The study area, located in Martil, northern Morocco, lies in a region with high seismic risk, near a subduction zone. As a result, loose soils, such as sands, lose their shear strength under seismic loads due to an increase in pore water pressure, leading to deformations. The objective of this study is to assess the risk of soil liquefaction at the site where the Lalla Khadija High School will be constructed. The method used to evaluate the liquefaction risk is based on in-situ test results, as proposed by Seed and Idriss (J Soil Mech Found Div 97(9):1249-1273, 1971. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0000981). Specifically, the liquefaction potential is assessed using data from the cone penetration test (CPT). This methodological approach combines a qualitative evaluation of susceptibility, which identifies the presence of fill materials and Plio-Quaternary sands-potentially liquefiable materials. At this stage, a quantitative evaluation of susceptibility is performed by calculating the safety factor, defined as the ratio between the normalized cyclic resistance ratio of the soil and the normalized cyclic stress ratio induced by the earthquake. The results of the CPT indicate that the normalized penetration resistance (qc1Ncs) consistently exceeds 160, which reflects sufficient soil strength. Consequently, the analysis confirms the absence of liquefaction risk in the sandy layers between depths of 1.8 m and 14 m. Therefore, the studied site has no liquefaction potential. This study has certain limitations. It relies solely on the method of Seed and Idriss (1971) to assess liquefaction risk, thereby restricting comparisons with alternative approaches. Additionally, the analysis focuses exclusively on the Lalla Khadija High School site, preventing extrapolation to the entire Martil plain. Nevertheless, by confirming the absence of liquefaction risk at this site, the study enables optimized foundation design, ensuring the stability of the infrastructure in the event of an earthquake. This contributes to occupant safety and improved seismic risk management in the region.

Given the likelihood of future M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquakes, various estimates of the resulting, regional ground motions have been made, including a suite of 30 physics-based simulations that reflect key modeling uncertainties. However, because the last CSZ interface rupture occurred in 1700 CE, the shaking expected in such an event is especially uncertain, as are the impacts to the built and living environments. Like other coseismic impacts, soil liquefaction poses a significant threat and must be considered by any scenario study used to inform planning and response, or to focus mitigation resources. Liquefaction is also notable for its potential to ground truth ground-motion estimates, given that its presence or absence in the geologic record can provide constraint on the intensities of shaking in past events. It is thus an important phenomenon looking both forward and backward. Accordingly, using recent physics-based simulations, this study (1) predicts liquefaction in M9 CSZ ruptures at 400 locations in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia (BC) using an array of cone-penetration-test based models and (2) uses paleoliquefaction evidence at ten sites spanning from Southern Oregon to Vancouver, BC to constrain possible ground-motion intensities experienced in the 1700 CE earthquake. The forward predictions indicate that liquefaction in M9 events could be pervasive in the region and affect numerous population hubs, with the potential for damage across hundreds of square kilometers. The backward analyses suggest that 1700 CE ground-motion intensities may have been less than expected from M9 simulations in some northern portions of the CSZ (e.g. Seattle), given the paucity of 1700 CE liquefaction evidence in these areas. Ultimately, further discovery and analysis of CSZ paleoliquefaction, or lack thereof, will confirm or modify this possibility and the conclusions drawn herein.

Geophysics and Geotechnical Engineering commonly use 1-D wave propagation analysis, simplifying complex scenarios by assuming flat and homogeneous soil layers, vertical seismic wave propagation and negligible pore water pressure effects (total stress analysis). These assumptions are commonly used in practice, providing the basis for applications like analysing site responses to earthquakes and characterizing soil properties through inversion processes. These processes involve various in situ tests to estimate the subsurface soil's material profile, providing insights into its behaviour during seismic events. This study seeks to address the limitations inherent to 1-D analyses by using 3-D physics-based simulations to replicate in situ tests performed in the Argostoli basin, Greece. Active and passive source surveys are simulated, and their results are used to determine material properties at specific locations, using standard geophysical methods. Our findings underscore the potential of 3-D simulations to explore different scenarios, considering different survey configurations, source types and array sets.