Determination of the resonance frequency - thickness relation based on the ambient seismic noise records from Upper Silesia Coal Basin

In this paper the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) method and seismic data were applied to evaluate the resonance frequency – thickness relation. The HVSR method was used to estimate the parameters of site effects: amplification and resonance frequency from seismic noise records. The seismic noise was generated by artificial source occurring in Upper Silesia Coal Basin (UBSC), Poland, such as: traffic, industry, coal plants etc. The survey points were located near the Faculty of Earth Sciences in Sosnowiec, Bytom and Chorzow. Based on Albarello’s statistical test the observed H/V maxima was confirmed or rejected. Resonance frequencies were compared with available thicknesses of soft layer obtained by seismic survey (Mendecki 2012). Finally, the estimated resonance frequency – thickness relation for UBSC area showed quite similar power function coefficients as those obtained by other authors.