Characterizing site response in the Attock Basin, Pakistan, using microtremor measurement analysis

The Attock Basin is situated close to the northwest of Pakistan. Recent seismic event of October 2015 (7.5M(w)) near the Pakistan Afghanistan border has proved that the area of interest is seismically active and triggered a series of aftershocks of magnitude even greater than 6.5M(w). This seismic activity has posed danger to the future of the people and infrastructure especially to the northwestern part of the country. Therefore, site response analysis is essential for estimating local site conditions in response to seismic events. Ambient noise recordings were made at 50 sites within urban and semi-urban settlements in the Attock Basin to analyze the site response of the small but densely populated basin. At each of these sites, the fundamental frequency of the soft sediments (f(0)), the amplitude (A(0)) of corresponding H/V spectral ratios, the thickness of soft sediment (H) lying over competent lithology, and the soil vulnerability index (K-g) were studied. Results were correlated with sparsely available borehole data to enhance the credibility of the study conducted for microzonation and predicting the site response to earthquake seismicity in the Attock Basin. The soil vulnerability index was found to range from moderate to high. Results clearly showed that the study area exhibits low to moderate fundamental frequency with greater soft sediment thicknesses distributed throughout the study area. Moreover, higher impedance contrasts were found at most of the sites within the central part of the Attock Basin, thus reflecting a moderate to high susceptibility of damage in those regions in response to seismic events.