Virtual Fault Ruptures in Area-Source Zones for PSHA: Are They Always Needed?

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 2310-2319
Author(s):  
Julian J. Bommer ◽  
Valentina Montaldo Falero
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Source ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Earthquake Catalog ◽  
Area Source ◽  
Hypocentral Distance ◽  
Earthquake Scenario ◽  
Earthquake Scenarios ◽  
Seismic Source Models ◽  
Source Zones

Abstract Seismic source models for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), except when using zoneless approaches based directly on the earthquake catalog, invariably include area-source zones, even if active fault sources are modeled explicitly. Because most modern ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) employ source-to-site distance metrics defined relative to extended fault ruptures rather than to the epicenter or hypocenter, it becomes necessary to generate virtual fault ruptures within the area-source zones to enable calculation of the correct distance of each earthquake scenario from the site of interest. For a site-specific PSHA, the work of defining the virtual rupture characteristics such as strike, dip, and style of faulting, for more distant source zones, and the computational effort of simulating these ruptures for each earthquake scenario in the hazard calculations, may be unnecessary. Beyond a certain distance from the site, it can be demonstrated that the loss of accuracy introduced by modeling the individual earthquake scenarios as point sources rather than as extended ruptures is usually sufficiently small to allow the distance metric in the GMPEs to be treated as epicentral or hypocentral distance. Such simplifications can significantly increase the efficiency of the hazard calculations and also relieve the seismic source modelers of considerable effort to characterize virtual ruptures far beyond the host zone of the site. Treating earthquake scenarios in the more remote source zones as points also brings the additional benefit of avoiding problems that can arise with the largest magnitude scenarios leading to ruptures that approach the site in cases for which the ruptures are not constrained to remain within the source boundaries.

scholarly journals An updated and unified earthquake catalog from 1787 to 2018 for seismic hazard assessment studies in Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashad Sawires ◽  
Miguel A. Santoyo ◽  
José A. Peláez ◽  
Raúl Daniel Corona Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Hazard Assessment ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Large Earthquake ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Earthquake Catalog ◽  
Magnitude Conversion ◽  
Seismic Source Models ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Here we present a new updated and unified Poissonian earthquake catalog for Mexico. The details about the catalog compilation, the removal of duplicate events, unifying the magnitude scales, removal of dependent events through the declustering process and its completeness analysis are presented. Earthquake and focal mechanism data have been compiled from various local, regional and international sources. Large earthquake events (MW ≥ 6.5) have been carefully revised for their epicentral locations and magnitudes from trusted publications. Different magnitude-conversion relationships, compatible with available local and regional ones, has been established to obtain unified moment magnitude estimates for the whole catalog. Completeness periods for the declustered catalog were estimated for the definition of appropriate seismic source models for the whole territory. The final unified Poissonian earthquake catalog spans from 1787 to 2018, covering a spatial extent of 13° to 33°N and 91° to 117°W. This catalog is compatible with other published catalogs providing basis for new analysis related to seismicity, seismotectonics and seismic hazard assessment in Mexico.

scholarly journals Influence of Earthquakes on Landslide Susceptibility in a Seismic Prone Catchment in Central Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3768
Author(s):  
Fengqing Li ◽  
Isakbek Torgoev ◽  
Damir Zaredinov ◽  
Marina Li ◽  
Bekhzod Talipov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Landslide Susceptibility ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Limit Equilibrium ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Equilibrium Analysis ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Earthquake Scenario ◽  
Earthquake Scenarios ◽  
Local Decision

Central Asia is one of the most challenged places, prone to suffering from various natural hazards, where seismically triggered landslides have caused severe secondary losses. Research on this problem is especially important in the cross-border Mailuu-Suu catchment in Kyrgyzstan, since it is burdened by radioactive legacy sites and frequently affected by earthquakes and landslides. To identify the landslide-prone areas and to quantify the volume of landslide (VOL), Scoops3D was selected to evaluate the slope stability throughout a digital landscape in the Mailuu-Suu catchment. By performing the limit equilibrium analysis, both of landslide susceptibility index (LSI) and VOL were estimated under five earthquake scenarios. The results show that the upstream areas were more seismically vulnerable than the downstream areas. The susceptibility level rose significantly with the increase in earthquake strength, whereas the VOL was significantly higher under the extreme earthquake scenario than under the other four scenarios. After splitting the environmental variables into sub-classes, the spatial variations of LSI and VOL became more clear: the LSI reduced with the increase in elevation, slope, annual precipitation, and distances to faults, roads, and streams, whereas the highest VOL was observed in the areas with moderate elevations, high precipitation, grasslands, and mosaic vegetation. The relative importance analysis indicated that the explanatory power reduced with the increase in earthquake level and it was significant higher for LSI than for VOL. Among nine environmental variables, the distance to faults, annual precipitation, slope, and elevation were identified as important triggers of landslides. By a simultaneous assessment of both LSI and VOL and the identification of important triggers, the proposed modelling approaches can support local decision-makers and householders to identify landslide-prone areas, further design proper landslide hazard and risk management plans and, consequently, contribute to the resolution of transboundary pollution conflicts.

Strong ground motion of mine tremors: Some implications for near-source ground motion parameters

1981 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-319
Author(s):  
A. McGarr ◽  
R. W. E. Green ◽  
S. M. Spottiswoode
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Shear Velocity ◽  
Recording System ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Hypocentral Distance ◽  
Earthquake Size ◽  
Mine Tremors ◽  
Stress Drops

abstract Ground acceleration was recorded at a depth of about 3 km in the East Rand Proprietary Mines, South Africa, for tremors with −1 ≦ ML ≦ 2.6 in the hypocentral distance range 50 m < R ≦ 1.6 km. The accelerograms typically had predominant frequencies of several hundred Hertz and peak accelerations, a, as high as 12 g. The peak accelerations show a dependence on magnitude, especially when expressed as dynamic shear-stress differences, defined as σ˜ = ρRa, where ρ is density. For the mine tremors, σ˜ varies from 2 to 500 bars and depends on magnitude according to log σ˜ = 1.40 + 0.38 · ML. Accelerograms for 12 events were digitized and then processed to determine velocity and, for seven events with especially good S/N, displacement and seismic source parameters. Peak ground velocities v ranged up to 6 cm/sec and show a well-defined dependence one earthquake size as measured by ML or by seismic moment, Mo. On the basis of regression fits to the mine data, with −0.76 ≦ ML ≦ 1.45, log Rv = 3.95 + 0.57 ML, where Rv is in cm2/sec, and log Rv = −4.68 + 0.49 log Mo. These regression lines agree excellently with the corresponding data for earthquakes of ML up to 6.4 or Mo to 1.4 × 1026 dyne-cm. At a given value of ML or Mo, a, at fixed R, shows considerably greater variation than v and appears to depend on the bandwidth of the recording system. The peak acceleration at small hypocentral distances is broadly consistent with ρRa = 1.14 Δτrofs/β, where Δτ is stress drop, ro is the source radius, β is shear velocity, and fs is the bandwidth of the recording system. The peak velocity data agree well with Rv = 0.57 βΔτro/μ, where μ is the modulus of rigidity; both expressions follow from Brune's model of the seismic source and were compared with data for events in the size range 5 × 1016 ≦ Mo ≦ 1.4 × 1026 dyne-cm. Measurements of the source parameters indicated that, as for earthquakes, the stress drops for the tremors range from 1 to 100 bars and show no consistent dependence on Mo down to Mo = 5 × 1016 dyne-cm.

Simulation-Based Seismic Hazard Assessment Using Monte-Carlo Earthquake Catalogs: Application to CyberShake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Azar ◽  
Mayssa Dabaghi
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Computational Time ◽  
Earthquake Catalog ◽  
Earthquake Catalogs ◽  
Earthquake Scenarios ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Hazard Curves

ABSTRACT The use of numerical simulations in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) has achieved a promising level of reliability in recent years. One example is the CyberShake project, which incorporates physics-based 3D ground-motion simulations within seismic hazard calculations. Nonetheless, considerable computational time and resources are required due to the significant processing requirements imposed by source-based models on one hand, and the large number of seismic sources and possible rupture variations on the other. This article proposes to use a less computationally demanding simulation-based PSHA framework for CyberShake. The framework can accurately represent the seismic hazard at a site, by only considering a subset of all the possible earthquake scenarios, based on a Monte-Carlo simulation procedure that generates earthquake catalogs having a specified duration. In this case, ground motions need only be simulated for the scenarios selected in the earthquake catalog, and hazard calculations are limited to this subset of scenarios. To validate the method and evaluate its accuracy in the CyberShake platform, the proposed framework is applied to three sites in southern California, and hazard calculations are performed for earthquake catalogs with different lengths. The resulting hazard curves are then benchmarked against those obtained by considering the entire set of earthquake scenarios and simulations, as done in CyberShake. Both approaches yield similar estimates of the hazard curves for elastic pseudospectral accelerations and inelastic demands, with errors that depend on the length of the Monte-Carlo catalog. With 200,000 yr catalogs, the errors are consistently smaller than 5% at the 2% probability of exceedance in 50 yr hazard level, using only ∼3% of the entire set of simulations. Both approaches also produce similar disaggregation patterns. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach in a simulation-based PSHA platform like CyberShake and as a ground-motion selection tool for seismic demand analyses.

scholarly journals Seismic hazard assessment of Iran

1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Tavakoli ◽  
M. Ghafory-Ashtiany
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Peak Ground Acceleration ◽  
Grid Point ◽  
Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽  
Earthquake Hazard ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Historical Earthquakes ◽  
Earthquake Insurance ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Seismic Source Models

The development of the new seismic hazard map of Iran is based on probabilistic seismic hazard computation using the historical earthquakes data, geology, tectonics, fault activity and seismic source models in Iran. These maps have been prepared to indicate the earthquake hazard of Iran in the form of iso-acceleration contour lines, and seismic hazard zoning, by using current probabilistic procedures. They display the probabilistic estimates of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) for the return periods of 75 and 475 years. The maps have been divided into intervals of 0.25 degrees in both latitudinal and longitudinal directions to calculate the peak ground acceleration values at each grid point and draw the seismic hazard curves. The results presented in this study will provide the basis for the preparation of seismic risk maps, the estimation of earthquake insurance premiums, and the preliminary site evaluation of critical facilities.

scholarly journals On the point-source approximation of earthquake dynamics

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bizzarri
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Multiple Point ◽  
Earthquake Dynamics ◽  
Planar Fault ◽  
Source Models

<p>The focus on the present study is on the point-source approximation of a seismic source. First, we compare the synthetic motions on the free surface resulting from different analytical evolutions of the seismic source (the Gabor signal (G), the Bouchon ramp (B), the Cotton and Campillo ramp (CC), the Yoffe function (Y) and the Liu and Archuleta function (LA)). Our numerical experiments indicate that the CC and the Y functions produce synthetics with larger oscillations and correspondingly they have a higher frequency content. Moreover, the CC and the Y functions tend to produce higher peaks in the ground velocity (roughly of a factor of two). We have also found that the falloff at high frequencies is quite different: it roughly follows ω<span><sup>−2</sup></span> in the case of G and LA functions, it decays more faster than ω<span><sup>−2</sup></span> for the B function, while it is slow than ω<span><sup>−1</sup></span> for both the CC and the Y solutions. Then we perform a comparison of seismic waves resulting from 3-D extended ruptures (both supershear and subshear) obeying to different governing laws against those from a single point-source having the same features. It is shown that the point-source models tend to overestimate the ground motions and that they completely miss the Mach fronts emerging from the supershear transition process. When we compare the extended fault solutions against a multiple point-sources model the agreement becomes more significant, although relevant discrepancies still persist. Our results confirm that, and more importantly quantify how, the point-source approximation is unable to adequately describe the radiation emitted during a real world earthquake, even in the most idealized case of planar fault with homogeneous properties and embedded in a homogeneous, perfectly elastic medium.</p>

Potential Losses in a Repeat of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Wong ◽  
Jawhar Bouabid ◽  
William Graf ◽  
Charles Huyck ◽  
Allan Porush ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
The State ◽  
Earthquake Risk ◽  
Loss Assessment ◽  
Ground Shaking ◽  
Earthquake Scenarios ◽  
Earthquake Losses ◽  
Fire Stations

A comprehensive earthquake loss assessment for the state of South Carolina using HAZUS was performed considering four different earthquake scenarios: a moment magnitude ( M) 7.3 “1886 Charleston-like” earthquake, M 6.3 and M 5.3 events also from the Charleston seismic source, and an M 5.0 earthquake in Columbia. Primary objectives of this study were (1) to generate credible earthquake losses to provide a baseline for coordination, capability development, training, and strategic planning for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, and (2) to raise public awareness of the significant earthquake risk in the state. Ground shaking, liquefaction, and earthquake-induced landsliding hazards were characterized using region-specific inputs on seismic source, path, and site effects, and ground motion numerical modeling. Default inventory data on buildings and facilities in HAZUS were either substantially enhanced or replaced. Losses were estimated using a high resolution 2- km×2- km grid rather than the census tract approach used in HAZUS. The results of the loss assessment indicate that a future repeat of the 1886 earthquake would be catastrophic, resulting in possibly 900 deaths, more than 44,000 injuries, and a total economic loss of $20 billion in South Carolina alone. Schools, hospitals, fire stations, ordinary buildings, and bridges will suffer significant damage due to the general lack of seismic design in the state. Lesser damage and losses will be sustained in the other earthquake scenarios although even the smallest event could result in significant losses.

A Generalized Conditional Mean Spectrum and Its Application for Intensity-Based Assessments of Seismic Demands

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Simon Kwong ◽  
Anil K. Chopra
Keyword(s):  
Computational Effort ◽  
Seismic Demands ◽  
Earthquake Scenario ◽  
Conditional Mean ◽  
Conditional Mean Spectrum ◽  
Accuracy And Precision ◽  
Target Spectrum ◽  
Hazard Level ◽  
Vector Valued

When the response of a structure is influenced significantly by multiple vibration modes, the seismic demands determined by response history analyses with ground motions selected to match a single conditional mean spectrum (CMS) may be unconservative for several response quantities. An existing solution to this problem is to determine the demand as the maximum of mean demands from several CMSs. To reduce the computational effort while maintaining accuracy and precision, we introduce an alternative engineering solution that is based on a simplified version of the generalized CMS, where two specified conditioning spectral accelerations share a common hazard level. vector-valued disaggregation is developed herein to provide a single earthquake scenario for the target spectrum. The results from a realistic case study suggest that the proposed spectrum provides seismic demands that are as accurate and precise as those obtained from analyzing the structure with multiple CMSs while simultaneously reducing the computational effort by a factor of 2 or more.

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