Lateral propagation effects observed at Parkway, New Zealand. A case history to compare 1D versus 2D site effects

1999 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 718-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Chávez-García ◽  
William R. Stephenson ◽  
Miguel Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Spectral Ratios ◽  
Generalized Inversion ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Frequency Domain Techniques ◽  
Lateral Heterogeneities ◽  
Lateral Propagation

Abstract The importance of 2D or 3D site effects has been shown by theoretical studies. However, there is a lack of observational evidence of site effects due to lateral heterogeneities. We have evaluated 1D and 2D site effects in the data obtained by a dense seismograph array that operated for more than 2 months in the alluvial basin of Parkway, New Zealand. 1D site effects were evaluated using three independent techniques: spectral ratios relative to a reference station, spectral ratios of horizontal relative to vertical ground motion, and a generalized inversion scheme. Site effects due to lateral heterogeneity were investigated in detail for two events using frequency-wavenumber analysis. Our results show that it is not possible to separate 1D from 2D site effects using frequency-domain techniques. This explains the scatter obtained from standard 1D data analysis: the 1D resonance peaks will be more or less contaminated with laterally propagating waves for different events.

Site effect evaluation using spectral ratios with only one station

1993 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 1574-1594
Author(s):  
Javier Lermo ◽  
Francisco J. Chávez-García
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Rayleigh Waves ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Site Effect ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Effect Evaluation ◽  
Spectral Ratios ◽  
S Wave ◽  
Dominant Period

Abstract The spectral ratio technique is a common useful way to estimate empirical transfer function to evaluates site effects in regions of moderate to high seismicity. The purpose of this paper is to show that it is possible to estimate empirical transfer function using spectral ratios between horizontal and vertical components of motion without a reference station. The technique, originally proposed by Nakamura to analyze Rayleigh waves in the microtremor records, is presented briefly and it is discussed why it may be applicable to study the intense S-wave part in earthquake records. Results are presented for three different cities in Mexico: Oaxaca, Oax., Acapulco, Gro., and Mexico City. These cities are very different by their geological and tectonic contexts and also by the very different epicentral distances to the main seismogenic zones affecting each city. Each time we compare the results of Nakamura's technique with standard spectral ratios. In all three cases the results are very encouraging. We conclude that, if site effects are caused by simple geology, a first estimate of dominant period and local amplification level can be obtained using records of only one station.

Topographic site effects. A comparison of two nonreference methods

1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 1667-1673
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Chávez-García ◽  
Miguel Rodríguez ◽  
Edward H. Field ◽  
Denis Hatzfeld
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Recent Article ◽  
Reference Site ◽  
Spectral Ratios ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Experimental Estimate ◽  
Generalized Inversion ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract We present an experimental study of topographic site effects. The data we use come from an experiment carried out during the summer of 1989, in Epire (northern Greece). Ten digital stations recorded a total of 68 small earthquakes. A recent article (Chávez-García et al., 1996) presented a comparison between site effects determined using horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) for this data set and theoretical modeling. In this note, we compare the topographic site effects determined using HVSR with another, independent, experimental estimate: a generalized inversion scheme (GIS). Neither HVSR nor GIS depend on the availability of a reference site. We obtain a very good agreement between both estimates of topographic site effects for both horizontal components. Our results support the use of HVSR to determine topographic site effects.

Implementing horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectral ratios and spatial correlation in a ground-motion prediction equation to predict site effects

2020 ◽  
pp. 875529302095244
Author(s):  
Shu-Hsien Chao ◽  
Che-Min Lin ◽  
Chun-Hsiang Kuo ◽  
Jyun-Yan Huang ◽  
Kuo-Liang Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Correlation ◽  
Ground Motion ◽  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Site Effects ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
Prediction Equation ◽  
Motion Prediction ◽  
Ground Motion Prediction Equation ◽  
Ground Motion Prediction ◽  
Spectral Ratios

We propose a methodology to implement horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectral ratios (HVRs) evaluated from strong ground motion induced by earthquake (EHVRs) or ambient ground motion observed from microtremor (MHVRs) individually and simultaneously with the spatial correlation (SC) in a ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) to improve the prediction accuracy of site effects. We illustrated the methodology by developing an EHVRs-SC-based model which supplements Vs30 and Z1.0 with the SC and EHVRs collected at strong motion stations, and a MHVRs-SC-based model that supplements Vs30 and Z1.0 with the SC and MHVRs observed from microtremors at sites which were collocated with strong motion stations. The standard deviation of the station-specific residuals can be reduced by up to 90% when the proposed models are used to predict site effects. In the proposed models, the spatial distribution of the predicted station terms for peak ground acceleration (PGA) from MHVRs at 3699 sites is consistent with that of the predicted station terms for PGA from EHVRs at 721 strong motion stations. Prediction accuracy for stations with inferred Vs30 is similar to that of stations with measured Vs30 with the proposed models. This study provides a methodology to simultaneously implement SC and EHVRs, or SC and MHVRs in a GMPE to improve the prediction accuracy of site effects for a target site with available EHVRs or MHVRs information.

scholarly journals Frequency dependent amplification of weak ground motions in Porirua and Lower Hutt, New Zealand

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. John Taber ◽  
Euan G. C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Spectral Ratio ◽  
Silty Sand ◽  
Peak Ground Velocity ◽  
Soft Sediment ◽  
Spectral Ratios ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Water Saturated

The relative ground response due to microearthquakes has been examined at a total of 36 sites in the Porirua and Lower Hutt regions of New Zealand, as part of a multi-disciplinary microzoning project conducted with the Wellington Regional Council. The sites were studied in two separate experiments and were chosen to sample a variety of soil types and depths ranging from strong rock to thick sections of alluvial gravels and sands to soft water-saturated fine-grained deposits. The amplitude response of each site relative to a bedrock reference site has been determined as a function of frequency. Fourier spectral ratios (Fsr) were calculated for each earthquake and then between three and twenty-six earthquakes were averaged together at each of the sites. Spectral ratios of individual earthquakes varied significantly from the average spectral ratio. In the Hutt Valley there is a gradual down-valley increase in shaking in a similar pattern to the down-valley increase of the depth to bedrock and thickness of near-surface soft sediment. The response at the upper-most valley sites, underlain by less than 50 m of alluvial gravel and silty sand, is similar to the response at the rock sites on the side of the valley (Fsr = 2.4) while the Fourier spectral ratios reach 14 at the lower-most valley sites, which are underlain by greater than 20 m of soft sediment. The highest amplifications were recorded at two sites on soft flexible sediments (10 to 35 m thick) in an enclosed valley (Fsr = 16 to 18) and a site on an apparently drained and filled swamp (Fsr = 15). A spectral ratio of 18 corresponds to an increase in peak ground velocity by a factor of 5. The amplification at most Lower Hutt sites occurred over a broad frequency band from 0.5 Hz to up to 5 Hz, with the high frequency limit of the band decreasing as the spectral ratio in the band increased. Two of the flexible sediment sites exhibited a very narrow frequency response with a peak in the 1-2 Hz range, similar to three flexible sediment sites in the Porirua basin where the amplification was in the 1-3 Hz frequency band. These flexible sediment sites had Fourier spectral ratios of up to 18 relative to a hard rock site. Three other Porirua sites had spectral ratios greater than 5 at some frequency. Two of these sites were on fan alluvium and fine grained sediment, while the third was on siltly sand on a topographic ridge. The remaining five sites were on weathered gravels and showed little amplification.

Supplementing VS30 with H/V Spectral Ratios for Predicting Site Effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 2028-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Youp Kwak ◽  
Jonathan P. Stewart ◽  
Saeed‐ullah J. Mandokhail ◽  
Duhee Park
Keyword(s):  
Site Effects ◽  
Spectral Ratios

Site Amplification at Permanent Stations in Northeastern Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Klin ◽  
Giovanna Laurenzano ◽  
Carla Barnaba ◽  
Enrico Priolo ◽  
Stefano Parolai
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motion ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Alluvial Soil ◽  
Site Amplification ◽  
Single Step ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Amplification Factors ◽  
Generalized Inversion ◽  
Northeastern Italy

ABSTRACT The application of earthquake recordings to the estimation of an event’s magnitude and the construction of rapid-response ground-motion maps requires an adequate classification of the recording stations in terms of their site response. For permanent stations, this information can be obtained from a sufficiently large database of past recordings. In this work, we analyze more than 7300 three-component recordings collected between 1996 and 2017 by 67 permanent stations in northeastern Italy to assess their site amplification. The signals come from 368 earthquakes with a magnitude range of M 3.2–5.8 and a distance range of 10–300 km. We evaluate the frequency-dependent amplification function with respect to a reference station with a flat seismic noise horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio. The evaluation relies on the decomposition of the S-wave amplitude spectra in terms of source, propagation, and site response. We solve the decomposition with a nonparametric, single-step generalized inversion in the frequency band 0.5–20 Hz. In addition, we compute the amplification factors for peak ground acceleration and velocity with respect to a well-established ground-motion prediction equation. The results highlight that only 11 stations show a relatively flat unitary response with respect to the reference site, whereas the frequency-averaged amplification function at 23 out of 67 stations exhibits a value larger than 2. We classified the sites according to their surface geology and geomorphological scenario and found that amplification affects not only stations installed on the alluvial soil but also several stations installed on what are assumed to be rock sites. Sites in caves and mines exhibit deamplification, whereas the stations with sensors in boreholes exhibit the typical interference pattern. A good correlation between the amplification factors and the frequency-averaged amplification functions suggests the possibility of predicting time-domain peak ground-motion values from amplification functions estimated by generalized inversion.

Performance of engineered timber structures in the Canterbury earthquakes

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Buchanan ◽  
David Carradine ◽  
Justin Jordan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Lateral Spreading ◽  
Life Safety ◽  
Timber Structures ◽  
Ground Acceleration ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Water Tanks

The September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand resulted in significant ground excitations that caused severe geotechnical effects and widespread structural damage. This paper outlines the various forms of damage to different types of engineered timber structures, including timber water tanks. Most of the damage resulted from lateral spreading and high levels of horizontal and vertical ground acceleration. The response of these building types is discussed. Engineered timber structures generally performed well both for life safety and serviceability, with most buildings ready for occupation within a short time following the events.

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