NERA

NERA was a project in the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) of the European Commission (EC) that integrated key research infrastructures in Europe to monitor earthquakes and assess their hazard and risk to improve and make a long-term impact on the assessment and the reduction of the vulnerability of constructions and citizens to earthquakes.

Our group was involved in the Work package JRA1, Waveform modelling and site coefficients for basin response and topography, and Workpackage NA5, Networking near-fault observatories.

The key objective of JRA1 was to establish some scientifically solid and practically acceptable propositions to incorporate basin and surface topography effects in seismic design (building codes, microzonation studies, critical facilities). We contributed with a systematic study of the topographic site effects with emphasis on reasonable characterization of the both topographic site structures and observed effects on ground motion. We gathered available earthquake and ambient vibration recordings from sites with pronounced topography (Europe, Japan) and performed joint analysis with digital elevation models.

The results and final recommendations have been published in a report. These conclusions contribute to the ongoing (light) revision of EC8.

The objective of NA5 was to collaborate in sharing of technological and scientific experience and know-how between the near-fault observatories. We shared our experience with the installation (including data gathering and data archiving) of various instruments in the Valais region. This workpackage represented an infrastructural support for workpackage 2 of the project REAKT.