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Seismic S-wave coda attenuation in the Dominican Republic as a tool for seismic hazard mitigation

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Abstract

High-quality waveforms of the vertical and horizontal components of 1356 seismic events recorded from 2013 to 2016 by the Dominican Republic’s seismic network, were analyzed to study the local spatial distribution of the coda frequency-dependent attenuation Qc(f)−1. Qc(f) was estimated at central frequencies of 1.5 (± 0.5), 3.0 (± 1.0), 6.0 (± 2.0), and 12.0 (± 4.0) Hz and interpreted by considering the single backscattering model. Our results of the attenuation of coda waves may explain why some regions of the Dominican Republic (DR) are more prone to suffer damage due to earthquakes than other areas. The majority of the cities and towns in the DR that were severely damaged by earthquakes in the past are located in zones of low and very low coda wave attenuation. In contrast, cities located in zones of high Qc(f)−1 tend to suffer less damage. Our findings identify regions with low seismic attenuation that reflect zones with soft soils that could be impacted by future large events in the DR. These results can be used as a tool for planning seismic hazard mitigation and emergency response as well as for land use regulations.

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Notes

  1. The waveforms used for this research can be obtained through a written request to “Centro Nacional de Sismología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Santo Domingo, República Dominicana”.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. McNamara for his thoughtful review of this paper. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for his comments and suggestions. This survey was supported by FONDOCYT of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Subsidy No. 2012-2B1-32, Dominican Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Geofísica, Departamento de Sismología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Col. Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 04510, Mexico

    David A. Novelo-Casanova & Gerardo Suárez

  2. Centro Nacional de Sismología, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, José Dolores Alfonseca, Edificio Sismológico, Ciudad Universitaria, Zona Universitaria, Santo Domingo, D.N., C.P. 10105, República Dominicana

    Eugenio Polanco-Rivera, Felix Martinez & Andrés M. Moreta

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  1. David A. Novelo-Casanova
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  2. Eugenio Polanco-Rivera
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Correspondence to David A. Novelo-Casanova.

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Novelo-Casanova, D.A., Polanco-Rivera, E., Suárez, G. et al. Seismic S-wave coda attenuation in the Dominican Republic as a tool for seismic hazard mitigation. Nat Hazards 103, 2849–2863 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04105-6

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