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Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) Seismic Surveys in Fredericktown, Missouri, June 2018

Metadata Updated: December 11, 2025

In June 2018, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collected geophysical measurements to help evaluate the suitability of a proposed landfill site for disposing mine-waste materials in Fredericktown, MO. A total of 35 horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) passive seismic measurements were collected at the site. The HVSR technique uses a three-component seismometer to measure the vertical and horizontal components of ambient seismic noise. Seismic noise in the range of approximately 0.1 to 1 Hertz (Hz) is caused by ocean waves, large regional storms, and tectonic sources. A resonance frequency (f0) is induced in the unconsolidated sediments when there is a substantial contrast (greater than 2 to 1 ratio) in shear-wave acoustic impedance between the overburden and the bedrock. The HVSR data were interpreted to determine the f0 from analysis of the spectral ratio of the horizontal and vertical components of the seismic data. The thickness of the overburden can be related to f0. In general, lower f0 relates to thicker sediments, and higher f0 relates to relatively thinner overburden. At the Fredericktown, MO, site the resonance frequency was related to the depth of the overburden using an average shear-wave velocity that was measured at the site using active seismic source measurements. About two thirds of the HVSR surveys exhibited low to zero amplitude peaks, which is consistent with either a low amplitude acoustic impedance, an overburden layer, or a combination of both that is too thin to measure. The median value of the depth to bedrock for the 10 reliable measurements was 1.6 meters.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5cb778f7e4b0c3b0065d7d3b
Data Last Modified 2020-08-18T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 2a9a41f6-583e-407f-91c8-9b46faa9b8f6
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 080e908981cb2dfd37b70c3711480fe760442202ed4601b417d9c46268b6dfe5
Source Schema Version 1.1

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