Paper:
Soil Amplification Characteristics Maps of West Districts of San Salvador
Juan Diego Giammattei*, and Toru Sekiguchi**
*Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Chiba University
1-33 Yayoicho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
Corresponding author
**Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University
Chiba, Japan
El Salvador’s seismic design code has remained unchanged for over 28 years, and neither a geophysical nor a soil-column database has been developed. For that sake, the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) were computed from 383 microtremor records collected across the western districts of San Salvador City and an adjacent municipality. The results were compared to the theoretical HVSR and transfer functions derived from multichannel analysis of surface waves data provided by the Ministry of Public Works of El Salvador. Subsequently, maps of HVSR amplitude, predominant period, and fundamental (first) period were generated using the Kriging interpolation technique. This approach was selected for its ability to more accurately reflect the spatial variability of geological conditions, particularly those associated with the Plan de la Laguna extinct caldera.
- [1] C. Kattan et al., “Informe nacional del estado de los riesgos y vulnerabilidades,” Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN), 2017 (in Spanish).
- [2] J. Bommer and S. Ledbetter, “The San Salvador earthquake of 10th October 1986,” Disasters, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 83-95, 1987. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.1987.tb00620.x
- [3] J. Bommer, W. Salazar, and R. Samayoa, “Riesgo sísmico en la Región Metropolitana de San Salvador,” Programa Salvadoreño de Invsetigación Sobre Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente (PRISMA), 1997 (in Spanish).
- [4] United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), “The 1986 San Salvador Earthquake: Damage, Repercussions and assistance required,” No.LC/G.1443, 1986.
- [5] J. Kuroiwa, “El terremoto de San Salvador del 10 de Octubre de 1986,” Report No.01-87-CISMID/FIC-UNI, Centro Peruano Japonés de Investigaciones Sísmicas y Mitigación de Desastres (CISMID), 1987 (in Spanish).
- [6] J. Bommer, “Terremotos, urbanización y riesgo sísmico en San Salvador,” PRISMA, No.18, 1996.
- [7] R. W. Anderson, “The San Salvador earthquake of October 10, 1986—Review of building damage,” Earthquake Spectra, Vol.3, No.3, pp. 497-541, 1987. https://doi.org/10.1193/1.1585444
- [8] I. Suñe-Puchol et al., “The Ilopango caldera complex, El Salvador: Stratigraphic revision of the complete eruptive sequence and recurrence of large explosive eruptions,” J. of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol.374, pp. 100-119, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.02.011
- [9] J. Lexa et al., “Geología del Área Metropolitana de San Salvador (1:50000), El Salvador,” Revista Geológica de América Central, Vol.66, 2022 (in Spanish). https://doi.org/10.15517/rgac.v66i0.49972
- [10] W. Hernández, “Aspectos geológicos que influyen en las aguas subterráneas y en la respuesta sísmica del Área Metropolitana de San Salvador,” Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (SNET), 2008 (in Spanish).
- [11] R. A. Dull, J. R. Southon, P. Sheets, “Volcanism, ecology and culture: A reassessment of the Volcán Ilopango TBJ eruption in the Southern Maya Realm,” Latin American Antiquity, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 25-44, 2001. https://doi.org/10.2307/971755
- [12] H. Weber, G. Wiesemann, and H. Wittekindt, “General geological map of the republic of El Salvador 1:500000,” Bundesanstalt für Bodenforschung, 1974.
- [13] Ministerio de Obras Públicas de El Salvador, “Reglamento de emergencia de diseño sísmico de la República de El Salvador,” Decreto No.14, 1989 (in Spanish).
- [14] Ministerio de Obras Públicas de El Salvador, “Reglamento para la seguridad estructural de las construcciones,” Decreto No.105, 1996 (in Spanish).
- [15] Ministerio de Obras Públicas de El Salvador, “Norma Técnica para Diseño por Sismo y sus comentarios,” 1997 (in Spanish).
- [16] C. Kattan, “Avances en el estudio de respuesta de sitio en AMSS,” Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), San Salvador, 2011.
- [17] Site Effects Assessment Using Ambient Excitations (SESAME), “Guidelines for the implementation of the H/V spectral ratio technique on ambient vibrations: Measurements, processing and interpretation,” SESAME European Research Project WP12, 2004.
- [18] M. Wathelet et al., “Geopsy: A user-friendly open-source tool set for ambient vibration processing,” Seismological Research Letters, Vol.91, No.3, pp. 1878-1889, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220190360
- [19] K. Konno and T. Ohmachi, “Ground-motion characteristics estimated from spectral ratio between horizontal and vertical components of microtremor,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol.88, No.1, pp. 228-241, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0880010228
- [20] C. A. Gotway, R. B. Ferguson, G. W. Hergert, and T. A. Peterson, “Comparison of kriging and inverse-distance methods for mapping soil parameters,” Soil Science Society of America J., Vol.60, No.4, pp. 1237-1247, 1996. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1996.03615995006000040040x
- [21] Esri, “How Kriging works.” https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/tool-reference/3d-analyst/how-kriging-works.htm [Accessed April 9, 2025]
- [22] Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, “Kriging interpolation.” https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/population-health-methods/kriging-interpolation [Accessed April 9, 2025]
- [23] M. Rong et al., “On the amplitude discrepancy of HVSR and site amplification from strong-motion observations,” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol.107, No.6, pp. 2873-2884, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120170118
- [24] R. A. Dull et al., “Radiocarbon and geologic evidence reveal Ilopango volcano as source of the colossal ‘mystery’ eruption of 539/40 CE,” Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol.222, Article No.105855, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.037
- [25] Miyamoto International, Inc., “Citywide assessment of earthquake risks in San Salvador, El Salvador,” USAID/OFDA PREPARE II, No.72-OFDA-18-GR-00052, 2020.
- [26] R. Dull et al., “Did the TBJ Ilopango eruption cause the AD 536 event?,” 2010 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Abstracts, No.2370, 2010.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.