Hints about site amplification effects: the Agri Valley (Italy) example

What is it about?

We approach the problem of estimating seismic hazard for some villages located from the Val d'Agri area in southern Italy that have been affected by several seismic events. The estimates are carried out using a method based on the analysis of site seismic history extracted from macroseismic catalogues. They can be correlated with local variations of seismic response due to local geological features which are responsible for possible cases of amplication.

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Why is it important?

In order to validate the presence of such correlation, seismic hazard estimates have been compared to site amplication measurements obtained by using the HVSR (Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio) technique. Our findings reveal a good correlation between seismic hazard enhancements and the presence of site amplication effects. The application of this kind of analysis to the Val d'Agri area has pointed out that the joint estimates of site seismic hazard enhancement and HVSR measurements could be a helpful tool to identify problems related to seismic microzonation.