Abstract
The geotechnical parameters of the near-surface geological units are gathered, tested, correlated, appraised, and then mapped at 199 drill locations. The soil materials vary from soft to very dense based on the measured N-value, which extends from 4 to > 50. The computed rock quality designation (RQD) ranges from very low to good, where RQD values extend from 0 to 80%. The measured N-value has been corrected into N60. Then, the average shear wave velocity (Vs) is computed as a function of energy-corrected SPT blow count (N60). According to NEHRP-IBC standards, the average Vs30 parameter was employed for the site soil zonation map of Makkah. The estimated Vs30 values range from 235 to 1073 m/s. The soils of Makkah’s inhabited wadis fall into the NEHRP-IBC “B,” “C,” and “D” site classes, according to this map. The sites measured in the Al Utaibiyyah District revealed that the district is underlain by thick, weak soil that extends to depths of more than 30 m. Based on the drill profiles, a depth-to-basement map has been created for the city. This map would be quite useful in Makkah’s geotechnical, geological, and hydrological investigations. The Makkah Al-Mukarramah municipality’s civil engineers and urban designers will benefit greatly from these findings. The results of this study are of utmost importance for seismic hazard assessment and risk mitigation of the Makkah area. Moreover, it will improve the Saudi Building Code in terms of shear wave velocity to 30-m depth
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig1_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig2_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig3_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig4_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig5_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig6_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig7_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig8_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig9_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12517-022-10515-6/MediaObjects/12517_2022_10515_Fig10_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdelrahman K, Al-Amri A, Al-Otaibi N, Fnais M, Abdelmonem E (2019) Ground motion acceleration and response spectra of Al-Mashair area, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia. Arab J Geosci 12:346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4526-6
Abdelrahman K, Alamri A, Al-Otaibi N, Fnais M (2020) Geotechnical assessment for the ground conditions in Makah Al-Mukarramah city, Saudi Arabia. J King Saud Univ Sci https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2020.02.011
Al-Amri A, Abdelrahman K, Fnais M (2022) Evaluation of seismic vulnerability index in Makkah AL-Mukarramah urban area, Saudi Arabia, using microtremor measurements. ARAB J GEOSCI (under publication)
Al- Otaibi, N (2020) Seismic vulnerability assessment for Makkah Al-Mukarramah urban area, Western Saudi Arabia, using microtremor measurements. M.Sc. thesis requirements at Geology and Geophysics Department (Geophysics), College of Science, King Saud University. 138p
Al-Saud M (2008) Seismic characteristics and kinematic models of Makkah and central Red Sea regions. Arab J Geosci 1:49–61
Anbazhagan P, Sitharam TG, Divya C (2007) Site response analysis based on site-specific soil properties using geotechnical and geophysical tests: correlations between Gmax and N60. 4th international conference on earthquake geotechnical engineering, June 25-28, 1286.
Anderson JG, Lee Y, Zeng Y, Days S (1996) Control of strong motion by the upper 30 meters. BSSA 86:1749–1759
Bellana N (2009) Shear wave velocity as function of SPT penetration resistance and vertical effective stress at California Bridge sites. A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering. University of California, Los Angeles, 81P
Boore DM (2004) Estimating Vs (30) (or NEHRP Site Classes) from shallow velocity models (depths < 30 m). BSSA 94:591–597
BSSC (2003) Building Seismic Safety Council National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, D.C. 2004.
Cetin M (2015) Using GIS analysis to assess urban green space in terms of accessibility: a case study in Kutahya. Int. J. Sustainable Dev. World Ecol. 22(5):420–424
Cetin M (2019) The effect of urban planning on urban formations determining bioclimatic comfort area’s effect using satellite imagines on air quality: a case study of Bursa city. Air Qual. Atmos. Health 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-019-00742-4
Deere DU (1989) Rock Quality Designation (RQD) After 20 Years, U.S. Army Corps Engrs. Contract Report GL-89-1. Waterways Experimental Station, Vicksburg, MS.
Dikmen U (2009) Statistical correlations of shear wave velocity and penetration resistance for soils. J. Geophys. Eng. 6:61–72
El-Dakheel ARM, Sadek HS, El-Saeed MM, and Filali EY (1997) Groundwater resources in Misfalah area – Southern Makkah Al Mukarramah. MW-17-50, Fakeeh Center for Research and Development, 201pp (in Arabic)
Fumal TE (1978) Correlations between seismic wave velocities and physical properties of near-surface geologic materials in the southern San Francisco Bay region, California. US Geological Survey Open-file Report:78–1067
Hasancebi N, Ulusay R (2006) Empirical correlations between shear wave velocity and penetration resistance for ground shaking assessments. Bull Eng Geol Environ 66:203–213
Imai T (1977) P-and S-wave velocities of the ground in Japan. Proc.9th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering 2:127–132
Imai T and Tonouchi K (1982) Correlation of N-value with S-wave velocity and shear modulus. Proc. 2nd European Symp. Of Penetration Testing (Amsterdam), 57–72
Imai T, Yoshimura Y (1975) The relation of mechanical properties of soils to P and S-wave velocities for ground in Japan. Technical Note, OYO Corporation
Inazaki T (2006) Relationship between S-wave velocities and geotechnical properties of alluvial sediments. SAGEEP2006: 19th Annual Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems. April 2006. Institution, London, 1199
Iyisan R (1996) Correlations between shear wave velocity and in-situ penetration test results. Tech. J. Chamber Civil Eng. Turkey 7:1187–1199
Jafari MK, Shafiee A, Ramzkhah A (2002) Dynamic properties of the fine-grained soils in the south of Tehran. J. Seismol. Earthq. Eng. 4:25–35
Jafari MK, Asghari A and Rahmani I (1997) Empirical correlation between shear wave velocity (Vs) and SPT-N value for the south of Tehran soils. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Civil Engineering (Tehran, Iran)
Jinan Z (1987) Correlation between seismic wave velocity and the number of blows of SPT and depth. Chin. J. Geotech. Eng. ASCE:92–100
Joyner WB, Fumal TE (1984) Use of measured shear-wave velocity for predicting geologic site effects on strong ground motion. Proc. 8th World Conf. on Earthq. Eng:777–783
Kaya E, Agca M, Adiguzel F, Cetin M (2019) Spatial data analysis with R programming for the environment. Human Ecol. Risk Assess. 25(6):1521–1530. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2018.1470896
Ohta Y, Goto N (1978) Empirical shear wave velocity equations in terms of characteristics soil indexes. Earthq. Eng. and Structural Dyn. 6:167–187
Sitharam TG, Anbazhagan P, Mahesh GU, Bharathi K, and Nischala RP (2005) Seismic hazard studies using geotechnical borehole data and GIS. Symposium on Seismic Hazard Analysis and Microzonation, Roorkee
Skempton AW (1986) Standard penetration test procedures. Geotechnique 36(3):425–447
Sykora DE, Stokoe KH (1983) Correlations of in-situ measurements in sands of shear wave velocity. Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 20:125–136
Sykora DW, Koester PJ (1988) Correlations between dynamic shear resistance and standard penetration resistance in soils. Earthq. Eng. Soil Dyn. 2:389–404
Ulugergerli UE, Uyanik O (2007) Statistical correlations between seismic wave velocities and SPT blow counts and the relative density of soils. J. Test. Eval. 35:1–5
Funding
This project was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (MAARIFAH), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Award Number (11-ENV1902-02).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Biswajeet Pradhan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al-Amri, A.M., Abdelrahman, K. & Fnais, M.S. Geotechnical investigations and shear wave velocity estimation in Makkah Al-Mukarramah metropolitan area, Saudi Arabia. Arab J Geosci 15, 1214 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10515-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10515-6