scholarly journals The Controls on Earthquake Ground Motion in Foreland-Basin Settings: The Effects of Basin and Source Geometry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisling O'Kane ◽  
Alex Copley
Author(s):  
Aisling O’Kane ◽  
Alex Copley

Summary Rapid urban growth has led to large population densities in foreland basin regions, and therefore a rapid increase in the number of people exposed to hazard from earthquakes in the adjacent mountain ranges. It is well known that earthquake-induced ground shaking is amplified in sedimentary basins. However, questions remain regarding the main controls on this effect. It is, therefore, crucial to identify the main controls on earthquake shaking in foreland basins as a step towards mitigating the earthquake risk posed to these regions. We model seismic-wave propagation from range-front thrust-faulting earthquakes in a foreland-basin setting. The basin geometry (depth and width) and source characteristics (fault dip and source-to-basin distance) were varied, and the resultant ground motion was calculated. We find that the source depth determines the amount of near-source ground shaking and the basin structure controls the propagation of this energy into the foreland basin. Of particular importance is the relative length scales of the basin depth and dominant seismic wavelength (controlled by the source characteristics), as this controls the amount of dispersion of surface-wave energy, and so the amplitude and duration of ground motion. The maximum ground motions occur when the basin depth matches the dominant wavelength set by the source. Basins that are shallow compared with the dominant wavelength result in low-amplitude and long-duration dispersed waveforms. However, the basin structure has a smaller effect on the ground shaking than the source depth and geometry, highlighting the need for understanding the depth distribution and dip angles of earthquakes when assessing earthquake hazard in foreland-basin settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Adam Bońkowski ◽  
Juliusz Kuś ◽  
Zbigniew Zembaty

AbstractRecent research in engineering seismology demonstrated that in addition to three translational seismic excitations along x, y and z axes, one should also consider rotational components about these axes when calculating design seismic loads for structures. The objective of this paper is to present the results of a seismic response numerical analysis of a mine tower (also called in the literature a headframe or a pit frame). These structures are used in deep mining on the ground surface to hoist output (e.g. copper ore or coal). The mine towers belong to the tall, slender structures, for which rocking excitations may be important. In the numerical example, a typical steel headframe 64 m high is analysed under two records of simultaneous rocking and horizontal seismic action of an induced mine shock and a natural earthquake. As a result, a complicated interaction of rocking seismic effects with horizontal excitations is observed. The contribution of the rocking component may sometimes reduce the overall seismic response, but in most cases, it substantially increases the seismic response of the analysed headframe. It is concluded that in the analysed case of the 64 m mining tower, the seismic response, including the rocking ground motion effects, may increase up to 31% (for natural earthquake ground motion) or even up to 135% (for mining-induced, rockburst seismic effects). This means that not only in the case of the design of very tall buildings or industrial chimneys but also for specific yet very common structures like mine towers, including the rotational seismic effects may play an important role.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taishi Oouchi ◽  
Hiroyuki Tsuchi ◽  
Tetsuya Ota ◽  
Koji Hane ◽  
Toru Sasaki

AbstractAccording to recent seismic observation records, there are some cases where unexpectedly large seismic motion was observed deep underground and that was larger than at the surface. The factors influencing such phenomena are assumed to be deep geological structures with topographic irregularity, velocity structure and non-linearity of subsurface layers. These factors should be taken into account in the earthquake-resistant design of a geological repository. The influence of a deep underground geological structure with topographic irregularity on ground motion has been studied and it has been confirmed that such a structure have a significant impact on ground motion and the constructive interference of waves may result in strong earthquake ground motion in the vicinity of a structural boundary deep underground.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document