Site response estimation at Mirandola by virtual reference station

In this paper, we address the issue of evaluating the seismic site response for sites located on large alluvial plains, for which no reference sites can be identified, but some earthquakes can be simultaneously recorded at both surface and depth. In the proposed method, surface and borehole records are firstly used to assess the local 1D velocity model, then a model representing a virtual reference rock site is defined, and finally the site spectral amplification is calculated through numerical modeling. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated at the site of Mirandola (Italy). This site is located in an area which suffered heavy damage during the seismic sequence that started in Northern Italy with the Mw = 5.8 event on May 20th, 2012. That time, the site hosted an accelerometer of the National Accelerometric Network, which recorded the whole sequence. A new station, named MIRB (MIRandola Borehole), was installed during 2014; it is equipped with three accelerometric sensors deployed at surface, 31 and 126 m depth, respectively. The results of this study evidence that Mirandola is characterized by an amplification level consistent with that of a class-C soil for up to a period of about 0.45 s, while for higher periods, the amplification lays between class-B and C soils.