Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 15 (1996) 201-209

Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Limited

Printed in Great Britain. All fights reserved
ELSEVIER 0267-7261(95)00038-0 0267 7261/96/$15.00

Seismic behaviour estimation of thin alluvium

layers using microtremor recordings
P. Teves-Costa, L. Matias
Centro de Geoffisica da Universidade de Lisboa, Rua da Escola Politdcnica 58, 1250 Lisboa, Portugal

&

P. Y. Bard
Observatoire de Grenoble, LGIT, IRIGM, BP 53X, 38041 Grenoble, France

(Received 25 August 1995; accepted 29 August 1995)

The microtremor spectral ratio proposed by Nakamura (A method for dynamic

characteristics estimation of subsurface using microtremor on ground surface. QR
o f RTRI, 1989, 30(1), 25-33.) developed a new interest on the use of microtremor
measurements for the estimation of site effects. The Lisbon region is an earth-
quake-prone area and several descriptions of destructive earthquakes are reported
in the historical data, which suggest the existence of site effects in the town of
Lisbon. Several seismic hazard studies were already performed, as well as some
microzonation studies based on records from blasts. In order to characterize the
seismic behaviour of alluvium layers existing in the town, two sets of microtremor
measurements were performed. The data were processed according to the Naka-
mura technique and the results are presented here. These results were correlated
with the thickness of the alluvium deposits and compared with the spectral ratios
obtained using records from blasts, as well as with 1D theoretical models and with
2D theoretical simulations obtained by the use of the Aki-Larner technique. These
comparisons seem to prove that the use ofmicrotremor measurements could give a
good contribution for the microzonation techniques, specially in urban zones, due
to the simplicity and rapidity of their acquisition.

Key words." microtremor, microzonation, Nakamura technique.

INTRODUCTION Valley, qualitatively consistent with geological and strong

Engineering application of microtremors was initially
proposed by Kanai & T a n a k a in 1961.1 They classified
the surface geological conditions at a site based on
measurements of microtremors with periods lower than
1 s. Since their pioneering work, several investigations
have been devoted to examine the applicability of micro-
tremors in evaluating ground motion characteristics.
Ohta et al. 2 observed long-period microtremors at sev-
eral sites in a sedimentary basin and found a systematic
change in the predominant periods with an increase in
basement depth. K a g a m i et al. 3 observed long-period
microtremors (5 s) at extremely deep soils and found a
systematic increase in the amplitude of the microtremor
Fourier spectra with the depth to basement rock. In
1986, K a g a m i et al., 4 found a site amplification effect
(sediment to rock spectral ratio), in the San Fernando
201
motion data. Recently, Y a m a n a k a et al. 5 reached the same
conclusion for deep sediments in Los Angeles, California.
However, these studies were made for very thick
sediment deposits (i.e. with a bedrock depth exceeding
one to several kilometers), using the conventional spec-
tral ratio between a sediment site and a reference station
located on a rock site.
M a n y recent experimental studies seem to prove that it
is possible to provide a good estimate of the character-
istics of sedimentary sites using only one station. The
spectral ratio of horizontal to vertical components pro-
posed by N a k a m u r a , 6 using microtremor records, has
been employed at several places showing interesting
results. 7'8 Lermo & Chavez-Garcia 8 compared the results
obtained with microtremors and with strong motion
data, and found a good agreement. Their results strongly
suggest that the technique proposed by N a k a m u r a
202 P. Teves-Costa, L. Matias, P. Y. Bard
effectively compensates for source effects in microtremor
measurements. This statement eliminates the major limi-
tation to the application of microtremors in earthquake
engineering.
On the other hand, however, a few numerical
studies 1°'11 as well as some experimental results, 8 drew
attention on some apparent limitations of the Naka-
mura's technique, when applied to microtremor record-
ings for sedimentary sites with large impedance contrast
with the underlying bedrock: these H / V ratios exhibit a
single-peak shape indicating 'only' the fundamental fre-
quency (and not the harmonics, or the whole frequency
range over which the sedimentary site amplifies the
motion), while the amplitude of this peak does not
seem well correlated with the S wave amplification.
During the last decade, the Lisbon county has been
subject to detailed microzonation studies, in order to
understand the mechanism of seismic energy transmis-
sion through the town. ~2'18 These studies consisted
mainly on the recording of explosions at different sites.
Lisbon is expected to exhibit strong site effects due to its
irregular topography and also to its surface geology
which presents very shallow and thin alluvium layers.
Theoretical simulation was performed for some particu-
lar alluvial valley. 14'15
To test the feasibility of the Nakamura method for the
characterization of shallow alluvium layers in the Lisbon
town, microtremor measurements were performed in the
rivershore zone and for two alluvial basins. We paid
particular attention to time-variant characteristics of the
microtremor amplitudes and to the stability of H / V
spectral ratios. First, a general survey was carried out
in the rivershore zone where the thickness of the alluvial
deposits reaches 40 m. The 'pseudo-transfer functions'
obtained with the Nakamura method ( H / V spectral
ratio) were compared with the numerical simulations
based on the geotechnical profiles. A good agreement
was found as to the predominant frequencies of the soil
profiles. The same procedure was applied, in more detail,
to two thin alluvial basins presenting different geotech-
nical properties. The predominant frequencies obtained
with the Nakamura method were correlated with the
thickness of the alluvial deposits showing, again, a good
agreement. These results were also compared with the
synthetic transfer functions computed for a vertical
incident SV wave using the A k i - L a r n e r technique 15
and with the spectral ratios to a reference station using
explosion data obtained during an experiment in 1991.13
For comparison, the H / V spectral ratios were also
computed for the explosion data.
H I S T O R I C A L AND G E O L O G I C A L S E T T I N G S
The town of Lisbon has been struck in the past by the
occurrence of violent shakes: since the 12th century at
least nine earthquakes caused severe damage and four of
them reached a Mercalli Modified intensity greater than
or equal to VIII. 16 The 1755 earthquake was the most
important one in the last two centuries. It caused quite
severe losses but the damage distribution was very
irregular all over the town. Great damage was observed
in the downtown, south rivershore zone, castle hill and
central and northern alluvial valleys with M M intensity
exceeding IX; the remainder zones exhibited an M M
intensity equal to VIII. 17
The geology of Lisbon is quite complex presenting
many contrasts as the result of a long tectonic process. Its
surface geology, well described in the geological map of
the county, 18 exhibits cretaceous and miocenic forma-
tions. In the western zone of the town, the Volcanic
complex of Lisbon, covering the anticlinal of Monsanto
as the result of volcanic eruptions occurred during the
Late Cretaceous, is composed by alternate levels of
basalt lava flows and pyroclast levels. Below these
levels, crystalline and marble limestones are outcropping
at some sites. Towards the east and south, the cretaceous
rock masses are covered by progressively thicker
Miocene deposits dipping 7-10 ° . These sedimentary
formations present differentiated lithology, essentially
composed by sandstone, clay, siltstone and limestone.
The topography of Lisbon, which is quite irregular,
presents seven small hills irregularly disposed separated
by narrow long valleys. These valleys, which are the
remnants of old streams now disappeared, are filled in
with thin alluvium deposits, which exhibit low seismic
impedance. Figure 1 displays a sketch of the geotechnical
map of the Lisbon county, based on the surface geology
and on the geotechnical properties of the different
formations. 19
Careful analysis of historical reports on past earth-
quakes, allows one to infer an irregular intensity distri-
bution. The observed damages are systematically greater
in the downtown area, south rivershore zone, castle hill
and in the central and northern alluvial valley. 17 Besides
the great intensities felt in the south rivershore and
downtown zones, these zones exhibit the largest velocity
contrast between the surface layers and the underlying
bedrock. The rivershore zone is covered by alluvium
deposits with a thickness varying from 5 to 40 m, whereas
the alluvial basins are covered by deposits of 5 to 20 m
thickness.
METHODOLOGY
Characteristics of microtremors: Nakamura's technique
The Nakamura technique has been described in several
papers 6'1° and is based on the following assumptions for
the fundamental characteristics of microtremors:
(1) Microtremors are essentially composed by Rayleigh
waves, LR, propagating in soft surface layers over-
laying an half-space; (2) there are four Fourier spectral
 Seismic behaviour estimation of thin alluvium layers 203

.~IlMUI~ I~-CI.AI~D I.~ND,I~EGOUf,ETC.

I - ICIly IVI,JI30 .qqD SAND (90< X4< I,~0 rr~s)

111111qll

I - ld~INI.YCt/kY #I'IDS#t40 0:50< V k 2~0 m/~)

I I
(a:Xk ~.~ OOOrt~)
iiiiiiiii

0 0 0 [ k Vk 1500 m/O

0 Microlremor station
@ Recording site
Shot

1
l~-n I

~lcantara (/xl_C) S B P. Comercio (PC)

studied area studied area
Fig. 1. Geotechnical map and surface geology for Lisbon county. The geotechnical properties are expressed by the shear wave
velocities (Vt). Also shown are the locations of the microtremor recording sites, shot B and the some recording stations selected for
this study. Some sites were occupied during both experiments.

amplitudes involved: horizontal and vertical components Usually it is assumed that the transfer functions of
of the motion at the surface and at the bottom of the surface layers can be given by the ratio
layer (Vs, Hs, VB, and HB), see Fig. 2; (3) the micro- ns
tremors are originated by local near surface sources s~ = (1)
lib
(such as traffic and industrial noise) and they have no
contribution from deep sources; (4) the amplification However, considering the great contribution of Rayleigh
of the vertical component of motion is exclusively wave propagation for the ambient noise, it will be
related with the depth dependence of surface (Rayleigh) necessary to correct the ratio (1), in order to estimate a
waves motion. transfer function from microtremor measurements.
Assuming that the vertical tremor is not amplified by
the surface layers, the ratio ER defined below should
represent the effect o f the Rayleigh wave on the vertical
Surface motion:
~~I~ Vsl Hs "
R E~ = -Vs
- (2)
Soft layer VB
vBT Ha "~
Assuming that the effect of the Rayleigh wave is equal for
vertical and horizontal components, it is possible to
Substratum
define a corrected modified spectral ratio:
Fig. 2. Illustration of the simple model assumed for the inter-
pretation of microtremor H~ V ratio as defined by Nakamura SM __ S T __ Hs/HB (3)
(1989). The meaning of symbols is found in the text. Ea Vs/Vs
204 P. Teves-Costa, L. Matias, P. Y. Bard
As a final condition it is assumed that for all frequencies
of interest
HB = 1 (4)
v~
Thus, an estimate of the transfer function is given by
the spectral ratio between the horizontal and the vertical
components of the motion at the surface:
SM _ _ Hs (5)
Vs
(in the following this ratio will be indicated by H/V,
dropping the subscripts).
Some of the conditions assumed above were already
tested, experimentally and theoretically, at several sites,
by different authors. 6,s'9J°
Procedure
The microtremor observations were performed with a
Kinemetrics SSR-1 seismic station and a Lennartz seis-
mometer with natural period of 1 s and presenting a flat
velocity response between 1.5 and 80 Hz. In each site a
minimum of 180 s ambient noise, sampled at 100 Hz, was
recorded. To reduce the effect of localized noise sources,
such as industrial facilities, all records were done
between 11 pm and 4 a m (such precautions, however,
are not necessary, since biases due to source particu-
larities are avoided in the Nakamura technique). The
records were first band-pass filtered, using an 8 pole
Butterworth filter between 0.5 and 15Hz, and then
separated in a sequence of 2048 point windows
(20.48 s), with an overlay of 1024 points. The Fourier
spectra obtained for all the windows was averaged and
smoothed in order to produce the final amplitude spec-
trum for each component Z, NS and EW. The spectral
ratio proposed by the Nakamura method is computed
through the composition of the 3 component spectra,
following the simple expression:
t
H/V(w) v/NS(w)2 + EW(w) 2
= (6)
z(o.,)
To test the stability of the H / V ratio, a continuous
observation of microtremor recording was performed in
a rock site (reference station). We selected 5 min, every
2 h, for analysis. Figure 3 displays the H~ V for each
window as well as the spectra of the three components
( N - S , E - W and Z). We can see that the predominant
frequency of the H / V remains stable in spite of the
fluctuations presented for each component. The ampli-
tude of the spectral ratio present some variations due
to changes in the noise amplitude level. It seems that the
3 component spectra do not change in the same way:
the vertical and N - S components vary according to
urban noise level, decreasing their amplitude during the
night, whereas the E - W component is dominated by
atmospheric perturbations over the ocean (which hit the
coast in the E - W direction), maintaining the same
amplitude level during the night and the day. It seems
that this question needs a further study for a better
understanding. Due to the fluctuations presented in the
amplitude level of the H~ V it was decided to analyze this
ratio only in terms of predominant frequency, leaving the
amplitude analysis for a later study.
The procedure described above was applied to two sets
of microtremor observations, the first one performed in
the south rivershore zone and the second one obtained in
two selected alluvial basins.
The rivershore zone presents alluvium deposits with
variable thickness. The geology of the substratum
changes, from west to east, from basalt and limestones
(cretaceous formations) to clays, sandstones, limestones
and silts (miocenic formations). We selected some sites in
this area in order to observe the influence of the sedi-
ments thickness and substratum type on the H~ V spec-
tral ratio.
To study in more detail the correlation with the
sediments thickness, a second set of measurements was
performed in two alluvial basins, Alc~ntara and Praqa do
Com6rcio (see Fig. 1 for location). We selected these two
basins because they are the deepest basins of the town
(the alluvium deposits reach 40m depth) and because
they present different substratum formations. A profile
was performed for each basin and the sites were chosen
according to the thickness of the alluvium deposit,
estimated from the geological map.IS
The results were compared with the synthetic transfer
functions for horizontal motion computed with the A k i -
Larner technique for a vertical incident SV wave 15 and
also with the spectral ratios obtained from explosion data
obtained during an experiment in 1991.13 These ratios
were computed by the conventional method with respect
to a reference station. For comparison, the H / V spectral
ratios were also computed for the explosion data.
Figure 1 displays the general view of the experiment.
RESULTS
Rivershore experiment
The rivershore experiment was performed during one
night. In Fig. 1 the microtremor stations occupied during
this experiment are identified by a RIB prefix. Figure 4
shows the sedimentary sequence underlaying each site. It
is possible to observe the differences on the character-
istics of the shallow layers beneath each site, composed
by unconsolidated alluvium with thickness varying from
5 to 30 m. The substratum below changes from west to
east from basalt and limestone to clay, sandstone and
limestone.
Figure 5 displays the H / V obtained for each site.
Almost all the stations show a marked spectral peak.
 Seismic behaviour estimation of thin alluvium layers 205

T (.~)
40 00 120 160 200 2,10

. . . . Jl,

(a) (b)

E
o
z

- ~

0 5 I0 15 ~(l ~fi 0 5 I0 15 :dO ;d5

Fr'equency (tlz) Fr'equeney (t[z)

(c) (d)
Fig. 3. Example of microtremor processing. (a) N - S noise samples recorded at 5 different sites; (b) 20 s noise spectra for consecutive
time windows (Z component); (c) 3 min running spectra obtained for the same station at different times during one day of continuous
recording; (d) Nakamura H~ V spectral ratio obtained for the same windows as in (c).

Some stations exhibit a double peak (RIB09 and RIB 17):

RIB17 although we have no explanation at this stage, it is worth
RIB09 RIB10 RIBll ~RIB08 RIB19
noticing, however, that these two sites are the most
shallow.
E 20 "" The observed predominant frequencies are in accor-
t~t dance with the thickness of the alluvium deposits, except
40 "' , for station RIB08: as the thickness increases, the pre-
dominant frequency decreases, as summarized in Table
60 ~ _~-- 1. Assuming a shear velocity of 180 m/s for the alluvium,
the computed 1D Thomson-Haskell theoretical resonant
[ ] Alluvium [ ] Clay [ ] Sandstone frequencies (f0 = fl/4h) are also displayed in Table 1.
Four of the stations show a fair agreement with the
[ ] Miocene limestone [ ] Basalt [ ] Cretaceous limestone
theoretical values. The station RIB08 presents an anom-
Fig. 4. Lithology cross-section underlying the recording sites alous value, which may due to an underestimation of the
for the rivershore experiment. thickness of the alluvium layer; the disagreement
206 P. Teves-Costa, L. Matias, P. Y. Bard

RIB09 ~EE2
- - RIB10 • ~CW3 ~CE~ ~CE1
• • RIBll
-

tx ..... RIB17 0-.~.~.'250".-.'.'500".'.'.~50-.~.~.~1000 m

~/~ " ', ' ' ' ' ', RIB08 .Alluvium ~ . 7 . - ~ x × × × × × ,
"~. / " x , ~ " ....... RIB19 V =200 ~/~- ~J,r--x x x x x x x x x
,_, 2 O ×
x
x x
x
x
x x
is
~
~
~
.... ,/ .... x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x x X XxxXx,
x
x
x
×
x
x
x
~
E
..... :.-.-iZ:i;!;!;:
x x x x ~ ~ x x x x x x x x x x x x

. . . .
¢-,
×xX/~×××X.'..
x

x x
x

x
x

x x
x

x
x ~

~ x
~x~xX~Vs=19OOm/s× × x x
x x
x x x x x ~

x x x ~
, • / ..' 't . 40 × ×× ~ × × ×× ×* x'~-~=-~-~x× ×× × × × 2 . . . . . . . .
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x × x x x ~
z x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
× x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x ~
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x × x x x x x
x x x x x x × x x x x x x x x x x x x x x ~
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x x × x x x x x x x x ~
60
o
2 4 8 12
0
~requeney (Hm) (a)
Fig. 5. H/V ratios obtained for the 6 microtremor sites during
the rivershore experiment.

observed at station RIB11 m a y be explained by a change PCW3 PCW4 PCE2

PCE1
in the velocity assumed for the alluvium.
These results clearly show the usefulness of micro- 2;41 / 7 8
tremor measurements, according to N a k a m u r a ' s tech- 0 . . . . . . I . . . . . . I . . . . . I. .
0 250 ~ - - -500 - - .750m~
nique, to estimate the resonant frequency of thin . . .

" " Alluvmm Vs=200 m/s . . . . . .

. -

alluvium deposits.
2o
.'o.-.;
i'.' x:::::::i:i:i:i:iiiiiiiiiiiiii!i!ii
i!iii?ii:
Alluvial basins
:::::::::::::~'-~ .;:;2;::;;;:;::;: 2 i~.
i@i}i i i~iliVs=1200
m/s :22
Figure 6 displays a simplified sketch of the geological = 40
section across each one of the selected basins, Alc~ntara c~
:-:.:.X.:.:,X.:.;.:,:.:.X.:.:,:-:.X.:.:-X.:-:.:.:.X-:.
(ALC) and Praga do Comrrcio (PC), showing the loca-
tion of the microtremor stations (see Fig. 1 to locate -
60 "= Clay
these basins in the general plan). The estimation of the •_- Vs= 1500 m/s
shapes of the bottoms of the alluvial basins was made
according to the geological m a p 18 which displays the
80
bathymetry of the alluvium layer. Consequently, it is
possible to estimate the thickness of the alluvium deposit
ill till iLimest°ne,
, , , V, , 900,, s

under each site. But there might exist, locally, some

differences with reality. (b)
In order to study in detail the correlation between the
thickness of the alluvial layer and the predominant Fig. 6. Simplified geological section in a E - W direction for the
frequency of the H / V , the observation points were care- alluvial basins studied: (a) Alc~ntara basin (ALC); (b) Praga do
Com+rcio basin (PC).
fully selected. Figure 7 shows the H / V obtained for each
site in the Alc~ntara basin. It is possible to observe that model, assuming that the shear velocity increases with
practically all the sites exhibit a clear spectral peak. The depth, which is a reasonable assumption• The corre-
predominant frequencies show a reasonable agreement sponding shear velocity values are displayed in Table 2.
with the theoretical expected values, according to the 1D Only station A L C W 3 exhibits an anomalous value.
The results obtained in Praqa do Comrrcio basin, are
T a b l e 1. P r e d o m i n a n t o b s e r v e d f r e q u e n c i e s a n d c o m p u t e d displayed in Fig. 8. The H / V ratios do not present a peak
Thomson-Haskell resonant frequencies for the rivershore zone so clearly as in the previous basin, possibly due to the
Station All. thickness Fob s Fr/¢ fact that the impedance contrast is not so strong (see
(m) (Hz) (Hz) Fig. 6b). Assuming again that the predominant frequen-
cies are in agreement with the 1D theoretical model, we
RIB17 5-10 9"0 9-0 4"5
RIB09 5-10 5"0 9-0-4' 5 determined the corresponding shear velocity values.
RIB10 5-10 4-3 9-0-4"5 Table 3 displays these values, showing that the approx-
RIB08 5 10 2"5 9"0-4-5 imation is correct if the velocity is allowed to increase
RIB11 20 3"2 2"2 with depth as in the previous case. Station PCW3 is the
RIB19 30 1"5 1'5
only one to exhibit an anomalous value.
 Seismic behaviour estimation of thin alluvium layers 207

ALCE1 (10m) PCE1 (10m)

. . . . . ALCE2-RIB11 (20m) ..... PCE2 (20m)
.• - /~ - - - - ALCW3 (30m) ~.~ PCE3 (30m)

ii
.". ~ . -...~k,,.N . . . . . ALCE4(40m) / ~N ..... PCW4 (40m)
~ ,., -", ." ~ .... PCW3 (30m)

t • i

o . . . . ~ i i l , l , , , , i , , , , i . . . . I
0 4 6 8 10
Frequency (Hz) o i , i i i , i , , i , , , , i , , i i I i i i i I
0 2 4 6 8 10
Frequency (Hz)
Fig. 7. H~ V ratios obtained at the 4 microtremor sites for the
Alc~ntara basin• Estimated alluvium thickness obtained from Fig. 8. H~ V ratios obtained at the 5 microtremor sites for the
the geological map are also indicated• Pra~a do Comrrcio basin• Estimated alluvium thicknesses
obtained from the geological map are also indicated•
Although these basins present a simple geology
(Fig. 6), their irregular shape can result in a significant Comparing the H~ V ratios of Fig. 8 and the Fourier
error on depth estimation and, consequently, on the transfer functions of Fig. 9, and taking into account the
thickness of the alluvium layer, as well as in significant location of the stations, it is possible to observe that the
deviations with respect to the simple 1D model• We dominant frequency of station PCE1 agrees quite well
believed that this is the cause of the anomalous values with the resonant frequency of point 8. A similar agree-
reported above• Only detailed boreholes measurements ment is found between PCW4 and PCW3, and point 5.
or seismic profiles would provide reliable estimates of the Stations PCE3 and PCE2 are not properly modeled by
thickness of the alluvium layers• the synthetic data• This may be due to the irregular shape
of the basin, as already pointed or to the simplified
Comparison with 2D theoretical results geologic structure considered in the theoretical calcula-
tion. In fact, the basin presents a lateral contrast in the
According to the geometry and velocity models shown in substratum that was not considered in the simulation.
Fig. 6 it was possible to calculate the Fourier transfer
functions for several points on the basins• Using the Comparison with explosion data
A k i - L a r n e r technique for a vertically incident SV wave,
Fourier transfer functions for different points on the Seismic records from blasts were obtained during an
Pra~a do Comrrcio basin were obtained, as shown in experiment carried out in 1991.13 Some shots were fired
Fig. 9. The sites where the transfer functions were in the Tagus river bed and recorded at several sites in the
computed are also referenced in Fig. 6(b): station town. To compare with microtremor measurements
PCE1 is located at the same site than point 8 and station some stations that recorded shot B were selected (see
PCE3 at the same site than point 6; station PCW4 is close Fig. 1 for location): stations B32, B33, and B39, placed at
to point 5, station PCW3 is close to point 4 and station alluvium deposits, and station B35 located at a rock site.
PCE2 is close to point 6. The corresponding microtremor stations in the river-
The geometry of this basin (see Fig. 6b) shows a shore zone are R I B l l , N16 and RIB17 (no noise
narrow asymmetrical valley with a sharp increase in measurement were made in the rock site where station
thickness. Due to this fact, a small error in the estimation B35 was located)• Spectral ratios, for the longitudinal
of alluvium thickness can produce a large difference in component, were computed between stations B32, B33
the spectral transfer function• This effect may be seen at and B39 with respect to the reference station B35. The
points 3 and 4 of Fig. 9. H~ V ratio was also performed for these stations; how-
ever the L / V (the ratio between the longitudinal and
Table 2. Predominant frequencies and computed shear wave
velocities (Thomson-Haskell) for the Alchntara basin
Table 3. Predominant frequencies and computed shear wave
Station All. thickness Fob s /3 velocities (Thomson-Haskell) for the Pra~a de Com~rcio basin
(m) (Hz) (m/s)
PCE1 10 4.0 160
ALCE1 10 4-4 180 PCE2 20 2.8 220
ALCE2 20 3-2 260 PCE3 30 2.6 300
ALCW3 30 3.6 430 PCW3 30 1-3 160
ALCE4 40 2.0 320 PCW4 40 1-7 270
208 P. Teves-Costa, L. Matias, P. Y. Bard

6.0 8 (a)
R1BII
q. 0 ~ , _ _ ~ q.O --- B32L/B32V
__ B32L/B35L
2.0 2.0

2.0 q.O 6.0 8,0

2,0 q.O 6.0 8.0
=.

s.o 3 ~ 6.0 7[ ~
~r
r q.cl

2,0 2.n
, , , , i , , , , t . . . . i i i i , i , i i i i

2.0 q.O 6.0 8.0

2 4 6 8 10
2.0 q,0 6.0 8.0 Prequency (Hz)

6.0 2 ~ s.or 6

2.0 2.0
----" B331JB351

2.0 q.O 6.0 8.0

2.0 q.O 6.0 8.0
=.
N

s.o 1 ~ s.o[ 5

2.0 2.0
o
. . . . ;, . . . . ~, . . . . ; . . . . " . . . . ~o
2.0 q.O 6.0 8.0
2.0 q.0 6.0 8.0
0

Prequeney ( H z )

Fig. 9. Synthetic Fourier transfer functions for the Praqa (c)

do Com6rcio basin, computed for a vertically incident SV
wave using the Aki-Larner method. Point locations refer to RIBI7
Fig. 6(b). io -- -- B39L/B39V / /~\

vertical components) seems to better characterize the site

conditions. This fact can be interpreted in terms of the
characteristics and directivity of the source: theoretically
an explosion does not radiate transverse waves, so it is
expected to record a small amount of energy in the iZ +
transverse component; this could change the character-
istics of the H~ V ratio.
The comparison between explosion and microtremor
i , , ' . . . . i . . . . i . . . . i . . . . * . . . . |
data was made for the 3 sites B32 _= RIB11, B33 = N16, II 4 8 8 II 18
~luta~ (I-~)
and B39 - RIB17 (Figs 10a-c). In Fig. 10(a) it is possi-
ble to observe the difference between ratios H~ V and Fig. 10. Comparison of spectral ratios obtained from micro-
L~ V for station B32. For all the three stations, in spite of tremor measurements (RIB or N) and explosion data (B). Site
some differences in the amplitude level, the agreement location is indicated in Fig. 1. For the explosion data, station
between microtremor and explosion ratios is fairly good B35 at a rock site was used as the reference station. Other ratios
in terms of predominant frequencies. as L/V or H/V are also displayed. (a) Site RIB11, B32; (b) site
NI6, B33; (c) site RIB17, B39.

of the resonant frequency for the surface soft layers as

CONCLUSIONS
This experimental study confirms the fact that micro-
tremor recordings can be used to obtain reliable infor-
mation related with the seismic behaviour of thin
alluvium layers. The H~ V ratio gives a good estimate
can be seen from the comparison with spectral ratios
obtained from explosion data. The H~ V ratios obtained
from explosion records seem to indicate that only the
longitudinal energy is relevant to estimate the transfer
function. This suggests that the H~ V ratio peak frequency
is controlled by a dominant Rayleigh contribution from
 Seismic behaviour estimation o f thin alluvium layers
noise sources. A similar conclusion was obtained by the
numerical simulation of noise. 1°
The evaluated predominant frequencies correlated
well, in general, with the depths of the alluvial deposits.
The agreement between experimental data and numerical
calculations is also good, considering an average shear
wave velocity o f 200 m/s in the alluvium layers. However,
borehole data were not available at all sites, and some
depth estimates m a y be wrong.
As a final conclusion, it is possible to say that, accord-
ing to these results and in spite of some fluctuations in
the amplitude level (the evaluated amplifications factors
varying, approximately, from 2 to 10), the use of micro-
tremor measurements seems to be very useful to estimate
the site response for thin alluvial deposits, in terms of
resonant frequency, contributing as a fast, simple and
economic method for microzonation purposes. It might
also be an useful tool for geotechnical survey, to get
information on the thickness or softness of surficial
deposits.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the project S T R D A / C /
CEN/428/92.
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