Haiti, located at the northern Caribbean plate boundary, records a geological history of terrane accretion from Cretaceous island arc formations to the Eocene to Recent oblique collision with the Bahamas platform. Little is presently known about the underlying crustal structure of the island. We analyze P-waveforms arriving at 27 temporary broadband seismic stations deployed over a distance of 200 km across the major terrane boundaries in Haiti to determine the crustal structure of western Hispaniola. We compute teleseismic receiver functions using the Extended-Time Multi-Taper method and determine crustal thickness and bulk composition (V p /V s ) using the H-к stacking method. Three distinctive and fault-bounded crustal domains, defined by their characteristic Moho depth distributions and bulk crustal V p /V s , are imaged across Haiti. We relate these domains to three crustal terranes that have been accreted along the plate boundary during the northeastwards displacement of the Caribbean plate and are presently being deformed in a localized fold and thrust belt. In the northern domain, made up of volcanic arc facies, the crust has a thickness of~23 km and Vp/Vs of 1.75 ± 0.1 typical of average continental crust. The crust in the southern domain is part of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (Caribbean LIP), and is~22 km thick with Vp/Vs of 1.80 ± 0.03 consistent with plume-related rocks of late Cretaceous age. Significantly thicker, the crust in central Haiti has values of Moho depths averaging~41 km and with Vp/Vs of 1.80 ± 0.05. We propose that the central domain is likely constructed of an island arc upper crust with fragments of dense material originating from mafic lavas or LIP material. We produce a crustal profile along a N-S transect across Haiti accounting for the surface geology, shallow structural history, and new seismological constraints provided by variations of crustal thickness and bulk composition.

Abstract:After the M = 7.0 Haiti earthquake in 2010, many teams completed seismic risk studies in Port-au-Prince to better understand why this not extraordinarily strong event had induced one of the most severe earthquake disasters in history (at least in the Western World). Most highlighted the low construction quality as the main cause for the disaster, but some also pointed to possible soil and topographic amplification effects, especially in the lower and central parts of Port-au-Prince (e.g., close to the harbor). However, very detailed local studies of such site effects have not been completed yet. A Belgian-Haitian collaboration project was established in order to develop a detailed local seismic hazard study for Gros-Morne hill located in the district of Pétion-Ville, southeast of Port-au-Prince. In order to have a better understanding of the amplification on the Gros-Morne hill, in the southeastern part of Port-au-Prince, site effects were investigated by using near surface geophysical methods. The horizontal to vertical spectral ratio technique was applied to ambient vibrations and earthquake data, and multichannel analysis of surface waves and P-wave refraction tomography calculation were applied to seismic data. Standard spectral ratios were computed for the S-wave windows of the earthquake data recorded by a small temporary seismic network. Electrical resistivity tomography profiles were also performed in order to image the structure of the subsurface and detect the presence of water, if any. The spectral ratio results generally show low to medium (1.5-6) resonance amplitudes at one or several different resonance frequencies (for the same site), between 0.5 and 25 Hz. At most of the investigated sites, the fundamental resonance frequency varies between 7 and 10 Hz. By using the multichannel surface wave analyses of the seismic data, we were able to determine shear wave velocities ranging between 200 and 850 m/s, up to a depth of about 15-20 m. From the refraction analysis, we were able to delineate P-waves velocities of 500 to 1500-2000 m/s at the studied sites. The outputs were locally compared with the resistivity data from the electrical profiles. Thus, the overall data indicate a moderate site effect at Gros-Morne hill, with a great variability in site amplification distribution. Initial estimates of local site effects were made on the basis of those outputs and the earthquake recordings. Our results are finally discussed with respect to outputs and interpretations that had been published earlier for the same site. Those results only partly confirm the strong seismic amplification effects highlighted by previous papers for this hill site, which had been explained by the effects of the local topographic and soil characteristics.

This paper presents the general results in terms of maps, as well as geological and numerical models of a site effect study, that aimed at a better understanding of the ground motion amplification on the Gros-Morne hill, in the southeastern part of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which might have influenced the 2010 event damage pattern in that area. These maps and models are based on multiple geophysical-seismological survey outputs that are presented, in detail, in Part A of this publication. Those outputs include electrical resistivity tomography sections, P-wave velocity profiles, S-wave logs, estimates of the fundamental resonance frequency for many locations, as well as earthquake recordings at three sites and associated site amplification assessment for the top of the hill. Related results are discussed in Part A with respect to outputs and interpretations that had been published earlier by other research teams for the same site. Our results only partly confirm the strong seismic amplification effects highlighted by some of the previous studies for this hill site, which had been attributed to the influence of local topographic and soil characteristics on seismic ground motion. Here, we focus on the imaging of different site effect components over the entire survey area; we present maps of shear wave velocity variations, of changing fundamental resonance frequencies, and of related estimates of soft soil/rock thickness, of peak spectral amplitudes, and of ambient ground motion polarization. Results have also been compiled within a 3D surface-subsurface model of the hill, which helps visualize the geological characteristics of the area, which are relevant for site effect analyses. From the 3D geomodel, we extracted one 2D geological section along the short-axis of the hill, crossing it near the location of Hotel Montana on top of the hill, which had been destroyed during the earthquake, and has now been rebuilt. This cross-section was used for dynamic numerical modelling of seismic ground motion, and for related site amplification calculation. The numerical results are compared with the site amplification characteristics that had been estimated from the ambient vibration measurements and the earthquake recordings.