The 2014 United States National Seismic Hazard Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S1-S30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti ◽  
Peter M. Powers ◽  
Charles S. Mueller ◽  
Kathleen M. Haller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Earthquake Hazard ◽  
Adaptive Smoothing ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Geodetic Strain Rate ◽  
Insurance Rates ◽  
Recent Earthquakes

New seismic hazard maps have been developed for the conterminous United States using the latest data, models, and methods available for assessing earthquake hazard. The hazard models incorporate new information on earthquake rupture behavior observed in recent earthquakes; fault studies that use both geologic and geodetic strain rate data; earthquake catalogs through 2012 that include new assessments of locations and magnitudes; earthquake adaptive smoothing models that more fully account for the spatial clustering of earthquakes; and 22 ground motion models, some of which consider more than double the shaking data applied previously. Alternative input models account for larger earthquakes, more complicated ruptures, and more varied ground shaking estimates than assumed in earlier models. The ground motions, for levels applied in building codes, differ from the previous version by less than ±10% over 60% of the country, but can differ by ±50% in localized areas. The models are incorporated in insurance rates, risk assessments, and as input into the U.S. building code provisions for earthquake ground shaking.

Seismic Hazard in the Eastern United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S85-S107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Mueller ◽  
Oliver S. Boyd ◽  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti ◽  
Sanaz Rezaeian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
New England ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Maximum Magnitude ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Adaptive Smoothing ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Background Seismicity ◽  
Ground Motion Models

The U.S. Geological Survey seismic hazard maps for the central and eastern United States were updated in 2014. We analyze results and changes for the eastern part of the region. Ratio maps are presented, along with tables of ground motions and deaggregations for selected cities. The Charleston fault model was revised, and a new fault source for Charlevoix was added. Background seismicity sources utilized an updated catalog, revised completeness and recurrence models, and a new adaptive smoothing procedure. Maximum-magnitude models and ground motion models were also updated. Broad, regional hazard reductions of 5%–20% are mostly attributed to new ground motion models with stronger near-source attenuation. The revised Charleston fault geometry redistributes local hazard, and the new Charlevoix source increases hazard in northern New England. Strong increases in mid- to high-frequency hazard at some locations—for example, southern New Hampshire, central Virginia, and eastern Tennessee—are attributed to updated catalogs and/or smoothing.

The 2018 update of the US National Seismic Hazard Model: Where, why, and how much probabilistic ground motion maps changed

2021 ◽  
pp. 875529302098801
Author(s):  
Mark D Petersen ◽  
Allison M Shumway ◽  
Peter M Powers ◽  
Charles S Mueller ◽  
Morgan P Moschetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Site Effect ◽  
Hazard Model ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Aleatory Variability

The 2018 US Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) incorporates new data and updated science to improve the underlying earthquake and ground motion forecasts for the conterminous United States. The NSHM considers many new data and component input models: (1) new earthquakes between 2013 and 2017 and updated earthquake magnitudes for some earlier earthquakes; (2) two updated smoothed seismicity models to forecast earthquake rates; (3) two suites of new central and eastern US (CEUS) ground motion models (GMMs) to translate ground shaking for various earthquake sizes and source-to-site distances considered in the model; (4) two CEUS GMMs for aleatory variability; (5) two CEUS site-effect models that modify ground shaking based on alternative shallow site conditions; (6) more advanced western US (WUS) lithologic and structural information to assess basin site effects for selected urban regions; and (7) a more comprehensive range of outputs (22 periods and 8 site classes) than in previous versions of the NSHMs. Each of these new datasets and models produces changes in the probabilistic ground shaking levels that are spatially and statistically analyzed. Recent earthquakes or changes to some older earthquake magnitudes and locations mostly result in probabilistic ground shaking levels that are similar to previous models, but local changes can reach up to +80% and −60% compared to the 2014 model. Newly developed CEUS models for GMMs, aleatory variability, and site effects cause overall changes up to ±64%. The addition of the WUS basin amplifications causes changes of up to +60% at longer periods for sites overlying deep soft soils. Across the conterminous United States, the hazard changes in the model are mainly caused by new GMMs in the CEUS, by sedimentary basin effects for long periods (≥1 s) in the WUS, and by seismicity changes for short (0.2 s) and long (1 s) periods for both areas.

Effects of temporal variations in seismicity on seismic hazard

1981 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 321-334
Author(s):  
Robin K. McGuire ◽  
Theodore P. Barnhard
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Seismic Activity ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Seismogenic Zone ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ground Shaking

abstract The accuracy of stationary mathematical models of seismicity for calculating probabilities of damaging shaking is examined using the history of earthquakes in China from 1350 A.D. to 1949 A.D. During this time, rates of seismic activity varied periodically by a factor of 10. Probabilities of damaging shaking are calculated in 62 cities in North China using 50 yr of earthquake data to estimate seismicity parameters; the probabilities are compared to statistics of damaging shaking in the same cities for 50 yr following the data window. These comparisons indicate that the seismic hazard analysis is accurate if: (1) the maximum possible earthquake size in each seismogenic zone is determined from the entire seismic history rather than from a short-time window; and (2) the future seismic activity can be estimated accurately. The first condition emphasizes the importance of realistically estimating the maximum possible size of earthquakes on faults. The second indicates the need to understand possible trends in seismic activity where these exist, or to develop an earthquake prediction capability with which to estimate future activity. Without the capability of estimating future seismicity, stationary models provide less accurate but generally conservative indications of seismic ground-shaking hazard. In the United States, the available earthquake history is brief but gives no indication of changing rates of activity. The rate of seismic strain release in the Central and Eastern United States has been constant over the last 180 yr, and the geological record of earthquakes on the southern San Andreas Fault indicates no temporal trend for large shocks over the last 15 centuries. Both observations imply that seismic activity is either stationary or of such a long period that it may be treated as stationary for seismic hazard analyses in the United States.

The 2018 update of the US National Seismic Hazard Model: Overview of model and implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Allison M. Shumway ◽  
Peter M. Powers ◽  
Charles S. Mueller ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Hazard Model ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ground Shaking

During 2017–2018, the National Seismic Hazard Model for the conterminous United States was updated as follows: (1) an updated seismicity catalog was incorporated, which includes new earthquakes that occurred from 2013 to 2017; (2) in the central and eastern United States (CEUS), new ground motion models were updated that incorporate updated median estimates, modified assessments of the associated epistemic uncertainties and aleatory variabilities, and new soil amplification factors; (3) in the western United States (WUS), amplified shaking estimates of long-period ground motions at sites overlying deep sedimentary basins in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City areas were incorporated; and (4) in the conterminous United States, seismic hazard is calculated for 22 periods (from 0.01 to 10 s) and 8 uniform VS30 maps (ranging from 1500 to 150 m/s). We also include a description of updated computer codes and modeling details. Results show increased ground shaking in many (but not all) locations across the CEUS (up to ~30%), as well as near the four urban areas overlying deep sedimentary basins in the WUS (up to ~50%). Due to population growth and these increased hazard estimates, more people live or work in areas of high or moderate seismic hazard than ever before, leading to higher risk of undesirable consequences from forecasted future ground shaking.

CU-PSHA: A MATLAB Software for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 1450008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santi Pailoplee ◽  
Chitti Palasri
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
Earthquake Hazard ◽  
Hazard Mapping ◽  
Earthquake Hazards ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
Matlab Software ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Magnitude Distribution ◽  
Ground Motion Attenuation

In this study, an open source MATLAB software, called CU-PSHA, is developed in order to analyze probabilistic earthquake hazards. This software aims to provide a user friendly and flexible tool for evaluating reliable earthquake hazard estimates. With the CU-PSHA, the probability of distances between the earthquake sources and the study site can be estimated. Two choices for the estimation of earthquake frequency–magnitude distribution, the exponential magnitude distribution and the characteristic earthquake models, are provided. Some strong ground–motion attenuation models are available for both shallow crustal and subduction zone earthquakes. The probability of exceedance of any individual given ground shaking value can be obtained, allowing the display of a seismic hazard curve. In addition with the supplementary MATLAB scripts, this CU-PSHA software can be employed in general seismic hazard mapping, for both ground shaking level and probability of occurrence, in any specific given time span.

scholarly journals Seismic Hazard in the Nation's Breadbasket

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S109-S130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Boyd ◽  
Kathleen Haller ◽  
Nico Luco ◽  
Morgan Moschetti ◽  
Charles Mueller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Source Characterization ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models

The USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps were updated in 2014 and included several important changes for the central United States (CUS). Background seismicity sources were improved using a new moment-magnitude-based catalog; a new adaptive, nearest-neighbor smoothing kernel was implemented; and maximum magnitudes for background sources were updated. Areal source zones developed by the Central and Eastern United States Seismic Source Characterization for Nuclear Facilities project were simplified and adopted. The weighting scheme for ground motion models was updated, giving more weight to models with a faster attenuation with distance compared to the previous maps. Overall, hazard changes (2% probability of exceedance in 50 years, across a range of ground-motion frequencies) were smaller than 10% in most of the CUS relative to the 2008 USGS maps despite new ground motion models and their assigned logic tree weights that reduced the probabilistic ground motions by 5–20%.

Ground Motion Models Used in the 2014 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. S59-S84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Rezaeian ◽  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazard Maps ◽  
Source Characterization ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Seismic Hazard Maps ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models

The National Seismic Hazard Maps (NSHMs) are an important component of seismic design regulations in the United States. This paper compares hazard using the new suite of ground motion models (GMMs) relative to hazard using the suite of GMMs applied in the previous version of the maps. The new source characterization models are used for both cases. A previous paper ( Rezaeian et al. 2014 ) discussed the five NGA-West2 GMMs used for shallow crustal earthquakes in the Western United States (WUS), which are also summarized here. Our focus in this paper is on GMMs for earthquakes in stable continental regions in the Central and Eastern United States (CEUS), as well as subduction interface and deep intraslab earthquakes. We consider building code hazard levels for peak ground acceleration (PGA), 0.2-s, and 1.0-s spectral accelerations (SAs) on uniform firm-rock site conditions. The GMM modifications in the updated version of the maps created changes in hazard within 5% to 20% in WUS; decreases within 5% to 20% in CEUS; changes within 5% to 15% for subduction interface earthquakes; and changes involving decreases of up to 50% and increases of up to 30% for deep intraslab earthquakes for most U.S. sites. These modifications were combined with changes resulting from modifications in the source characterization models to obtain the new hazard maps.

Implementation of NGA-West2 Ground Motion Models in the 2014 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 1319-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Rezaeian ◽  
Mark D. Petersen ◽  
Morgan P. Moschetti ◽  
Peter Powers ◽  
Stephen C. Harmsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazard Maps ◽  
Seismic Hazard Maps ◽  
Motion Models ◽  
Seismic Source Models ◽  
Ground Motion Models ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps (NSHMs) have been an important component of seismic design regulations in the United States for the past several decades. These maps present earthquake ground shaking intensities at specified probabilities of being exceeded over a 50-year time period. The previous version of the NSHMs was developed in 2008; during 2012 and 2013, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey have been updating the maps based on their assessment of the “best available science,” resulting in the 2014 NSHMs. The update includes modifications to the seismic source models and the ground motion models (GMMs) for sites across the conterminous United States. This paper focuses on updates in the Western United States (WUS) due to the use of new GMMs for shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions developed by the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA-West2) project. Individual GMMs, their weighted combination, and their impact on the hazard maps relative to 2008 are discussed. In general, the combined effects of lower medians and increased standard deviations in the new GMMs have caused only small changes, within 5–20%, in the probabilistic ground motions for most sites across the WUS compared to the 2008 NSHMs.

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