Subsurface characterization by active and passive source geophysical methods after the 06 February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey

Abstract

Two large earthquakes (Mw = 7.7 and Mw = 7.6) that occurred in Turkey on February 6, 2023, affected a very extent region and caused a lot of loss of life and property. This paper presents preliminary results from geophysical measurements (Seismic Refraction Tomography-SRT, Multi-Channel Surface Wave Analysis-MASW and Microtremor-MT) on eight profiles in four provinces (Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Malatya, Gaziantep) to understand the relationship between subsurface properties and the destruction that occurs immediately after earthquakes. By analyzing the geophysical data, the dynamic-elastic properties of ground and the soil classification according to Vs30 were determined. It is generally understood that the near-surface (< ~ 10–15 m) units in the measurement areas are very loose, and the deeper ones (≥ ~ 15–20 m) have a very porous/fractured structure. Soil classes were defined as ZD (Malatya-1, Hatay-1 and Kahramanmaraş-1) and ZC (Malatya-2, Hatay-2, Gaziantep-1,2 and Kahramanmaraş-2). In addition, by evaluating the information of strong ground motion station closest to the measurement profiles, it is observed that the PGA values versus epicenter distances are higher at stations in the zone parallel to the direction of both faults than those in the perpendicular zones. This leads directivity effect in the propagation of earthquake waves. The results indicate that one of the basic reasons for the damages is that the earthquake-ground-structure relationship has not been fully and accurately reflected in building designs. Therefore, future researches involving more geophysical data and PGA values will provide more information about the structural, physical and geotechnical properties of subsurface and definitive results.