Geophysics for urban subsurface characterization: Two case studies from Spain

This work focuses on two case studies carried out in Spain, where urban geophysics plays an important role in subsurface characterization. The application of geophysical methods in urban scenarios faces several challenges related to environmental noise (seismic or electromagnetic) or logistical constraints (lack of open space, complexity of instrumentation setup). In order to overcome these problems, research efforts are needed on both acquisition and processing aspects. The first case study presents the use of an innovative technology to acquire seismic data in the city of Granada. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is based on the measurement of strain rate along a buried optical fiber that provides seismic measurements in a dense array of sensors. In our study, the fiber is a pre-existing underground telecommunications cable that crosses the city from northwest to southeast. We used 10 hours of ambient noise recordings to obtain subsurface reflection images that provide critical information for ground motion studies and seismic hazards in the metropolitan area. The second case study is located in the autonomous city of Melilla (North Africa). In this work, a gravimetric survey was carried out over the urban area with the aim of delineating the bedrock using 3D gravimetric inversion. We integrated the resulting geophysical model with surface geological observations, electrical resistivity tomography sections and borehole data to produce a 3D geological model of the city. Both studies highlight the suitability of geophysical information to complement the urban geological and geotechnical dataset to characterize and image the city underground.