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Geology amplification of the seismic response of a large deep-seated rock slope revealed by field monitoring and geophysical methods

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Abstract

Shidaguan slope (hereinafter short for SDG slope) is an unstable rock slope with an area of 30.78 × 104 m2 and a deformation depth of 30–70 m in Maoxian County, Sichuan Province, China. Three seismometers (P2–P4) with high sensitivity were installed at different locations on the unstable part of the slope. P2 and P3 were almost at the same elevation (2221 m and 2247 m), while P4 was the lowest (at 2140 m). Another seismometer (P1) sat in a stable location at a higher elevation (2373 m). Ninety-nine shallow earthquakes were analyzed. According to the peak acceleration ratios of three seismometers (P2–P4) on the unstable part and another seismometer (P1) on the stable part, the points at lower elevations showed greater seismic amplification (with the amplification coefficient of 2.64–3.51) than one at a higher elevation. In addition, points at relatively thinner part (23 m thick) of unstable slope showed greater seismic amplification than ones at thick part (60–75 m thick). The same rule was also found in studying the site-epicenter azimuth and earthquake magnitude data. Based on the relationship between amplification coefficient and resistivity and rock core, the seismic response amplification was affected by the lithofacies difference. The lithofacies with resistivity values of 50–100 Ω m and RQD values of 0–50% incurred seismic response amplification, which was restrained by the below lithofacies with resistivity values of 10–50 Ω m and ROD values of 0%. When building on slope areas, the lithofacies difference should be taken into full consideration.

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Availability of data and material

Information on the occurrence time, magnitude, focal depth, and other information of the seismic event monitored by seismometers in this article can be found in China Earthquake Network Center (https://news.ceic.ac.cn/index.html?time=1630826315). The other processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.

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Not applicable.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grants no. 2017YFC1501002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants nos. 41931296, 41907254, 41521002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Hui Wang, Shenghua Cui, Xiangjun Pei, Ling Zhu, Qingwen Yang & Runqiu Huang

  2. Priority Research Center for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Ling Zhu

  3. The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Qingwen Yang

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  1. Hui Wang
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  2. Shenghua Cui
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  3. Xiangjun Pei
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Correspondence to Shenghua Cui.

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Wang, H., Cui, S., Pei, X. et al. Geology amplification of the seismic response of a large deep-seated rock slope revealed by field monitoring and geophysical methods. Environ Earth Sci 81, 191 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10314-y

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