency peaks caused by lithological (\({\mathrm{f}}_{0}^{\mathrm{L}}\)) and/or topographic (\({\mathrm{f}}_{0}^{\mathrm{T}}\)) site-effects. Black arrows are not considered.

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Layadi, K., Semmane, F., Yelles-Chaouche, A. et al. Site characterization of Algerian broadband seismic stations using earthquake and ambient vibration data: topographic and lithological site-effects investigation. J Seismol 27, 45–75 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-022-10126-4

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