scholarly journals Regional broad-band ground-shaking modelling over extended and thick sedimentary basins: an example from the Lower Rhine Embayment (Germany)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Pilz ◽  
Fabrice Cotton ◽  
Hoby Njara Tendrisoa Razafindrakoto ◽  
Graeme Weatherill ◽  
Thomas Spies
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Soft Rock ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Response Spectra ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models ◽  
Lower Rhine Embayment

AbstractThe simulation of broad-band (0.1 to 10 + Hz) ground-shaking over deep and spatially extended sedimentary basins at regional scales is challenging. We evaluate the ground-shaking of a potential M 6.5 earthquake in the southern Lower Rhine Embayment, one of the most important areas of earthquake recurrence north of the Alps, close to the city of Cologne in Germany. In a first step, information from geological investigations, seismic experiments and boreholes is combined for deriving a harmonized 3D velocity and attenuation model of the sedimentary layers. Three alternative approaches are then applied and compared to evaluate the impact of the sedimentary cover on ground-motion amplification. The first approach builds on existing response spectra ground-motion models whose amplification factors empirically take into account the influence of the sedimentary layers through a standard parameterization. In the second approach, site-specific 1D amplification functions are computed from the 3D basin model. Using a random vibration theory approach, we adjust the empirical response spectra predicted for soft rock conditions by local site amplification factors: amplifications and associated ground-motions are predicted both in the Fourier and in the response spectra domain. In the third approach, hybrid physics-based ground-motion simulations are used to predict time histories for soft rock conditions which are subsequently modified using the 1D site-specific amplification functions computed in method 2. For large distances and at short periods, the differences between the three approaches become less notable due to the significant attenuation of the sedimentary layers. At intermediate and long periods, generic empirical ground-motion models provide lower levels of amplification from sedimentary soils compared to methods taking into account site-specific 1D amplification functions. In the near-source region, hybrid physics-based ground-motions models illustrate the potentially large variability of ground-motion due to finite source effects.

Ground-Motion Prediction Model Based on Neural Networks to Extract Site Properties from Observational Records

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohisa Okazaki ◽  
Nobuyuki Morikawa ◽  
Asako Iwaki ◽  
Hiroyuki Fujiwara ◽  
Tomoharu Iwata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Motion Data ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Single Station ◽  
Input Variables ◽  
Ground Condition ◽  
Ground Motion Models

ABSTRACT Choosing the method for inputting site conditions is critical in reducing the uncertainty of empirical ground-motion models (GMMs). We apply a neural network (NN) to construct a GMM of peak ground acceleration that extracts site properties from ground-motion data instead of referring to ground condition variables given for each site. A key structure of the model is one-hot representations of the site ID, that is, specifying the collection site of each ground-motion record by preparing input variables corresponding to all observation sites. This representation makes the best use of the flexibility of NN to obtain site-specific properties while avoiding overfitting at sites where a small number of strong motions have been recorded. The proposed model exhibits accurate and robust estimations among several compared models in different aspects, including data-poor sites and strong motions from large earthquakes. This model is expected to derive a single-station sigma that evaluates the residual uncertainty under the specification of estimation sites. The proposed NN structure of one-hot representations would serve as a standard ingredient for constructing site-specific GMMs in general regions.

scholarly journals Selecting Ground-Motion Models for Site-Specific PSHA: Adaptability versus Applicability

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 2801-2815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian J. Bommer ◽  
Peter J. Stafford
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
The Body ◽  
Stochastic Simulations ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Target Region ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Site Characteristics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ground Motion Models

ABSTRACT Capturing the center, the body, and the range of ground-motion predictions is an indispensable element of site-specific probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHAs), for which the logic tree is the ubiquitous tool in current practice. The criteria for selecting the ground-motion models (GMMs) used in such studies have generally been focused on their potential applicability to the region and site for which the PSHA is being conducted. However, except for applications within the few regions with abundant ground-motion databases, it will rarely be the case that GMMs can be identified, which are perfectly calibrated to the characteristics of the target study region in terms of source and path properties. A good match between the generic site amplification model within the GMM and the site-specific dynamic response characteristics is equally, if not more, unlikely. Consequently, adjustments are likely to be made to the selected GMMs to render them more applicable to the target region and site. Empirical adjustments for host-to-target-region source differences using local recordings are unlikely to be robust, unless these have been generated by earthquakes from a wide range of magnitudes. Empirical adjustments for site characteristics are impossible, unless there are recordings from the target site. Therefore, the preferred approach makes parametric adjustments to empirical GMMs, isolating each host-to-target difference to map the individual contributions to the epistemic uncertainty. For such an approach to be applied, the emphasis moves from selecting GMMs on the basis of their applicability to focusing on their amenability to being adjusted to the target region and site. An adaptable equation is characterized by well-constrained host-region source, path, and site characteristics and a functional form in which response spectral accelerations scale with source, path, and site characteristics in a manner similar to the scaling implicit in stochastic simulations based on Fourier amplitude spectra.

Earthquake Early Warning: Advances, Scientific Challenges, and Societal Needs

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Allen ◽  
Diego Melgar
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Earthquake Early Warning ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Finite Fault ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Ground Motion Models

Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the delivery of ground shaking alerts or warnings. It is distinguished from earthquake prediction in that the earthquake has nucleated to provide detectable ground motion when an EEW is issued. Here we review progress in the field in the last 10 years. We begin with EEW users, synthesizing what we now know about who uses EEW and what information they need and can digest. We summarize the approaches to EEW and gather information about currently existing EEW systems implemented in various countries while providing the context and stimulus for their creation and development. We survey important advances in methods, instrumentation, and algorithms that improve the quality and timeliness of EEW alerts. We also discuss the development of new, potentially transformative ideas and methodologies that could change how we provide alerts in the future. ▪ Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the rapid detection and characterization of earthquakes and delivery of an alert so that protective actions can be taken. ▪ EEW systems now provide public alerts in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan and alerts to select user groups in India, Turkey, Romania, and the United States. ▪ EEW methodologies fall into three categories, point source, finite fault, and ground motion models, and we review the advantages of each of these approaches. ▪ The wealth of information about EEW uses and user needs must be employed to focus future developments and improvements in EEW systems.

Ground-motion models for Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes

2021 ◽  
pp. 875529302110329
Author(s):  
Elena Florinela Manea ◽  
Carmen Ortanza Cioflan ◽  
Laurentiu Danciu
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Seismic Station ◽  
Moment Magnitude ◽  
Peak Ground Velocity ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Intermediate Depth ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models

A newly compiled high-quality ground-shaking dataset of 207 intermediate-depth earthquakes recorded in the Vrancea region of the south-eastern Carpathian mountains in Romania was used to develop region-specific empirical predictive equations for various intensity measures: peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and 5%-damped pseudo-spectral acceleration up to 10 s. Besides common predictor variables (e.g. moment magnitude, depth, hypocentral distance, and site conditions), additional distance scaling parameters were added to describe the specific attenuation pattern observed at the stations located not only on the back and fore but also along the Carpathian arc. In this model, we introduce a proxy measure for the site as the fundamental frequency of resonance to characterize the site response at each recording seismic station beside the soil classes. To additionally reduce the site-to-site variability, a non-ergodic methodology was considered, resulting in a lower standard deviation of about 25%. Statistical evaluation of the newly proposed ground-motion models indicates robust performance compared to regional observations. The model shows significant improvements in describing the spatial variability (at different spectral ordinates), particularly for the fore-arc area of the Carpathians where a deep sedimentary basin is located. Furthermore, the model presented herein improves estimates of ground shaking at longer spectral ordinates (>1 s) in agreement with the observations. The proposed ground-motion models are valid for hypocentral distances less than 500 km, depths over 70 km and within the moment magnitude range of 4.0–7.4.

scholarly journals A Regionally Adaptable Ground-Motion Model for Fourier Amplitude Spectra of Shallow Crustal Earthquakes in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreeram Reddy Kotha ◽  
Dino Bindi ◽  
Fabrice Cotton
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Activity Index ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
Response Spectra ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models

Abstract Typical ground-motion models predict the response spectral ordinates (GMM-SA), which are the damped responses of a suite of single-degree-of-freedom oscillators. Response spectra represent the response of an idealized structure to input ground-motion, but not the physics of the actual ground-motion. To complement the regionally adaptable GMM-SA of Kotha et al. (2020), we introduce here a model capable of predicting Fourier amplitudes (GMM-FA); developed from the same Engineering Strong Motion (ESM) dataset for pan-Europe. This GMM-FA reveals the very high variability of high frequency ground-motions, which are completely masked in a GMM-SA. By maintaining the development strategies of GMM-FA identical to that of the GMM-SA, we are able to evaluate the physical meaning of the spatial variability of anelastic attenuation and source characteristics. We find that a fully data-driven geospatial index, Activity Index (AIx), correlates well with the spatial variability of these physical effects. AIx is a fuzzy combination of seismicity and crustal parameters, and can be used to adapt the attenuation and source non-ergodicity of the GMM-FA to regions and tectonic localities sparsely sampled in ESM. While AIx, and a few other parameters we touch upon, may help understand the spatial variability of high frequency attenuation and source effects, the high frequency site-response variability - dominating the overall aleatory variance - is yet unresolvable. With the rapid increase in quantity and quality of ground-motion datasets, we call for an upgrade of regionalization techniques, site-characterisation, and a paradigm shift to Fourier ground-motion models to complement the traditional response spectra prediction models.

A Suite of Alternative Ground-Motion Models (GMMs) for Israel

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumya Kanti Maiti ◽  
Gony Yagoda-Biran ◽  
Ronnie Kamai
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Epistemic Uncertainty ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
Engineering Applications ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models

ABSTRACT Models for estimating earthquake ground motions are a key component in seismic hazard analysis. In data-rich regions, these models are mostly empirical, relying on the ever-increasing ground-motion databases. However, in areas in which strong-motion data are scarce, other approaches for ground-motion estimates are sought, including, but not limited to, the use of simulations to replace empirical data. In Israel, despite a clear seismic hazard posed by the active plate boundary on its eastern border, the instrumental record is sparse and poor, leading to the use of global models for hazard estimation in the building code and all other engineering applications. In this study, we develop a suite of alternative ground-motion models for Israel, based on an empirical database from Israel as well as on four data-calibrated synthetic databases. Two host models are used to constrain model behavior, such that the epistemic uncertainty is captured and characterized. Despite the lack of empirical data at large magnitudes and short distances, constraints based on the host models or on the physical grounds provided by simulations ensure these models are appropriate for engineering applications. The models presented herein are cast in terms of the Fourier amplitude spectra, which is a linear, physical representation of ground motions. The models are suitable for shallow crustal earthquakes; they include an estimate of the median and the aleatory variability, and are applicable in the magnitude range of 3–8 and distance range of 1–300 km.

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