Bedrock Depth Variations and Their Applications to identify Blind Faults in the Pohang area using the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR)

Some deep faults do not reach the ground surface and are seldom recognized. Gokgang Fault area in the east of the Heunghae area of the Pohang basin has been selected to confirm the feasibility of the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) approach to identify blind faults. Densely spaced microtremor data have been acquired along two lines in the study area and processed to obtain resonance frequencies. An empirical relationship between the resonance frequency and the bedrock depth was proposed using borehole data available in the study area. Resonance frequencies along two lines were then converted to bedrock depths. The resulting depth profiles show significant lateral variations in the bedrock depth. As expected, considerable variation in the resonance frequency is observed near the Gokgang fault. The depth profiles also present additional significant variations in the resonance frequencies and the bedrock depths. The feature is presumably related to a blind fault that is previously unknown. Therefore, this case study confirms the feasibility of the HVSR technique to identify faults otherwise not recognized on the surface.