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Characterization of site effects in Montreal, Canada

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  • P. Rosset
  • L. Chouinard

Abstract

Recent destructive earthquakes have clearly shown that near-surface geological conditions play a major role in the level of ground shaking in urban areas. In Canada, Montreal is ranked second for seismic risk after Vancouver considering its population and regional seismic hazard. The city is largely built on recent unconsolidated marine and river deposits and most of its infrastructure is old and deteriorated. A seismic risk project that includes a combined methodology for site effects zoning in large cities, using microtremor measurements (H/V method) coupled with 1D numerical modelling (SHAKE91), has been initiated. The experimental approach gives good estimates of the fundamental frequency of soft deposits, while the numerical approach provides good estimates of the soil response in terms of amplification factor related to frequency. Main mechanical properties of soft soils were compiled from various data available, and a sample of input rock motions from real and synthetic earthquakes was used to compute soil response. The influence of marine clays on soil response is significant and is well correlated with thickness of these deposits. PGA amplification factors range from 2 to 4 at frequencies from 2 to 7 Hz, with some occasional larger values. The results demonstrate that the methodology used for our study is both fast and efficient to determine the influence of soft soils in urban environments. Such studies are essential for the effective deployment of seismic instrumentation, land-use planning and seismic mitigation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Suggested Citation

  • P. Rosset & L. Chouinard, 2009. "Characterization of site effects in Montreal, Canada," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 48(2), pages 295-308, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:48:y:2009:i:2:p:295-308
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-008-9263-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Ali Shafiee & Mohsen Kamalian & Mohammad Jafari & Hossein Hamzehloo, 2011. "Ground motion studies for microzonation in Iran," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 59(1), pages 481-505, October.
    2. Philippe Rosset & Allison L. Bent & Luc E. Chouinard, 2020. "Correlating DYFI Data With Seismic Microzonation in the Region of Montreal," Earth Science Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(2), pages 1-85, August.

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