Assessment of soils liquefaction hazard on the Marchica lagoon zone, NE of Morocco

Abstract

Liquefaction is a natural phenomenon that can occur in seismically active areas where the water table is shallower. This phenomenon mainly affects sandy soils rather than clayey soils. The assessment of the susceptibility to liquefaction is made on the basis of Kramer's four criteria. In addition, to evaluate the risk of liquefaction, we used the cyclic stress method, which is based on the comparison of the soil resistance to liquefaction (Cyclic Resistance Ratio, CRR) and the cyclic stress ratio (CSR) generated by the earthquake. A correlation between the Menard Pressuremeter Test and the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is used to estimate CRR. Sand is the soil most sensitive to liquefaction due to its permeability and low cohesion. The result of the application of the cyclic stress method shows that the liquefaction potential is absent; this result is due to the consolidation of the sand at depth. The results of this work will alert the Marchica lagoon agency development to the imminent risk of liquefaction that will occur after the construction of infrastructure and buildings in the touristic project lands so-called “The city of two seas”.