The Grangemouth industrial zone in Scotland is on an area of deep soft
clay. Extensive site investigations related to industrial development
which included seismic cone testing enabled accurate numerical calcul
ations to be carried out to assess the response of this soft site to e
arthquake excitation. The site is surrounded by the permanent LOWNET s
eismological array, which together with a temporary seismic station at
the site enabled comparison between numerical predictions and instrum
ental experimental evidence. The comparisons confirmed the predominanc
e of the site dynamic response in earthquake ground surface motions. T
hey also enabled a site-specific design response spectrum to be develo
ped with greater confidence.