Seismic site effects and the spatial interpolation of earthquake seismograms: Results using aftershocks of the 1986 North Palm Springs, California, earthquake

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (6A) ◽  
pp. 1504-1532
Author(s):  
Paul Spudich ◽  
David P. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Geologic Structure ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Linear System Of Equations ◽  
Seismic Site Effects ◽  
Palm Springs ◽  
A Site

Abstract We address the following two questions. Can a microearthquake's ground motions be modeled by incident P and S waves that excite a site transfer-function that is a smooth function of incidence angle? Given recorded ground motions from a set of earthquakes having known locations and mechanisms, can we derive such a site transfer-function and use it to obtain the ground motions that would result from an earthquake source occurring somewhere in the same volume but having a location and mechanism that are different from the recorded events? Although many factors will cause two distinct microearthquake sources to have different seismograms at a common station, in this paper we concentrate only upon the differences caused by source mechanisms, P- and S-wave travel-time variations and by variations in the site transfer-function. We specifically exclude the effects of waves scattered from heterogeneities in the geologic structure away from the seismic site. We express the site transfer-function as a sum of several terms having simple dependences upon incidence angle and azimuth. Each term is an independent function of time. Given a set of seismograms observed at the site, we solve a linear system of equations for the time dependences of each term. These time series may be used to calculate the seismograms that would have resulted from an earthquake having arbitrary mechanism and location. This step is an interpolation. We have applied this technique to seismograms after aftershocks of the 1986 North Palm Springs earthquake. Our interpolation technique works fairly well within the volume occupied by the recorded events, but the method is not very successful at providing accurate seismograms for sources located outside the aftershock volume. The primary causes of the inaccuracy are the inadequacy of our chosen angular functions to model the site response fully and the likely scattering of seismic waves by geological heterogeneities (in this case, the Banning and Mission Creek faults) near the seismic stations. Our methods could be used to determine the effects of single scattering from lateral heterogeneities in geologic structure.

A model for estimating amplification effects on seismic hazards and scenario ground motions in southern Ontario

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 441-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Braganza ◽  
Gail M. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Site Response ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Site Amplification ◽  
Seismic Hazards ◽  
Damage Potential ◽  
Southern Ontario ◽  
Response Variable ◽  
Study Support ◽  
A Site

Site amplification effects in southern Ontario are highly variable and strongly influence felt effects and damage potential. Site parameters such as shear-wave velocity in the top 30 metres of soil (VS30), traditionally used to estimate site amplification, are not well known in this region. Thus, regional maps of shaking potential and seismic hazard are often overgeneralized. In this study, a site amplification model based on peak frequency (fpeak) is compared to one based on VS30, as given by the 2015 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC). Earthquakes and scenario events are used to estimate ground motions and shaking intensities. It is shown that both models generally predict similar felt intensities but show significant differences in their predicted amplification of ground motions as a function of frequency. The results of this study support the use of fpeak as a site response variable for estimating amplification effects in southern Ontario.

Site Response, Basin Amplification, and Earthquake Stress Drops in the Portland, Oregon Area

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Frankel ◽  
Alex Grant
Keyword(s):  
Site Response ◽  
Nonlinear Inversion ◽  
S Wave ◽  
S Waves ◽  
Spectral Peaks ◽  
Fourier Spectra ◽  
Vertically Propagating ◽  
A Site ◽  
Stress Drops ◽  
Stiff Soil

ABSTRACT Site response, sedimentary basin amplification, and earthquake stress drops for the Portland, Oregon area were determined using accelerometer recordings at 16 sites of 10 local earthquakes with MD 2.6–4.0. A nonlinear inversion was applied to calculate site response (0.5–10 Hz), corner frequencies, and seismic moments from the Fourier spectra of the earthquakes. Site amplifications at lower frequencies of 0.1–2.0 Hz were determined from Fourier spectra of four regional earthquakes with Mw 5.8–6.4. Amplifications were calculated relative to a stiff-soil site outside the Portland and Tualatin basins. Sites on artificial fill and Holocene alluvium show strong amplification peaks (factor of 5) around 1–2 Hz. Sites on the Portland Hills, consisting of thin soil over basalt, display spectral peaks at 4–5 Hz (factor of 4). Spectral peaks at both sites are similar to those predicted for vertically propagating S waves from VS profiles determined at these sites using a borehole and refraction microtremor analysis. The largest amplifications at 0.1–1 Hz were found at stiff-soil sites in the Tualatin basin, based on recordings of regional earthquakes. Amplifications of a factor of 10, at about 0.3 Hz, were observed for a site in the deeper portion of the Tualatin basin and a factor of 7 at 0.5–0.6 Hz for two adjacent sites closer to the border of that basin. Stiff-soil sites in the Portland basin exhibit amplifications of 2–3 at frequencies of about 0.3–0.8 Hz. The frequencies of the amplification peaks for the deep Tualatin basin site can be explained by S-wave resonance in the shallow sediments, but the observed amplification is underestimated. Earthquake stress drops determined from the inversion range from 3 to 11 MPa, with no overall dependence on seismic moment.

What is a reference site?

1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 1733-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamison H. Steidl ◽  
Alexei G. Tumarkin ◽  
Ralph J. Archuleta
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Reference Site ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Destructive Interference ◽  
Surface Rock ◽  
Reference Motion ◽  
Rock Site ◽  
A Site

Abstract Many methods for estimating site response compare ground motions at sites of interest to a nearby rock site that is considered a “reference” motion. The critical assumption in these methods is that the surface-rock-site record (reference) is equivalent to the input motion at the base of the soil layers. Data collected in this study show that surface-rock sites can have a site response of their own, which could lead to an underestimation of the seismic hazard when these sites are used as reference sites. Data were collected from local and regional earthquakes on digital recorders, both at the surface and in boreholes, at two rock sites and one basin site in the San Jacinto mountains, southern California. The two rock sites, Keenwild and Piñon Flat, are located on granitic bedrock of the southern California peninsular ranges batholith. The basin site, Garner Valley, is an ancestral lake bed with watersaturated sediments, on top of a section of decomposed granite, which overlies the competent bedrock. Ground motion is recorded simultaneously at the surface and in the bedrock at all three sites. When the surface-rock sites are used as the reference site, i.e., the surface-rock motion is used as the input to the basin, the computed amplification underestimates the actual amplification at the basin site for frequencies above 2 to 5 Hz. This underestimation, by a factor of 2 to 4 depending on frequency and site, results from the rock sites having a site response of their own above the 2-to 5-Hz frequencies. The near-surface weathering and cracking of the bedrock affects the recorded ground motions at frequencies of engineering interest, even at sites that appear to be located on competent crystalline rock. The bedrock borehole ground motion can be used as the reference motion, but the effect of the downgoing wave field and the resulting destructive interference must be considered. This destructive interference may produce pseudo-resonances in the spectral amplification estimates. If one is careful, the bedrock borehole ground motion can be considered a good reference site for seismic hazard analysis even at distances as large as 20 km from the soil site.

Approximate Analytical Expressions of the Fundamental Peak Frequency and the Amplification Factor of S-wave Transfer Function in a Viscoelastic Layered Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 176 (4) ◽  
pp. 1433-1443
Author(s):  
Tran Thanh Tuan ◽  
Pham Chi Vinh ◽  
Abdelkrim Aoudia ◽  
Truong Thi Thuy Dung ◽  
Daniel Manu-Marfo
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Amplification Factor ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Layered Model ◽  
Analytical Expressions

scholarly journals Site-response maps for the Los Angeles region based on earthquake ground motions

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen H. Hartzell ◽  
Stephen C. Harmsen ◽  
Arthur D. Frankel ◽  
David L. Carver ◽  
Edward Cranswick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Earthquake Ground Motions

Directional topographic site response at Tarzana observed in aftershocks of the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake: Implications for mainshock motions

1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (1B) ◽  
pp. S193-S208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Spudich ◽  
Margaret Hellweg ◽  
W. H. K. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Site Response ◽  
Aftershock Sequence ◽  
Northridge Earthquake ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Soil Response ◽  
Amplification Ratio ◽  
East End ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Hill ◽  
East West

Abstract The Northridge earthquake caused 1.78 g acceleration in the east-west direction at a site in Tarzana, California, located about 6 km south of the mainshock epicenter. The accelerograph was located atop a hill about 15-m high, 500-m long, and 130-m wide, striking about N78°E. During the aftershock sequence, a temporary array of 21 three-component geophones was deployed in six radial lines centered on the accelerograph, with an average sensor spacing of 35 m. Station C00 was located about 2 m from the accelerograph. We inverted aftershock spectra to obtain average relative site response at each station as a function of direction of ground motion. We identified a 3.2-Hz resonance that is a transverse oscillation of the hill (a directional topographic effect). The top/base amplification ratio at 3.2 Hz is about 4.5 for horizontal ground motions oriented approximately perpendicular to the long axis of the hill and about 2 for motions parallel to the hill. This resonance is seen most strongly within 50 m of C00. Other resonant frequencies were also observed. A strong lateral variation in attenuation, probably associated with a fault, caused substantially lower motion at frequencies above 6 Hz at the east end of the hill. There may be some additional scattered waves associated with the fault zone and seen at both the base and top of the hill, causing particle motions (not spectral ratios) at the top of the hill to be rotated about 20° away from the direction transverse to the hill. The resonant frequency, but not the amplitude, of our observed topographic resonance agrees well with theory, even for such a low hill. Comparisons of our observations with theoretical results indicate that the 3D shape of the hill and its internal structure are important factors affecting its response. The strong transverse resonance of the hill does not account for the large east-west mainshock motions. Assuming linear soil response, mainshock east-west motions at the Tarzana accelerograph were amplified by a factor of about 2 or less compared with sites at the base of the hill. Probable variations in surficial shear-wave velocity do not account for the observed differences among mainshock acceleration observed at Tarzana and at two different sites within 2 km of Tarzana.

Regional propagation characteristics and source parameters of earthquakes in northeastern North America

1994 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Boatwright
Keyword(s):  
Site Response ◽  
Source Parameters ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Response Spectra ◽  
Spectral Shape ◽  
Propagation Characteristics ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Wave Trains ◽  
Source Site

Abstract The vertical components of the S wave trains recorded on the Eastern Canadian Telemetered Network (ECTN) from 1980 through 1990 have been spectrally analyzed for source, site, and propagation characteristics. The data set comprises some 1033 recordings of 97 earthquakes whose magnitudes range from M ≈ 3 to 6. The epicentral distances range from 15 to 1000 km, with most of the data set recorded at distances from 200 to 800 km. The recorded S wave trains contain the phases S, SmS, Sn, and Lg and are sampled using windows that increase with distance; the acceleration spectra were analyzed from 1.0 to 10 Hz. To separate the source, site, and propagation characteristics, an inversion for the earthquake corner frequencies, low-frequency levels, and average attenuation parameters is alternated with a regression of residuals onto the set of stations and a grid of 14 distances ranging from 25 to 1000 km. The iteration between these two parts of the inversion converges in about 60 steps. The average attenuation parameters obtained from the inversion were Q = 1997 ± 10 and γ = 0.998 ± 0.003. The most pronounced variation from this average attenuation is a marked deamplification of more than a factor of 2 at 63 km and 2 Hz, which shallows with increasing frequency and increasing distance out to 200 km. The site-response spectra obtained for the ECTN stations are generally flat. The source spectral shape assumed in this inversion provides an adequate spectral model for the smaller events (Mo < 3 × 1021 dyne-cm) in the data set, whose Brune stress drops range from 5 to 150 bars. For the five events in the data set with Mo ≧ 1023 dyne-cm, however, the source spectra obtained by regressing the residuals suggest that an ω2 spectrum is an inadequate model for the spectral shape. In particular, the corner frequencies for most of these large events appear to be split, so that the spectra exhibit an intermediate behavior (where |ü(ω)| is roughly proportional to ω).

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