Comparison of Near-Surface Attenuation from Surface Array-Based Seismic Noise Data and Borehole Weak-Motion Recordings at the STIN Test Site in Northeastern Italy

Abstract

Seismic wave attenuation and the related shear-wave quality factor (QS) in the near surface are crucial parameters for ground motion simulations and seismic hazard assessments. Although recent approaches developed to calculate QS from seismic noise acquired by surface arrays have been accepted for practice, additional testing and comparison of results estimated using various geophysical methods are still necessary to verify the reliability of such techniques. This work presents the results of an experiment conducted at the STIN site in northeastern Italy, which is equipped with a 100 m deep instrumented borehole. A seismic noise campaign was implemented by installing a temporary independent local surface array of seismological stations. The gathered data were used to initially estimate the shear-wave velocity (VS) profile and frequency-dependent Rayleigh-wave attenuation, and subsequently determine the QS factor via a linearized inversion method. The study compares these findings with the VS and QS values derived from analyzing weak-motion events recorded by two permanent seismic sensors positioned at the top and bottom of the well. The results confirm the potential of the inversion procedure used to obtain QS from local-scale seismic noise arrays as a promising approach for conducting attenuation studies at the local level in less geologically complex sites.