P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F.

VACCARI 317

DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

OF THE GREATER ACCRA METROPOLITAN AREA,
SOUTHEASTERN GHANA

P.E. AMPONSAH
Geological Survey Department, Accra, Ghana
e-mail: pekua2@yahoo.com

B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO
Geology Department, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
e-mail: bbruce@ug.edu.gh

G.F. PANZA
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics- ESP SAND group, Trieste, Italy
e-mail: panza@dst.units.it

F. VACCARI
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy
e-mail: vaccari@dst.units.it
© 2009 December Geological Society of South Africa

ABSTRACT
The seismic ground motion of the greater Accra Metropolitan Area has been modelled for land use planning and disaster mitigation.
The deterministic computation, a hybrid method based on the modal summation and finite difference method was used. Using
these techniques, the seismic ground motion along four profiles located in the metropolis has been computed. The 1939 earthquake
of magnitude 6.5 (ML ) was used as the scenario earthquake. Synthetic seismic waveforms from which parameters for engineering
design such as peak ground acceleration, velocity and spectral amplifications have been produced along the geological cross
sections. The peak ground acceleration and velocity computed for the metropolis ranges from 0.14 g to 0.57 g and 9.2 cms-1 to
37.1 cms-1, respectively. These correspond to intensity ranging from VII to IX on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. Areas in the
metropolis underlain by unconsolidated sediments experience the largest shakings. The results illustrated represent a useful guide
for civil engineers in the design of buildings in the metropolis for safe and sustainable development.

Introduction currently recorded are quite big. Events of magnitude

Many human lives and properties have been lost as a
result of earthquakes that struck places such as Algeria
(1980), Armenia (1988), San Francisco (1989; 1906), Iran
(1990; 2003), Egypt and India (1993), Los Angeles
(1994), Japan (1995), Taiwan and Turkey (1999), India,
El Salvador, Peru, the Philippines (2001), Indonesia
(2004; 2005), Pakistan and India (2005) and China 2008.
Accra, the capital of Ghana is far from the major
earthquake zones of the world. However, it is
seismically active and prone to earthquake disaster.
Records of damaging earthquakes in Ghana date as far
back as 1615. The most destructive earthquake occurred
in Ghana in 1939. The magnitude of the earthquake was
6.5 on the Richter scale. Seventeen people were killed,
133 persons were injured and an estimated one million
pounds worth of damage was done to buildings
( Junner, 1941).
The capital city, densely populated and with a high
concentration of industries, and its environs have been
struck by damaging earthquakes in the past and many
earth tremors from time to time. The local events
more than 4.0 on the Richter scale have been recorded
(Amponsah, 2002; Akoto and Anum, 1992). The latest
earth tremors recorded (Magnitudes 3.8 to 4.8) in the
country in 1997 and 2003 were strongly felt in the capital
city. This sequence of earthquakes makes Accra very
unsafe for its inhabitants. Buildings in the metropolis are
generally not designed to withstand earthquake shocks
(Ayetey and Andoh, 1988); therefore, very small
magnitude earthquakes can cause substantial damage to
buildings. The hazard that these events are likely to pose
can be mitigated by inputting some safety measures
such as retrofitting of existing buildings and applying the
appropriate parameters for structural design.
Devastating earthquakes will continue to occur, if
nothing is done to mitigate their impact in the prone
areas, the cost on human life and property would be
unbearable. The high seismic risk in the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area and the lack of strong ground motion
instrumental recording data make it plausible to use
earthquake scenarios and seismic ground motion
simulations to define the seismic input that must be

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY, 2009, VOLUME 112 PAGE 317-328

doi:10.2113/gssajg.112.3-4.317
318 DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

Figure 1. Map of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F. VACCARI

Figure 2. Geological map of the study area showing the locations of the profiles and the earthquake source.
319
 320

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

Figure 3. Fault map of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (modified from Muff and Efa, 2006).
 P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F. VACCARI 321

Figure 4. Geological cross section A-A’’ (from Kwashiman/ Figure 5. Geological cross section B-B’ (from Pambros to
Dansoman to Labadi)with mechanical properties. Christiansburg Castle) with mechanical properties.

Figure 6. Geological cross section C-C’ (from Achimota to Accra Figure 7. Geological cross section D-D’ (from Anyaa to Korle
Central) with mechanical properties. Gonno) with mechanical properties.

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

322 DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

Table 1.

Layer thickness (km) Density Vp (km/s) Vs (km/s) Qp Qs Depth (km) Layer

1.92 2.34 2.70 1.50 110 50 1.92 1
2.14 2.40 2.90 1.70 220 100 4.06 2
1.13 2.50 4.04 2.15 220 100 5.19 3
10.05 2.77 6.13 3.54 440 200 15.24 4
12.76 2.88 6.52 3.67 440 200 28.00 5
10.60 3.05 7.10 3.93 440 200 38.60 6
21.40 3.37 8.07 4.46 440 200 60.00 7
20.00 3.38 8.08 4.47 440 200 80.00 8

borne by the city. The damages on buildings and
structures in built up areas largely depend on the ground
motion characteristics such as the amplitude, frequency
distribution, duration of the motion and the resonance
period of the structures/buildings.
Ideally, the seismic ground motion parameters in a
given area can be determined using strong ground
motion records (Moldoveanu et al., 2004; Ding et al.,
2004; Romanelli and Vaccari, 1999; Vaccari et al., 2001;
Joshi and Midorikawa, 2004; Radulian et al., 2002; Panza
et al., 1999). The accelerograms with similar source,
path and site conditions can be grouped and analysed,
but unfortunately such a database is not available in
Ghana. In the absence of such a data base, what can be
done is to use theoretical methods and computer
codes for the simulation of the expected ground motion
and related scenarios (Vaccari et al., 2005; Moldoveanu
et al., 2004; Parvez et al., 2004; Slavov et al., 2004; Panza
et al., 2003; Kouteva et al., 2003; Panza and Kouteva,
2003; Panza et al., 2002; Radulian et al., 2002; Parvez
et al., 2002; Romannelli et al.,2003; El-Sayed et al., 2000;
Olsen, 2000; Aoudia et al., 1999; El-Sayed et al., 2001;
Panza et al., 1999; Graves, 1998; Zuccolo et al., 2008).
The parameters of the synthetic seismograms
computed, can be used in the absence of instrumentally
recorded strong ground motion data for a preventive
assessment of the seismic hazard of the metropolis.
Figure 1 is the location map of the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area. In this study, the neo-deterministic
method (e.g. Panza et al., 2001; Panza et al. (Editors),
2000) has been used to evaluate the seismic ground
motion of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. This will
determine how a particular source, path properties and
site conditions control the seismic hazard.
The study area
The study area is located in the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area in southeastern Ghana between
latitudes 5°28’N and 5°44’N and longitudes 0°25’W and
0°5’W (Figure 1). Rocks in the study area are the
Accraian, Togo and Dahomeyan Formations. These
formations are overlain by unconsolidated and poorly
consolidated sediments and soils of Quaternary/Tertiary
age. They include lateritic soil, gravels, clay, fluvial or
lacustrine sediments.
The Accraian Formation consists of sandstones and
shales which have been variously folded and faulted
(McCallien, 1962). In Accra, rocks of the Accraian
Formation underlie most of the central capital district
area up to the fringes of the Airport to the east.
The Formation is flanked by rocks of the Dahomeyan
System to the east and northeast (Muff and Effa,
2006). To the west and northwest of the Accraian
Formation, rocks of the Togo Formation mainly of
quartzites, quartz-schists and Phyllites/Phyllonite occur
(Figure 2).
The dominant structural characteristics of these rocks
are the northeast-southwest shear zones (Banoeng,
2000; Muff and Effa, 2006). The depth and products of
weathering vary in all these rocks. This variation plays a
major role in the determination of seismic risks in these
areas.
Recent micro - earthquakes have been located along
the two major fault systems in the country, namely, the
coastal boundary fault and the Akwapim fault zone
(Figure 3). The Akwapim Fault Zone marks the
southeastern boundary of the West African Craton and
represents a Pan African thrust (Blundell, 1976). Fault
plane solutions and geological observations along the
Akwapim Fault Zone suggest a strike-slip movement in
response to a regional east-south-east trending tensional
stress (Bacon and Quaah, 1981). The coastal boundary
fault defines the contact between Jurassic and Tertiary
sedimentary units and is believed to have developed
during the Jurassic and continued to be active during
Cretaceous and Tertiary times. It trends east west with a
throw of several thousand meters to the south (Blundell
and Banson, 1975). The faults in the metropolis are
generally normal faults with some component of right
lateral strike-slip movement (Quaah, 1980). These are
clear indication of a neotectonic movement along the
fault systems.
Method
The input data for the ground motion simulation are the
average regional structural (1D) model (bedrock model),
parameters of the laterally heterogeneous local (2D)
model and the earthquake source.
Regional structural model (bedrock model)
The crustal structure of Accra has not been studied
extensively. However, the work done by Akpati (1975)
and Attoh et al. (2004) give information on the structure
of Accra up to a depth of about 4.0 km. Information

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

 P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F. VACCARI 323

Figure 8. The local model (bottom) and the synthetic seismograms computed along the profile A-A’’ (vertical component).

about the crust and upper mantle of Accra to a depth of
80.0 km have been taken from the Preliminary Reference
Earth model (PREM) (Dziewonski and Anderson, 1981).
The quality factor for the S-waves has been obtained
from the general relation Qp = 2.2 Qs (e.g. Stein and
Wysession, 2003) since in Ghana such measurements for
its rocks are not available. The layered structure used
for the computation is shown in Table 1.
where:
Vp – Primary wave velocity
Vs – Secondary wave velocity
Qp – Quality factor for P-wave
Qs – Quality factor for S-wave
shown in Figures 4 to 7 were used in the computation.
Cross section A-A’’ was published by Muff et al. (2006).
Earthquake source
The 1939 earthquake is used as the source of the
scenario earthquake for computing the synthetic
seismograms for all the profiles (Figure 2). The focal
mechanism of the 1939 earthquake is normal faulting
with some component of right – lateral strike movement.
The magnitude of the event is 6.5 (ML) and its maximum
intensity is IX. The epicentral location is 5.40oN and
0.25oW. The focal parameters are dip = 80o, rake = 240o,
strike = N9oE, depth = 18 km (Quaah, 1980).

Data obtained from seismic refraction survey and
borehole investigations in the study area have been used
for the compilation of the mechanical properties of the
geological cross sections (Amedofu, 2005; Amoako et al.,
2005; Amedofu et al., 2004a; Amedofu et al., 2004b)
Computation of the synthetic seismograms
The computation of synthetic seismograms along the
geological cross-sections A-A’’, B-B’, C-C’ and D-D’
(Figures 4 to 7) is done using the hybrid method
according to the technique described by Faeh (1992);

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

324 DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

Figure 9. The local model (bottom) and the synthetic seismograms computed along the profile A-A’’ (radial component).

Faeh et al. (1993), Faeh and Panza (1994) and Panza
et al. (2001).
The hybrid technique comprises of the modal
summation and the finite difference methods.
The modal summation technique (Panza, 1985; Panza
and Suhadolc, 1989; Panza et al., 2001) is first applied to
simulate the wave propagation from the source to the
beginning of the 10.0 km long and 200 m deep
geological cross sections (bedrock model). The synthetic
waveforms computed along the bedrock model are
numerically propagated into the 2D laterally
heterogeneous local model by the finite difference
method for the computation of the seismograms.
The grid points established for the finite difference
computation is 2800 by 600 along the X and Z axis
respectively. A grid spacing of 0.005 km is used for the
simulation. The signals are computed with a cut-off
frequency of 10.0 Hz. The waveforms are scaled to the
desired magnitude in the frequency domain (Panza
et al., 1999) using the scaling law of Gusev (1983) as
reported by Aki (1987).
Results and discussion
Synthetic seismograms transverse (SH) and radial and
vertical components (P-SV) have been computed along
the profiles. To determine what damages is to be
expected in the metropolis, the estimated peak ground
acceleration and velocity obtained are compared with
the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale of the United
States of America (Bolt, 2004) and also with the
conversion table by Panza et al. (2001) for the Mercalli,
Cancani, Sieberg (MCS) scale (Cancani,1904).
The peak ground acceleration estimated in the study
ranges from 0.14 g to 0.57 g. This corresponds to
intensity ranging from VII to IX on the MMI scale (Bolt,
2004) and IX to XI on the MCS scale (Panza et al., 2001).
The peak ground velocity estimated in the study ranges
from 9.2 cms-1 to 37.1 cms-1. This corresponds to

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

 P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F. VACCARI 325

Figure 10. The local model (bottom) and the synthetic seismograms computed along the profile A-A’’(transverse component).

intensity ranging from IX to XI on the MCS scale (Panza
et al., 2001) and VII to VIII on the MMI scale (Bolt,
2004). Peak ground acceleration ranging from 0.20 g to
0.34 g is computed on the vertical(ver) component,
while the peak ground velocity on the vertical
component ranges from 11.9 cms-1 to 22.0 cms-1 and is
equivalent to MMI intensity of about VII to VIII
(Bolt, 2004). The conversion scale by Panza et al. (2001)
give an MCS intensity ranging from IX to X.
The maximum spectral amplification on the vertical
component ranges from 4 to 6 in the frequency
range from 2.0 Hz to 5.0 Hz and at an epicentral distance
in the range from 15.0 km to 25.5 km from the
source. Areas underlain by unconsolidated sediments
experience the largest amplifications. On the
radial (rad) component the maximum amplification is
four in a frequency band ranging from 2.0 Hz to
5.0 Hz at a distance from 16.5 km to 25.5 km from the
source.
Intensity levels as high as XI (MCS) (Panza et al.,
2001) and VIII (MMI) (Bolt, 2004) have been estimated.
Should an earthquake of such intensity strike Ghana
again there would be great destruction and massive loss
of human life. The high peak ground acceleration
estimated are located in areas underlain by
unconsolidated and poorly consolidated sediments with
poor mechanical properties such as colluvium,
continental and marine deposits (Figure 2). Buildings in
the metropolis in such formations should be designed to
withstand these high ground acceleration. Some of the
models and seismograms computed are shown in
Figures 8, 9 and 10. The response spectra ratio (RSR),
the ratio between the response spectrum of the synthetic
seismogram computed along the 2D local model to that
along the same profile where the regional 1D model
replaces the local model were also estimated.
The response spectra ratio for profile A-A’’ is shown in
Figure 11.

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

326 DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING

Figure 11. Response spectra ratio (RSR) for the profile A-A’’.

SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY

 P.E. AMPONSAH, B.K. BANOENG-YAKUBO, G.F. PANZA AND F. VACCARI
The PGA values computed for the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area can be compared with those
estimated for Debrecen in Hungary up to 0.54 g
(Gribovszki and Vaccari, 2004) and for different areas in
the Egyptian territory (El-Sayed et al., 1999; 2000; 2004)
up to 1.92 g. Predicting the pattern of ground motion of
scenario earthquakes in urban areas and identifying
locations which are vulnerable would help in reducing
the potential of earthquake damage in such heavily
populated area. The ground motion parameters obtained
is useful for urban planning, retrofitting of the built
environment, for earthquake preparedness and risk
reduction. Civil Engineers can use the parameters as
seismic input for the design of structures. This is a
prerequisite to curtail the negative impact of any strong
earthquake on structures in the metropolis.
Conclusion
In the absence of instrumental strong ground motion
data in Ghana, the seismic ground motion of the Greater
Accra Metropolitan Area has been modelled using a
hybrid method. Geological, seismological and
geotechnical data have been used to simulate the
ground motion of the metropolis which now makes it
possible to define realistic seismic engineering
parameters for the already built area. The parameters
obtained from the seismograms allow us to estimate the
seismic hazard of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area;
the most hazardous areas are places underlain by
unconsolidated geological formations with poor
mechanical properties. High PGA values have been
estimated for such areas; therefore buildings in these
areas should be designed to resist such high ground
accelerations.
Acknowledgements
The authors are very thankful to the Abdus Salam
International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste,
Italy, for the financial support and the Department of
Earth Sciences, University of Trieste for providing the
facilities for the study. We extend our sincerest
appreciation to the Geological Survey Department of
Ghana for permitting the use of seismic survey data.
We warmly acknowledge the invaluable assistance
of Mr Malik A. Affum, Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana and
Mrs RoseMary Sasu Okla of the Geological Survey
Department, Ghana. Thanks are also due to Artur
Cichowicz and Herbert Uzoegbo for critically reviewing
the manuscript.
References
Aki, K. (1987). Strong motion Seismology. In: Strong ground motion
Seismology. In: M.O. Erdik and M. Toksoz (Editors). NATO ASI Series,
Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences. D. Reidal Publishing
Company, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 204, 3–39.
Akoto, M.A. and Anum, S.A. (1992). Monitoring recent microseismic activity
in Ghana. Tectonophysics, 209, 43–46.
Akpati, B.N. (1975). Geological structure and evolution of Keta basin. Ghana
Geological Survey Report, 75/3, 1–31.
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
327
Amedofu, S.K. (2005). Seismic refraction investigations for the construction
of a three storey building at Abossey- Okai, Accra. Ghana Geological
Survey Department, Report, 05/1, 1–14.
Amedofu, S.K., Asabir, J.A. and Akamaluk, T. (2004a). Seismic refraction
investigation at Airport Hills for the construction of buildings. Geological
Survey Department, Report, 04/2, 1–4.
Amedofu, S.K., Asabir, J.A. and Amponsah, P.E. (2004b). Seismic refraction
investigations at South McCarthy Hill near Weija for foundation purposes.
Geological Survey Department, Report, 04/3, 1–4.
Amoako, P.Y.O., Amedofu, S.K., Loh, G.K., Asabir, J.A. and Abubakar, S.
(2005). Geological and Geophysical investigations for the construction of
residential houses at Obosommase near Dodowa. Phase II for Civil
Servants Association. Geological Survey Department Report, 05/3, 1–17.
Amponsah, P.E. (2002). Seismic activity in relation to fault systems in
southern Ghana. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 35, 227–234.
Aoudia, A., Chimera, G., Costa, G., Nunziata, C., Panza, G.F., Romanelli, F.,
Sarao, A., Suhadolc, P. and Vaccari, F. (1999). Modelling of the seismic
ground motion for the Umbria Marche earthquake sequence (September
1997). Preprint IC/99/141, The Abdus Salam International Centre for
Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, 1–10.
Attoh, K., Brown, L., Guo, J. and Heanlein, J. (2004). Seismic Stratigraphic
record of Transpression and uplift on the Romanche Transform margin,
offshore Ghana. Tectonophysics, 378, 1–16
Ayetey, J.K. and Andoh, M.B. (1988). Earthquake site response study of Accra
Area, Ghana. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment,
38, 15–25.
Bacon, M and Quaah, A.O. (1981). Earthquake Activity in Southern Ghana
(1977–1980). Bulletin of Seismological Society of America, 71, 771–785.
Banoeng-Yakubo, B.K. (2000). The application of remote sensing and
geographical information system to hydrogeological studies in the upper
west region of Ghana. Unpublished M.Phil Thesis. University of Ghana.
110pp.
Blundell, D.J. (1976). Active faults in West Africa. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, 31, 287–290.
Blundell, D.J. and Banson, J.K.A. (1975). Interpretation of seismic reflection
survey across the continental shelf of Accra and its bearing on
earthquakes in the area. Geological Survey Report, Ghana Publishing
Corporation, 75/1, 1–7.
Bolt, B.A. (2004). Earthquakes.W.H. Freeman and company. New York,
United States od America, 349pp.
Cancani. (1904). Sur l’emploi d’une double echelle seismique des
intesites,empirique et absolue. Gerland’s Beitriige zur Geophysik,
2, 281–283.
Ding, Z., Romanelli, F., Chen, Y.T. and Panza, G.F. (2004). Realistic modelling
of seismic wave ground motion in Beijing city. Pure and Applied
Geophysics, 161, 1093–1106.
Dziewonski, A.M. and Anderson, D.L. (1981). Preliminary reference Earth
model, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 25, 297–356.
El-Sayed, A., Korrat, I. and Hussein, H.M. (2004). Seismicity and seismic
hazard in Alexandria (Egypt) and its surroundings. Pure and Applied
Geophysics, 161, 1003–1019.
El-Sayed, A., Romanelli, F. and Panza, G.F. (2000). Recent seismicity and
realistic waveforms modelling to reduce the ambiguities about the 1303
seismic activity in Egypt. Tectonophysics, 328, 341–357
El-Sayed, A., Vaccari, F. and Panza, G.F. (2001). Deterministic seismic hazard
in Egypt. Geophysics Journal International, 144, 555–567
Faeh, D. (1992). A hybrid technique for the estimation of strong ground
motion in sedimentary basins. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, Zurich, 102pp.
Faeh, D., Iodice, C., Suhadolc, P. and Panza, G.F. (1993). A new method for
the realistic estimation of seismic ground motion in megacities: the case
of Rome. Earthquake Spectra, 9, 643–668.
Faeh, D. and Panza, G.F. (1994). Realistic modelling of observed seismic
motion in complex sedimentary basins, Annali di Geofisica. XXXVII (6),
1771–1796.
Graves, W.R. (1998). Three-Dimensional Finite-Differences modelling of the
San Andreas fault: source parameterization and ground – motion levels.
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 88, 881–897.
Gribovszki, K. and Vaccari, F. (2004). Modelling of seismic ground motion
and site effect along two profiles in the city of Debrecen, Hungary. Acta
Geodetic and Geophysics, Hungary, 39, 101–120.
328 DETERMINISTIC SEISMIC GROUND MOTION MODELLING
Gusev, A.A. (1983). Descriptive statistical model of earthquake source
radiation and its application to an estimation of short-period strong
motion. Geophysical Journal Review of Astronomical Society, 74, 787–808.
Joshi, A. and Midorikawa, S. (2004). A simplified method for simulation of
strong ground motion using finite rupture model of the earthquake
source. Journal of Seismology, 8, 467–484.
Junner, N.R. (1941). The Accra Earthquake of 22nd June, 1939, Gold Coast
Geological Survey Bulletin, 13, 3–41.
Kouteva, M., Panza, G.F., Paskaleva, I. and Romanelli F. (2003). A parametric
analysis of the seismic input in northeast Bulgaria (Russe site) due to
recent Vrancea intermediate- Depth earthquakes. Preprint IC/2003/24,
ICTP, Trieste, Italy.
McCallien, W.J. (1962). The rocks of Accra. A guide to the coast along High
street. Ghana Publishing Corporation, 74pp.
Moldoveanu, C.L., Radulian, M., Mamureanu, Gh. and Panza, G.F., (2004).
Microzonation of Bucharest: State-of-the-Art. Pure and Applied
Geophysics, 161, 1125–1147
Muff, R. and Effah, E. (2006). Explanatory notes for the Geological map for
urban planning.1:50,000 of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.
36pp. Unpuplished.
Olsen, K.B. (2000). Site amplification in the Los Angeles basin from 3D
modeling of ground motion. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of
America, 90, S77–S94.
Panza, G.F. (1985). Synthetic seismograms: the Rayleigh waves modal
summation. Journal of Geophysics, 58, 125–145.
Panza, G.F., Cazzaro, R. and Vaccari, F. (1999). Deterministic seismic hazard
assessment. F. Wenzel, D. Lungu and O. Novak. (Editors), Vrancea
Earthquakes: Tectonics, hazard and risk mitigation, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, the Netherlands, 269–286.
Panza, G.F, Cioflan, C., Kouteva, M., Paskaleva, I., Romanelli, F. and
Marmureanu. (2003). An innovative view to the seismic hazard from
strong Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes: The case studies of
Bucharest (Romania) and Russe (Bulgaria). Preprint IC/2003/23,
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste,
Italy, 1–19.
Panza, G.F. and Kouteva, M. (2003). Earth Sciences contribution to the
Sustainable Development of ground Transportation Systems: Relevant
Case Studies in Central Europe. In: T. Beer and A. Ismail-Zadeh (Editors),
Risk Science and Sustainability, NATO Science Series, II Mathematics,
Physics and Chemistry, Kluwer academic Publishers, Dordrecht,
The Netherlands, 112, 127–148.
Panza, G.F., Radulian, M.E and Trifu, C. (Editors) (2000). Seismic Hazard of
the Circum-Pannonian Region. Pure and Applied Geophysics, Birkhauser
Verlag, Basel, Switzerland, 157, 280pp.
Panza, G.F., Romanelli, F. and Vaccari, F. (2001). Seismic wave propagation
in laterally heterogeneous anelastic media: theory and applications to
seismic zonation. Advances in Geophysics, 43, 1–95.
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY
Panza, G.F., Romanelli, F., Vaccari, F., Decanini, L. and Mollaioli, F. (2002).
Seismic ground motion modelling and damage earthquake scenarios:
A bridge between seismologists and seismic engineers. In: OECD/NEA
Workshop on the relation between Seismological Data and Seismic
Engineering, Istanbul, Turkey, NEA/CSNI/R (2003), 18, 241–266.
Panza, G.F. and Suhadoc, P. (1989). Realistic simulation and Prediction of
strong motion ground motion. Proceedings of the fourth International
Conference on computational methods and experimental measurements,
Capri, Italy. Computers and Experiments in Stress Analysis, Computational
Mechanics Publications and Springer-Verlag, Southampton Boston, 77–98.
Parvez, I.A., Panza, G.F., Gusev, A.A. and Vaccari, F. (2002). Strong-motion
amplitudes in Himalayas and a pilot study for the deterministic first –
order microzonation in a part of Delhi city. Current Science, 82, 158–165.
Parvez, I.A., Vaccari, F., and Panza, G.F. (2004). Site-specific microzonation
study in Delhi metropolitan city by 2-D modelling of SH and P-SV waves.
Pure and Applied Geophysics, 161, 1165–1184.
Quaah, A.O. (1980). Microseismicity, past seismic activity and seismic risk in
southern Ghana. Unpublshed Ph.D Theses, University of London, United
Kingdom, 198pp.
Radulian, M., Vaccari, F., Mandrescu, N., Moldoveanu. and Panza, G.F.
(2002). Deterministic hazard computation for Vrancea subcrustal
earthquakes. Proceedings, Third European Union-Japan workshop on
seismsic risk, Kyoto, 61–67.
Romanelli, F. and Vaccari, F. (1999). Site response estimation and ground
motion spectrum scenario in the Catania area. Journal of Seismology,
3, 311–326.
Romanelli, F., Vaccari, F. and Panza, G.F. (2003). Realistic modelling of the
seismic input: Site effects and parametric studies. Journal of Seismology
and Earthquake Engineering, 5, 27–39.
Slavov, S., Paskaleva, I., Kouteva, M., Vaccari, F. and Panza G.F. (2004).
Deterministic earthquake scenarios for the city of Sofia. Pure and Applied
Geophysics, 161, 1221–1237.
Stein, S. and Wysession, M. (2003). An introduction to seismology,
earthquakes and earth Structure, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, United
Kingdom, 498pp.
Vaccari, F., Romanelli, F. and Panza, G.F. (2005). Detailed modelling of strong
ground motion in Trieste. Modellazione dettagliata del moto sismico del
suolo a Trieste. Geologia tecnica e ambientale, 2, 7–40
Vaccari, F., Tadili, B., El Qadi, A., Ramdani, M., Ait Brahim, L. and Limouri,
M. (2001). Deterministic seismic hazard assessment for North Morocco.
Journal of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, 3, 1–12.
Zuccolo, E., Vaccari, F., Peresan, A., Dusi, A., Martelli, A. and Panza, G.F.
(2008). Neo-deterministic definition of seismic input for residential
seismicity isolated buildings, Engineering Geology , doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.
2008.04.006.
Editorial handling: A.A. Nyblade