ROVERETO

The three-year project, which is co-financed by the Autonomous Province of Trento, continues the research activities begun with an earlier study in the lower Sarca Valley. Its main objective is to evaluate the local seismic response (LSR) in the area of Rovereto and the surrounding municipalities along the Adige Valley.

But what exactly is LSR? It describes how the geological and morphological characteristics of a site influence the seismic shaking during an earthquake. Through these studies, we can gain a detailed understanding of the seismic behavior of the area, which improves the assessment of Seismic Hazard. This is fundamental for the development of third-level Seismic Microzonation studies which are used in urban planning and, more recently, to support engineering design.

The analysis of LSR is based on an integrated approach that combines direct estimates from experimental data (ambient seismic noise and earthquake recordings) with theoretical estimates derived from numerical simulations using physical models of the subsurface.

The project is the result of the collaboration between two sections of the OGS, the Seismological Research Center (CRS) and the Geophysics Section (GEO), and the Geological Service of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

The planned activities include:

• Installation of a temporary seismometer network to record seismic events and collecting ambient seismic noise;
• Estimation of the LSR through the integrated processing of the collected data;
• Performing gravimetric and reflection seismic surveys to create a 3D geological and geophysical model of the buried valley;
• Three-dimensional numerical modeling of ground motions to obtain detailed estimates of the local seismic hazard.

This multidisciplinary approach allows us to obtain solid and reliable estimates of the LSR, to identify the factors influencing the variations of seismic motion, and to provide technical-scientific support for land planning, building design and seismic risk mitigation.