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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Hazards".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 12654

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Claudia Pirrotta

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Guest Editor

Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy
Interests: earthquake geology; active tectonics; neotectonics; seismotectonics; seismology; analysis of seismological data; analysis of seismic sequences; historical seismicity; ground fractures; soil liquefactions; landslides and tsunami deposits; off-fault paleosismology; geology; geomorphology; structural geology ; morphostructural analyses; applicated geophysics; geomorphology seismics

Dr. Sebastiano Imposa

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy
Interests: applied geophysics; applied geophysical surveys; cultural heritage; local seismic evaluation ; passive seismic single station surveys; characterization of strategic buildings; seismic microzonation; geophysical seismic; 2D and 3D tomographic configuration ;electromagnetic surveys ; geoelectrical surveys

Dr. Maria Serafina Barbano

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy
Interests: seismological data analysis; seismogenic sources;active faults identification; seismic sequences analysis; study of strong and moderate earthquakes; historical earthquakes quantification; seismic histories definition; hazards and seismic scenarios; off-fault paleosismological analysis: seismoinduced phenomena; tsunami deposits

Dr. Sabrina Grassi

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Guest Editor

Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy
Interests: applied geophysics; geophysical surveys; seismic; site effects; ambient noise; electrical resistivity tomography; data processing and inversion; natural hazards

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to bring to your attention the upcoming Special Issue on the "New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics" in Geosciences.

Earthquakes remains unpredictable, and then the only way we can mitigate the effects of strong motion and to reduce damage and loss of life in an earthquake-prone region is by study of the seismic risk.

On the other hand, location and behaviour of sismogenic sources is a key topic to characterize the earthquake maximum impact in a given region, as well as to develop effective earthquake-resistant building codes and land use policies to mitigate earthquake hazards and to reduce correlate risk.

Studies on earthquake engineering and geodynamics are constantly evolving, and new trends are emerging as researchers and practitioners strive to improve the safety and resilience of infrastructures and communities. However, there are also a number of challenges and critical issues that must be addressed.

This Special Issue is open to innovative and multidisciplinary contributions from a wide range of methodologies, approaches and case studies for assessing and mitigating earthquake risk. We encourage submissions related to key topics in this field including seismic hazard assessment, seismic site response analysis (focused on site effects, liquefaction, earthquake induced landslides and tsunamis), physics of earthquakes and seismotectonic studies.

Dr. Claudia Pirrotta
Dr. Sebastiano Imposa
Dr. Maria Serafina Barbano
Dr. Sabrina Grassi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ground shaking
liquefactions
earthquake-induced landslides
tsunami hazards
soil–structure interaction
seismotectonics
earthquake source models
physics of earthquakes

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 7771 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of the Effect of Integrated Offset, GPS, and InSAR Data in the Stochastic Source Modeling of the 2002 Denali Earthquake

by Parva Shoaeifar and Katsuichiro Goda

Geosciences 2024, 14(11), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14110300 - 6 Nov 2024

Viewed by 457

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of geological field measurement (offset), global positioning system (GPS), and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data on the estimation of the co-seismic earthquake displacements of the 2002 Denali earthquake. The analysis is conducted using stochastic source modeling. Uncertainties associated with each dataset limit their effectiveness in source model selection and raise questions about the adequate number of datasets and their type for reliable source estimation. To address these questions, stochastic source models with heterogeneous earthquake slip distributions are synthesized using the von Kármán wavenumber spectrum and statistical scaling relationships. The surface displacements of the generated stochastic sources are obtained using the Okada method. The surface displacements are compared with the available datasets (i.e., offset, GPS, and InSAR) individually and in an integrated form. The results indicate that the performance of stochastic source generation can be significantly improved in the case of using GPS data and in the integrated case. Overall, based on the case study of the 2002 Denali earthquake, the combined use of all available datasets increases the robustness of the stochastic source modeling method in characterizing surface displacement. However, GPS data contribute more than InSAR and offset data in producing reliable source models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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16 pages, 54958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismotectonic Setting of the Andes along the Nazca Ridge Subduction Transect: New Insights from Thermal and Finite Element Modelling

by Sara Ciattoni, Stefano Mazzoli, Antonella Megna and Stefano Santini

Geosciences 2024, 14(10), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14100257 - 28 Sep 2024

Viewed by 761

Abstract

The structural evolution of Andean-type orogens is strongly influenced by the geometry of the subducting slab. This study focuses on the flat-slab subduction of the Nazca Ridge and its effects on the South American Plate. The process of flat slab subduction impacts the stress distribution within the overriding plate and increases plate coupling and seismic energy release. Using the finite element method (FEM), we analyse interseismic and coseismic deformation along a 1000 km transect parallel to the ridge. We examine stress distribution, uplift patterns, and the impact of megathrust activity on deformation. To better define the crust’s properties for the model, we developed a new thermal model of the Nazca Ridge subduction zone, reconstructing the thermal structure of the overriding plate. The results show concentrated stress at the upper part of the locked plate interface, extending into the Coastal and Western Cordilleras, with deeper stress zones correlating with seismicity. Uplift patterns align with long-term rates of 0.7–1 mm/yr. Cooling from flat-slab subduction strengthens the overriding plate, allowing far-field stress transmission and deformation. These findings provide insights into the tectonic processes driving stress accumulation, seismicity, and uplift along the Peruvian margin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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20 pages, 5306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Conservative Evaluation of Fault Displacement Hazard for a Nuclear Site in Case of Insufficient Data on the Fault Activity

by Tamás János Katona

Geosciences 2024, 14(6), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14060158 - 7 Jun 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 730

Abstract

The safety regulations require periodic reviews of the site hazards when operating nuclear power plants. If any indications of Quaternary fault activity are revealed, the fault displacement hazard should be evaluated. Signs of paleo-liquefaction were recently found at the nuclear site of Paks, Hungary, indicating the late-Pleistocene activity of the fault crossing the site. Except for this, there are no historical or instrumental records of earthquakes at the fault, and the micro-seismic and GPS monitoring results do not indicate activity either. Despite a thorough site investigation of over 40 years, the indications are uncertain and insufficient for defining the fault activity, as required for a probabilistic fault displacement hazard analysis. This paper develops and applies a simplified conservative hazard evaluation method of average fault displacement that allows an in-time decision regarding the safety relevance of the hazard. Geometrical simplification is possible since the fault crosses the site. The fault’s activity is evaluated using magnitude–frequency relations of the area sources developed for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The total probability theorem is applied, and different strike-slip fault scaling relations are considered while calculating the probability of non-zero surface displacement, fault rupture length, and average displacement. The fault displacement hazard curve is defined and compared with earlier studies for the same site. Since the late recognition of active faults cannot be excluded at several operating plant sites, the methodology can be applied in the future beyond a single application for the Paks site in Hungary. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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15 pages, 8400 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Correction Factors to Account for Seismic Directionality Effects: Case Study of the Costa Rican Strong Motion Database

by Luis A. Pinzón, Diego A. Hidalgo-Leiva and Luis G. Pujades

Geosciences 2024, 14(5), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14050139 - 18 May 2024

Viewed by 864

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a study on the directionality effect observed in strong motion records. We set out to establish ratios between several seismic intensity measures that depend on sensor orientation (e.g., GM_ar, Larger) and others that are orientation-independent (e.g., RotDpp, GMRotDpp, and GMRotIpp), with the intention of proposing multiplicative correction factors. The analysis included an evaluation of the impact of site conditions, ground motion intensity, earthquake magnitude, and hypocentral distance on these ratios. Following a concise overview of the directionality effects and the associated intensity measures, the Costa Rican Strong Motion Database, comprising a total of 4199 horizontal accelerograms (two components), was employed to determine the correction factors. The analysis was carried out for 5% damped response spectra within the 0.01–5 s period range. The study focuses on orientation-independent intensity measures that are derived by combining the maximum values from the recorded motions. In the comprehensive analysis of the complete database, a trend was observed between these intensity measures and the magnitude of the earthquake along with the hypocentral distance. Specifically, records from earthquakes with greater magnitudes exhibited a lower maximum spectral response to the geometric mean of the response spectra of the as-recorded (ar) components ratio (RotD100/GM_ar), similar to records from earthquakes with larger hypocentral distances. Based on these findings, a proposal was put forth to estimate RotD100 values using GM_ar values. This ratio can prove useful in transforming data from previous seismic hazard studies, including those applied in many seismic codes, and in defining the maximum anticipated seismic intensity for design purposes in a more straightforward manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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32 pages, 32436 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Site Effects and Numerical Modeling of Seismic Ground Motion to Support Seismic Microzonation of Dushanbe City, Tajikistan

by Farkhod Hakimov, Hans-Balder Havenith, Anatoly Ischuk and Klaus Reicherter

Geosciences 2024, 14(5), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14050117 - 26 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1764

Abstract

In the territory of Dushanbe city, the capital of Tajikistan, detailed geological and geophysical data were collected during geophysical surveys in 2019–2020. The data comprise 5 microtremor array measurements, 9 seismic refraction tomography profiles, seismological data from 5 temporary seismic stations for standard spectral ratio calculations, 60 borehole datasets, and 175 ambient noise measurements. The complete dataset for Dushanbe was used to build a consistent 3D geologic model of the city with a size of 12 × 12 km². The results of the seismological and geophysical surveys were compared and calibrated with borehole data to define the boundaries of each layer in the study area. The Leapfrog Works software was utilized to create a 3D geomodel. From the 3D geomodel, we extracted six 12 km long 2D geological cross-sections. These 2D geological cross-sections were used for 2D dynamic numerical modeling with the Universal Distinct Element Code software to calculate the local seismic response. Finally, the dynamic numerical modeling results were compared with the amplification functions obtained from the seismological and ambient noise data analysis. The 2D dynamic numerical modeling results allowed a better assessment of the site effects in the study area to support seismic microzonation and the determination of local peak ground acceleration changes in combination with regional seismic hazard maps. In addition, our results confirm the strong seismic amplification effects noted in some previous studies, which are attributed to the influence of local topographic and subsurface characteristics on seismic ground motions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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16 pages, 6365 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Balanced Definition of Thresholds for Mode Tracking in a Long-Term Seismic Monitoring System

by Stefania Coccimiglio, Gaetano Miraglia, Giorgia Coletta, Rodolfo Epicoco and Rosario Ceravolo

Geosciences 2023, 13(12), 365; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13120365 - 27 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1696

Abstract

The catastrophic events of recent years have strengthened the awareness of the fragility of the built heritage and the importance of careful and targeted maintenance. This, in combination with the development of modern techniques for the analysis of large datasets, has favoured the diffusion of long-term seismic monitoring systems for the protection of structures. In the field of structural health monitoring, data-driven techniques allow crucial information to be extracted from measurements without the need to model the physical phenomena involved, circumventing potential limitations that may arise. On the other hand, however, the results of data-driven approaches are based entirely on the measured structural response; this is why a high reliability of the procedure for extracting diagnostic parameters is essential. In this perspective, a Mode Tracking procedure is proposed to obtain coherent time histories of the modal frequencies of a structure as environmental conditions vary. The procedure is applied to the Sanctuary of Vicoforte, an important monumental structure located in Piedmont, known for its imposing oval dome and characterized by a permanent structural monitoring system. This study aims to disentangle the frequency time series and obtain a rigorous database on which to set up damage identification processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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11 pages, 1953 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Potential of Using Random Forest Models to Estimate the Seismic Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings Positioned on the Crest of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Structures

by Ernesto Ausilio, Maria Giovanna Durante and Paolo Zimmaro

Geosciences 2023, 13(10), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13100317 - 20 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1339

Abstract

Geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures are often used to support shallow foundations of various infrastructure systems including bridges, railways, and highways. When such infrastructures are located in seismic areas, their performance is linked to the seismic bearing capacity of the foundation. Various approaches can be used to calculate this quantity such as analytical solutions and advanced numerical models. Building upon a robust upper bound limit analysis, we created a database comprising 732 samples. The database was then used to train and test a model based on a random forest machine learning algorithm. The trained random forest model was used to develop a publicly available web application that can be readily used by researchers and practitioners. The model considers the following input factors: (1) the ratio of the distance of the foundation from the edge and the width of the foundation (D/B), (2) the slope angle (β), (3) the horizontal seismic intensity coefficient (k_h), and (4) the dimensionless geosynthetic factor, which accounts for the tensile strength of the geosynthetic. Leveraging the model developed in this study, we show that the most important features to predict the seismic bearing capacity of strip footings positioned on the crest of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures are D/B and k_h. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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16 pages, 14440 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geophysical Subsoil Characterization and Modeling Using Cluster Analysis for Seismic Microzonation Purposes

by Patrizia Capizzi and Raffaele Martorana

Geosciences 2023, 13(8), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13080246 - 15 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1695

Abstract

In the municipality of Enna, 80 HVSR measurements were performed, and some of these were combined with MASW seismic measurements, which made it possible to constrain the data inversion and obtain significant shear wave velocity models. A reconstruction of the depth of the seismic bedrock was performed for the whole territory, showing different depths for the higher and lower areas, as evidenced also by the Vseq parameter map. The frequency peaks identified in the H/V curve were analyzed through a cluster analysis algorithm to evaluate similarities that allow these peaks to be divided according to their stratigraphic origin. A non-hierarchical analysis algorithm modified in such a way as to avoid any a priori choice that could influence the partition has been used. The cluster analysis made it possible to divide the frequency peaks into five groupings, each of which was then associated with a seismic discontinuity, according to the geological contacts expected in the subsoil. Finally, the inversion of the data made it possible to reconstruct the geometries of these geological contact surfaces and to reconstruct a 3D model of the subsoil, which agrees well with the surface geology of the area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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21 pages, 75962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Combination of Updated Geotechnical, Seismotectonic and Isoseismal Maps of the Ionian Islands (Greece)

by John D. Alexopoulos, Spyridon Dilalos, Ioannis-Konstantinos Giannopoulos, Christos Filis, Emmanuel Vassilakis and Nikolaos Voulgaris

Geosciences 2023, 13(7), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13070218 - 23 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1781

Abstract

In this paper, we present a systematic GIS-based approach for producing updated, upscaled, unified and reevaluated maps for the Ionian Islands of Greece, which is an area of great geological interest. In particular, Cephalonia and Lefkada are two islands with an increased and intense seismicity. Therefore, a common GIS geodatabase was produced for handling the geoinformation of the area. New upscaled (scale 1:50,000) geotechnical and seismotectonic maps of these islands were produced based on older ones. On the other hand, the corresponding maps of the islands, based on the categories of the Greek antiseismic code and Eurocode 8, were produced in an effort to correlate them. Beyond that, all the available isoseismal maps of the earthquakes that hit the Ionian Islands were gathered in an effort to evaluate them and to find possible correlations with the other types of maps. Based on the correlation results, the consideration of the Vs₃₀ parameter in the Greek antiseismic code is proposed for a better categorization of the geological formations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Earthquake Engineering and Seismotectonics)

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