Increasing the resilience of developing cities to ground shaking in earthquakes

Lead Research Organisation: University of Cambridge
Department Name: Earth Sciences

Abstract

This project aims to research ways to increase the resilience of the built environment to ground shaking in earthquakes. The project will focus on the rapidly developing cities in central Asia and the Caucasus region. Novel techniques will be developed to estimate the magnitudes and probabilities of ground motion in these cities over the lifespans of the current building-stock, and hypothetical future infrastructure projects. The characteristics of these buildings will then be used to estimate the structural effects of ground shaking, and quantify the associated economic and societal risks. Building strategies will then be developed to mitigate the risks posed by the ground shaking. This work is closely aligned with the EPSRC-funded EEFIT programme.

Studentship Projects

Project Reference Relationship Related To Start End Student Name
EP/R511870/1 30/09/2017 29/09/2023
2117461 Studentship EP/R511870/1 30/09/2018 29/06/2022 Aisling O'Kane
 
Description Most of the outcomes of this studentship have now been published (O'Kane and Copley, 2021 and O'Kane et al., 2022, with a third paper in prep). The 2021 publication examines and analyses the destructive shaking due to earthquakes in basins within the continents. The 2022 paper builds upon these results to investigate the destructive earthquake shaking in the Himalayas and highlight the most important parameters in determining the earthquake hazard. The last piece of research conducted as a result of this award involved researching earthquake-induced building damage and analysing different buildings' fragility to the shaking. The results of this work quantified factors that determine earthquake damage distributions and the results have important implications for assessing future earthquake hazard.
Exploitation Route Our results will be of widespread interest to those involved in urban resilience, planning, and disaster management, including engineers, policymakers, NGOs, and the (re-)insurance industry.
Sectors Construction

Government

Democracy and Justice
 
Description The initial non-academic impacts from this award are from a workshop in Jammu (NW India) in November 2019, attended by a range of local organisations, policymakers, and civil servants.
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Construction,Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Policy & public services
 
Description Arup Industry Collaboration 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Aisling O'Kane (PhD Student) and her supervisor (Professor Alex Copley) have provided their geological and geophysical expertise on a number of real-time Arup projects. Aisling assisted Arup collaborators on fieldwork in February 2020 to carry out an assessment of the building typologies and potentially hazardous faults in and around the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. This Arup project was commissioned by the World Bank to create an urban resilience strategy for Tashkent City and Aisling's field observations informed a diagnostic report (written by her Arup collaborators) on the recommendations for the city's resilience strategy.
Collaborator Contribution Our industry collaborators at Arup have offered their expertise throughout the course of the award. For example, they have provided opportunities for us to connect with industry specialists, to gain insight into common industry practices and methodologies in our area of research, in addition to organising and facilitating knowledge sharing sessions with international seismic hazard organizations.
Impact A technical report outlining the recommended urban resilience strategy for Tashkent City, Uzbekistan (written by our Arup collaborators and is not publicly available).
Start Year 2019
 
Description IISER Kolkata Research Collaboration 
Organisation Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata
Country India 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Aisling O'Kane (PhD Student) and her supervisor (Professor Alex Copley) have provided their geological and geophysical expertise on common research problems on Himalayan tectonics. They also carried out fieldwork in Jammu, NW India in December 2019 in collaboration with colleagues at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) Katra. This fieldwork has formed an integral part of a collaborative project between Cambridge and IISER Kolkata which assesses the geometry of active shortening and seismic hazard across the north-western Himalayan seismic gap.
Collaborator Contribution Our collaborators at IISER Kolkata have provided seismological data and their expertise on the crustal velocity structure of the Himalayas, which is complementary to both Aisling and Alex's research, and enabled a direct collaboration on the Himalayan research project described above.
Impact A manuscript entitled "The geometry of active shortening in the north-west Himalayas and the implications for seismic hazard", reporting the findings from the collaborative research project between Aisling O'Kane, Prof. Alex Copley and Dr. Sam Wimpenny at the University of Cambridge, and Prof. Supriyo Mitra at IISER Kolkata, has been submitted for publication.
Start Year 2019
 
Description EEFIT mission - 2020 Samos earthquake 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Participation in the EEFIT mission following the 2020 Samos earthquake. EEFIT is a joint venture between industry and universities, under the umbrella of the Institution of Structural Engineers, which carries out technical evaluations of the performance of structures, foundations, and civil engineering works following earthquakes.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021
URL https://www.istructe.org/resources/case-study/2020-eefit-aegean-earthquake-mission/
 
Description Earthquake Hazard workshop, NW India 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Earthquake Hazard workshop in November 2019. Held in Jammu, NW India. Organised and supported by our Indian academic collaborators, the Jammu and Kashmir State Disaster Management Authority, and ourselves. Attendees from Disaster Management authorities and/or the Civil Service from 3 Indian States, the Indian National Disaster Management Agency, delegates from Nepal and Iran, plus multiple local stakeholders (e.g. the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board). Discussion on the science of earthquake hazard and the approaches to increasing public safety. Resulted in invitations to provide advice and training for a range of institutions, and an increased prioritisation of earthquake hazard within the Disaster Management Authorities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Geohazards Expert Panel Q&A Session 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact A geohazards workshop arranged and coordinated by the Geological Society of London. An expert panel comprising of both academic and industry specialists were invited to give talks on their area of research and expertise, followed by a Q&A session with a diverse audience on geohazards and the future of geology. The audience included over 150 people from academic and industry backgrounds with varied levels of expertise.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Geoscience For The Future 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact I was invited to deliver a talk and following discussion on natural hazards, disasters, and disaster risk reduction to Bordeaux University undergraduate students, where the talk and discussion formed part of their undergraduate geology course. It was an activity planned through a UK not-for-profit initiative 'Geoscience for the Future' which connects science specialists with schools to promote earth science and communicate the links between geoscience and a sustainable future. Other activities that I have been involved in through this initiative include 1) "Ask-A-Geo" webinars where the public can ask me what being a "geologist" involves, 2) Primary and secondary school earth science workshops mainly focussed on earthquakes and earthquake hazards, 3) Discussions with school teachers who want to incorporate more earth science in the curriculum, and 4) Higher-education advice sessions for A-Level students who want to pursue an earth science degree at a UK higher education institution. Impacts from this activity include 1) I recently gave another invited talk and discussion session for this year's cohort of undergraduate students at Bordeaux University (on 10th March 2023) so a relationship has been established between GeoForTheFuture geoscientists and Bordeaux University, with the potential to continue long-term, 2) Greater awareness publicly of Earth Science as a discipline, and 3) Updated Earth Science knowledge in school curricula (specific schools).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://geoscienceforthefuture.com