Vp/Vs 30 Refraction Survey of the Palisadoes Tombolo in Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica, was built on unconsolidated sedimentary structures that sometimes liquefy during seismic events. Despite repeated earthquake triggered sediment failure events in the region, disaster preparedness studies have yet to produce sediment stability models that forecast the occurrence, location, form, extent, probability and severity of earthquake triggered sediment failure events. These models do not currently exist because the Vp, Vs and shear strength of the sediments are unknown. This study will constrain the Vp, Vs and shear strength of the sediments (at 17-30 individual sites in Kingston) using the seismic refraction method.