Spectral analysis of recent Istanbul (Turkey) terrorist attack

ABSTRACT

On 10 December 2016, two terrorist attacks hit İstanbul, Beşiktaş at sequential time intervals of 45 seconds shaking the buildings, damaged surrounding structures and caused loss of lives. The first blast was hit with a bomb loaded vehicle under sail in Beleştepe location. The second attack was occurred after 45 seconds in park Maçka. These blasts produced seismic signals which were recorded by two broadband instruments ISK and KAVV that are operated by Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute Regional Earthquake-Tsunami Monitoring Center (KOERI-RETMC). These explosions were audible up to several kilometers including significant acoustic energy at frequencies higher than 20 Hz. The blasts were analyzed in spectral and frequency time domain to illustrate the attack’s frequency characteristics and its amplitudes. The first attack’s (car loaded) record in KAVV stations’ N-S component shows the fundamental peak frequency in 17 Hz at 0.2th second, 12 Hz at ISK respectively depicting mono massive event and energy discharge as well. For the second attack which was a suicide bomber, the results of Short Time Fourier Analysis indicate that the energy releases focused both at higher frequencies and involving infrasound at < 20 Hz. Due to amount of bomb the second blast correspond to energy discharge  at low amplitudes in comparison with the first blast. In addition to that it was detected from the energy estimation that the explosion for the first attack is equivalent to 225.6 kg TNT.

Authors: Hamdullah Livaoğlu, Evrim Yavuz, Fadime Sertçelik, T. Serkan Irmak, İbrahim Sertçelik, Cengiz Kurtuluş

Conference: 4th International Earthquake Engineering and Seismology Conference

Date / Location: 11-13 October 2017 / Eskisehir-Turkey

Cite this paper: Livaoğlu, H., Yavuz, E., Sertçelik, F., Irmak, T. S., Sertçelik, İ., Kurtuluş, C. (2017). Spectral analysis of recent Istanbul (Turkey) terrorist attack, 4th International Earthquake Engineering and Seismology Conference, Eskişehir, Türkiye, 11-13 Ekim 2017.

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