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Seismic site effect in a coastal area: 1D and 2D modelling of a tuff cliff in Sorrento Peninsula, Italy

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Abstract

This paper evaluates the amplification factors at different locations of a tuff cliff subjected to seismic loading. We present a 1D and 2D modelling of a cliff located in the Sorrento Peninsula, a major Quaternary morpho-structural unit of the western flank of Southern Apennines. The geometry of our model is represented by a tuff cliff of 30 m height, with sand deposits at its base, covered by a 7-m-thick volcanoclastic layer. The geotechnical and geophysical parameters used for the analysis have been estimated via field measurements and laboratory tests. We selected seven scaled seismic events as input motions for the analysis, and the linear equivalent assumption was used in both 1D and 2D modelling. The general trend showed that in the cliff edge area, the amplification factor reaches a maximum value of 10 with a period of 0.11 s, while in other areas, its value decreases down to 2.90 seaside and 4.0 landside. The comparison of the 1D and 2D modelling highlights the importance of the topographic effects connected with a cliff. The average amplification factors (AF) for the 1D and the 2D models, have been computed within different time ranges, consistent with the ones adopted in the Italian microzonation studies (0.1–0.5 s, 0.4–0.8 s, 0.7–1.1 s).

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Abbreviations

AF :

Amplification factor

FEM :

Finite element methods

EQL :

Equivalent linear

CSS :

Cyclic shear strain

CI :

Campanian Ignimbrite

PI :

Post-Ignimbrite

GCT :

Grey Campanian Tuff

ERT :

Resistivity tomography

SS :

Saturated sand

US :

Unsaturated sands

VEP :

Vesuvian-Phlegrean

VS :

Vegetal soil

CCG :

Cemented calcareous gravel

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr Francesco Paolo Buonocunto, Dr Antimo Angelino, Dr Elena D'Aniello and Dr Anna Giuseppa Cicchella for the technical support for geophysical surveys. The support is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank the C.U.G.RI., Fisciano (SA) that put them on disposal part of the instrumentation available for geophysical measurement and the City of Sorrento for its hospitality. Appreciation and thanks are due to Dr Antonio Castiello for his careful and thorough language editing. The authors would like to thank the kindness of the Editor and the two reviewers for their valuable comments and remarks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Heritage Sciences, ISPC-CNR, Via Cardinale Guglielmo Sanfelice 8, Naples, Italy

    Vincenzo Di Fiore, Daniela Tarallo, Giuseppe Cavuoto, Nicola Pelosi & Michele Punzo

  2. Casaccia Research Centre, ENEA, Lungotevere Thaon Di Revel, 76, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Clemente

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  1. Vincenzo Di Fiore
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Contributions

Conceptualization, Vincenzo Di Fiore and Daniela Tarallo; methodology, Vincenzo Di Fiore; Software, Michele Punzo; Validation, Vincenzo Di Fiore, Giuseppe Cavuoto and Paolo Clemente; formal analysis, Daniela Tarallo and Vincenzo Di Fiore; investigation, Vincenzo Di Fiore and Giuseppe Cavuoto; data curation, Vincenzo Di Fiore and Daniela Tarallo; writing—original draft preparation, Vincenzo Di Fiore, Daniela Tarallo and Paolo Clemente; writing—review and editing, Vincenzo Di Fiore, Daniela Tarallo, Giuseppe Cavuoto, Nicola Pelosi, Michele Punzo, and Paolo Clemente; visualization, Nicola Pelosi; supervision, Paolo Clemente; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daniela Tarallo.

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Highlights

• 1D and 2D modelling highlight the amplification factors at different locations on the cliff, relevant for seismic hazards.

• In complex marine-coastal areas, the amplification of ground motions is a critical aspect for the risk assessment.

• Topographic and stratigraphic seismic amplification for steep slope scenarios.

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Di Fiore, V., Tarallo, D., Cavuoto, G. et al. Seismic site effect in a coastal area: 1D and 2D modelling of a tuff cliff in Sorrento Peninsula, Italy. J Seismol 27, 1–19 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-022-10127-3

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