SEISMIC MOVEMENTS IMPACTING ON THE STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE

Generation of risk maps and structural stability model assessment are fundamental to prevent earthquake damage on Cultural Heritage. Earthquake simulation with different intensities will be used to assess the assessment regarding expected damage on monuments and city center.

Keyword: Cultural Heritage, European project, Historical Centers

The STABLE (STructural stABiLity risk assEssment) project attempts to address seismic risk maps on Cultural Heritage (CH) at medium scale and introduce a new strategy, by selecting the most efficient methods and tools for data harmonization as well as criteria and indicators for tracking of impact of environmental changes on tangible cultural heritage assets.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to design and develop an IT service platform, that combine advanced satellite technologies with existing ground-based data and risk forecasting modelling. This enables a continuous long-term monitoring and update of structural stability of the architectural heritage and the historical centers, affected by geo-hazards.

The generation of Earthquake scenarios is also a must, in the form of spectrum compatible artificial and/or semi-artificial records representative of the seismic hazard at selected areas of critical distance. The results are provided in the form of a database with time-history records of ground acceleration, velocity and displacement for each earthquake scenario considered. Objectives consist in the following tasks:

• Estimation of earthquake hazard based on models
• Development of earthquake scenarios in the form of artificial ground acceleration records compatible with different earthquake hazard levels.

All the activities and the processes described above, produce huge mass of data because they are based on the probabilistic methodology (PSHA) for the calculation of the seismic hazard, as well as the deterministic methodology (DSHA) for the calculation of synthetic accelerograms from specific earthquake scenarios.  

The application of this methodologies will be tested in three case studies, located in different countries of the Mediterranean: Nafplio in Greece, Strovolos in Cyprus and Rieti in Italy.

At the end all the data will be distributed through a web open platform for access from anyone interested.