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Geo-Modeling and Analysis of Site Effects in The Area of Cologne
Geo-Modeling and Analysis of Site Effects in The Area of Cologne
Geo-Modeling and Analysis of Site Effects in The Area of Cologne
S. Tyagunov
Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM), Karlsruhe University, Germany
D. Hollnack
Munich Reinsurance Company, Munich, Germany
F. Wenzel
Geophysical Institute, Karlsruhe University, Germany
ABSTRACT: This paper presents some results of a study conducted in the framework of the DFNK
project for the area around the city of Cologne, Germany. A comprehensive geo-database was
compiled for the area on the basis of 3-D geo-modeling, involving spatial correlation between
geotechnical and geophysical parameters of lithological units composing stratified geological structure
of the area. We computed transfer functions and mapped distribution of the fundamental frequencies
and peak amplifications. From consideration of the obtained results we classify the area under study
into three parts according to the fundamental frequencies of sediments and ground amplification
patterns. Several representative sites with typical transfer functions were selected and used for analysis
and modification of response spectra accounting for local soil conditions. Using a set of input motions
generated on the basis of the rock-site standard design spectrum (DIN 4149neu) scaled for the
acceleration level of 0.1g we estimated and mapped distribution of PGA around the area.
KEYWORDS: geo-modeling, computational analysis, site effects, amplification functions,
microzonation.
1 INTRODUCTION
The study was implemented in the framework of the DFNK project. This acronym stands for
Deutsches Forschungsnetz Naturkatastrophen (German Research Network Natural Disasters). The
project was initiated by German research institutes as multidisciplinary and inter-institutional
approach to the problem of natural disaster preparedness and risk mitigation. Natural disasters like
storms, floods, forest fires and earthquakes were considered in four clusters of the project. The area
around the city of Cologne, in particular, was selected for seismic hazard and risk assessment. This
area, known as Rhineland, is one of tectonic active regions of Germany. According to current
estimates of seismic hazard for the region (Grünthal et al., 1998) the level of seismic intensity in the
area of Cologne corresponding to 10% probability of exceedance within 50 years ranges between VI
and VII. However on a longer time scale stronger events are possible.
Though the probability of severe ground shaking in this area is relatively low, the area is densely
populated, industrialized and has a high concentration of developed infrastructure, so that the level of
seismic risk is considerable. Therefore one objective within DFNK was to obtain estimates of seismic
hazard and seismic risk on a quantitative basis. One part of this important work was dedicated to
seismic microzonation of the area taking the influence of local soil conditions into account.
The area under study is covered by Tertiary and Quaternary sediments (including sands, clays and
gravels) bedded on Devonian bedrock. The depth of sediments varies from a few meters in the
northeastern part to a few hundred meters in the southwestern part of the area. At some places in the
northeastern part of the Rhine river basin the Devonian basement rocks outcrop. The depth of the
ground water table varies considerably, ranging from a few dozens meters and at some places ground
waters rise to surface. Complexity of the situation is aggravated by coal-mining activity. Taking into
account peculiarities of the local soil conditions the analysis of seismic hazard and microzonation of
the area, conducted in the framework of the DFNK project, included both amplification of ground
motions and probable liquefaction of soils. Below some results are presented related to estimation of
site amplification effects obtained on the basis of computational analysis using geo-modeling.
2 GEO-MODELING
The computational study was based on a geological 3D-modeling of the stratified Tertiary and
Quaternary sediments covering the Paleozoic basement of the Lower Rhine Embayment with various
thickness (Figure 1). The geological model as well as a comprehensive database were constructed
taking into account available geophysical and geotechnical data (Budny, 1984) and using GIS software
ArcView and ArcInfo. The model was developed for the square consisting of four adjacent
topographical maps TK25 – 5007 (Cologne), 5008 (Cologne-Muehlheim), 5107 (Porz), 5108 (Bruehl)
using hydrological profile-maps of the scale 1:25,000 (Hydrogeologische Karte von Nordrhein-
Westfalen im Maßstab 1:25000; Landesumweltamt NRW). These profile-maps provide 17 cross-
sections each at intervals of 1 km and showing the geological situation down to a depth of about 70 m.
After scanning and geo-referencing of the maps the lower boundaries of the lithological units were
screen-digitised and converted into depth-points. Using information from geological maps and the
cross-sections, distribution polygons for each layer were built showing the horizontal extend and also
taking faults into account. By interpolating of the depth-points within the distribution-polygons, grids
with a resolution of 50x50 m and identical cell coordinates were calculated for 29 layers, including a
digital elevation model (DEM). Description of all representative layers available in the database and
their geophysical properties are presented in Table 1.
For the modeling of the geological situation a “Top-Down”-method was used, since the layering
of the sedimentary cover in the Lower Rhine Embayment is mainly horizontal. Starting with the
youngest lithological unit, the DEM was reduced by the thickness of one layer after the other down to
the Devonian basement. In the parts of the area, where the depth-information of the geo-profiles did
not reach the top of the bedrock, the gap was filled with a generalized unit S58 (Tertiary unstructured)
appearing as a combination of the layers S40 – S51, a cyclic change of clay, coal and sand.
On the basis of this geo-model a geo-database was compiled for the area, which allows to use a
computational approach for an analysis of site amplification functions and probable surface effects.
The database represents the 3D-geological structure of the area under study in the form of gridded
“virtual boreholes” with the mesh size of 50x50 meters for the square of approximately 20x20 km.
The total number of the boreholes, which have the depth from a few meters up to a few hundred
meters, is more than 200,000.
An assessment of the accuracy of the model is difficult due to missing information between the
profiles. This is true especially for the eastern part of the area (Bergisches Land), where small-scale
paleo-erosion channels and local depressions are present. The same holds for the other regions for the
DEM and the uppermost Quaternary layer, while the deeper parts seem to be copied quite well by the
model (Figure 2).
Table 1. Properties of the representative layers (lithological units) used in the geo-model
For further calculations the lithological units had to be connected to geophysical parameter, taken
from Budny (1984). The values of the shear wave velocity, the density and the quality factor for all the
lithological units are given in Table 1. There are the values of Vs0 and ρ0, corresponding to the surface
level, given in the table as well as appropriate depth-parameters mVs and mρ to be used for taking into
account the change of these parameters with depth. The following relationships were used for these
purpose, where H is the depth of layers below surface in meters:
Shear wave velocity:
m Vs
V = V × H
S S0
Density:
ρ = ρ 0 + m ρ × ln( H )
3 COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS
Computational analysis of site amplification functions was performed, using the ProShake program
(EduPro Civil Systems, Inc., 1999), for more than 400 virtual boreholes selected from the database.
Locations of 274 boreholes coincide with the sites where measurements of seismological noise for
analysis with the Nakamura's method were carried out (Parolai et al, 2001). The other boreholes were
selected to provide a spatially regular grid within the considered area. Computations included analysis
of transfer functions and response spectra. The transfer functions were computed for the whole
thickness of the stratified Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. This covers the structure between the
surface and the top of the Devonian basement. All results presented here were obtained by assuming
linear soil behavior.
The transfer functions as the ratio of Fourier amplitude spectra between the surface of soil sites
and outcropping rock sites were computed for the frequency band from 0 Hz to 20 Hz with a step
width of 0.1 Hz and plotted as contour maps. Figure 3 presents the maps of computed fundamental
frequencies (a) and the corresponding amplification factors (b). The lowest fundamental frequencies
(in the range of 0.50-0.55 Hz) are related to the area with thicker sediments in the southwestern part of
the area. The fundamental frequencies gradually increase in northeastern direction, as the thickness of
sediments decreases. The highest values of the fundamental frequencies (about 5 Hz) are found in the
north-east of the area around the sites with outcropping rocks. Figure 3 (b) shows the distribution of
the amplification factor as rather smooth and for most of the area the peak values range from 4.25 to
4.75. However, the maximum amplification values make up about 6. The amplification factor values
for the outcropping rocks, selected as the reference sites, were set equal to 1.
a) b)
Figure 3. Computed fundamental frequencies (a) and corresponding amplification factors (b)
A set of maps of amplifications was constructed and analyzed (considering both the natural
frequencies and amplification level) for the frequency band from 0.1 to 13 Hz, which is essential for
the purposes of earthquake engineering analysis. The obtained results show that for the lower-
frequency band (0.5-0.6 Hz) the maximum values of amplification appear in the south-west and the
minimum values correspond to the northeastern part of the area. For the frequencies higher than 3-4
Hz the maximum amplifications are related to the sites around the outcropping rocks in the north-east.
For a more detailed analysis we selected from the considered family of the virtual boreholes a
sample of representative sites (boreholes) with typical transfer functions. Location and lithological
structure of the selected boreholes can be seen in Table 2. Figure 4 shows some examples of the
computed transfer functions corresponding to the selected sites and their distribution across the area.
We can see how the shape of the transfer functions changes depending on local geological conditions.
A 3-D geo-model and a comprehensive database are constructed for the area around the city of
Cologne, which allow to analyze site effects for the purposes of seismic microzonation. With
ProShake we computed and analyzed transfer functions between rock and soil sites and compiled
maps of the fundamental frequencies and peak amplifications for the area under study. The computed
results were compared with data obtained from other methods, in particular, the computed
fundamental frequencies were compared with those obtained from noise measurements for the same
area. The conducted verification proves the good quality of the geo-model.
From consideration of the obtained results the area under investigation can be classified into three
parts according to the fundamental frequencies of sediments and ground amplification patterns. The
south-west and mid-part of the territory can be characterized as a lower-frequency area, where lower-
frequency seismic excitations can be amplified considerably, and the northeastern part around
outcropping rocks is a higher-frequency area, where one can expect considerable amplification of
higher frequency input signal. The area between these extremes can be characterized as an
intermediate-frequency area.
The analysis of the computed transfer functions allowed to select representative sites, which were
used for analysis of response spectra and PGA accounting for local soil conditions. The estimated
level of PGA for soil sites within the area ranges mainly between 0.2-0.3 g. It should be emphasized
that for the analysis of response spectra and PGA only input motions generated on the base of the
rock-site A1 standard design spectrum (DIN 4149neu) scaled for the acceleration level of 0.1g are
used. Probably, these may not cover all possible variability of ground motions in the area. However,
no observed accelerograms of the area are available at present.
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