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Shear Wave Velocity Characteristics in Parts of Muscat, Sultanate of Oman — A Measure of Earthquake Hazard Assessment

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Journal of the Geological Society of India

Abstract

Shear-wave velocity-depth information plays a significant role in assessing earthquake hazard of any region. Further, it is required for most investigations of ground motion response to earthquakes in areas where significant soil cover exists. The thickness and velocity of geologic formations are the vital parameters above the bedrock that affect the frequency band of the ground motion that may be strongly amplified by the local site conditions. In view of this, shear-wave velocity assumes great importance in earthquake hazard assessment studies. The characteristics of shear-wave velocity profile were determined by multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) technique in as many as 99 sites over different geological units in parts of Muscat city in order to evaluate probable hazard if any. The variations of shear wave velocity down to depths of 5 m, 10 m, 15 m and 30 m, respectively are presented. However, the average shear wave velocities calculated down to a depth of 30 m (VS30) vary between 345 m/s and 1197 m/s. The high range of shear-wave velocity almost rules out the liquefaction potential due to earthquakes of moderate to high magnitude.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to record their sincere thanks to the Oman Ministerial Cabinet for the financial assistance to carry out this work. Sultan Qaboos University is sincerely thanked for all the support. Also, the reviewers are acknowledged for the feedback that improved the manuscript as presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Postal code 123, Alkhod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

    N. Sundararajan & Mohammed Al-Wardi

  2. Earthquake Monitoring Centre, Sultan Qaboos University, Postal code 123, Alkhod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

    Issa El-Hussain, Adel M. E. Mohamed, Ahmed Deif & Sheref El-Hady

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Postal code 123, Alkhod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

    Khalifa Al-Jabri, Ghazi Al-Rawas & Yahia El Zain

  4. Remote Sensing Centre, Sultan Qaboos University, Postal code 123, Alkhod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

    Andy Kwarteng

  5. Seismology Department, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

    Adel M. E. Mohamed, Ahmed Deif & Sheref El-Hady

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  1. N. Sundararajan
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  2. Issa El-Hussain
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  3. Adel M. E. Mohamed
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  6. Khalifa Al-Jabri
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  9. Andy Kwarteng
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  10. Mohammed Al-Wardi
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Correspondence to N. Sundararajan.

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Sundararajan, N., El-Hussain, I., Mohamed, A.M.E. et al. Shear Wave Velocity Characteristics in Parts of Muscat, Sultanate of Oman — A Measure of Earthquake Hazard Assessment. J Geol Soc India 93, 515–522 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1212-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-019-1212-y

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