The Project
This project consists of two somewhat independent parts:
- The first is the shakemap project which can be viewed as the continuation of an analogous project that was supported by the Dipartimento per la Protezione Civile (DPC) in the years 2005-2007 (i.e., DPC-S4 2005-2007).
- The second part of the project is new as it has never been funded before by the DPC and it addresses the fast determination of the source parameters (earthquake hypocenter and size) and of the tsunamigenic potential for M>6 earthquakes in the Mediterranean sea and neighboring areas.
The shakemap project follows from the need of the DPC to have very rapidly a clear and objective assessment of the impact that an earthquake has on the Italian territory. To this end, it is of fundamental importance to gain information using both observed experimental data (e.g., peak ground motion parameters such as PGA, PGV, PSA) and seismologically derived predictions based on the source parameters (hypocenter, magnitude, faulting). In fact, the software analysis package ShakeMap (Wald et al., 1999a) has been designed to this purpose. The standard results provided by this package are maps of PGA, PGV, PSA and Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMI). The latter MMI maps are determined through a conversion table from PGA and PGV to MMI (Wald et al., 1999b).
Therefore the MMI maps are effectively data derived and are thus instrumental intensity maps. While grossly simplifying the problem, ShakeMaps can be assimilated to a seismologically based interpolation algorithm that exploits the available data of the observed ground motion, and the available seismological knowledge, to determine maps of ground motion at local and regional scales. Thus, in addition to the data that are essential to derive realistic and accurate results, fundamental ingredients towards obtaining accurate maps are
First Annual Meeting: 19-21 October 2009