For the average citizen in Belgium, earthquakes are perceived as distant events, unlikely to ever affect their daily lives or warrant concern. This perception is supported by the relative absence of significant seismic activity in Belgium over the past 30 years. Such inactivity is not unusual, as Belgian intraplate seismicity is characterized by low to moderate diffuse seismicity with long periods of inactivity. Occasionally, however, large earthquakes have occurred and are likely to occur again, causing damage throughout vast regions in Belgium.
Due to Belgium’s low to moderate seismicity, however, the number of instrumentally recorded earthquakes since the development of the modern seismic network in Belgium in the 1980’s remains limited and unrepresentative of the long-term seismic activity. To achieve a more comprehensive assessment of the seismic hazard, an additional source of information on the impact of earthquakes is required. This gap can be addressed using macroseismic intensity data.
Macroseismic intensity is the classification of the severity of ground shaking at a specific location. It is based only on the observed shaking effects on people and its surroundings. In this PhD, damage and eyewitness reports from over a century have been compiled and analyzed. The result is the publication of the most comprehensive summary available of macroseismology in Belgium: from a summary of the conducted macroseismic surveys since the early 20th century, to a detailed overview of the spatial distribution and the impact of seismic activity on Belgium, as well as a critical review on the quality of this data.
The publication of the Belgian macroseismic database represents a significant advancement for engineering seismology in Belgium, improving its earthquake preparedness. It enables a range of applications, some of which have been demonstrated in this research: from the validation of the most recent Belgian seismic hazard model against real-world observations, to the identification of the best performing intensity Prediction Equations (IPEs) that best represent ground shaking attenuation in Belgium.
Jury members :
- Prof. João Saraiva Esteves Pacheco De Almeida (UCLouvain, Belgium), supervisor
- Dr. Koen Van Noten (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium), supervisor
- Prof. Nicolas Moës (UCLouvain, Belgium), chairperson
- Dr. Thierry Camelbeeck (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium)
- Dr. Ryan Hoult (UCLouvain, Belgium)
- Prof. Hervé Degée (Hasselt University, Belgium)
- Mr. Thierry Bontemps (Tractebel, Belgium)
Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2Q5NDNlZjEtZWFkYS00YWU3LWJiODYtMGFkYjQzMzA4ZWQ0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%227ab090d4-fa2e-4ecf-bc7c-4127b4d582ec%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2261610bab-dae7-424c-8731-eda0f18db4e2%22%7d
