Equivalent Point-Source Modeling of Moderate-to-Large Magnitude Earthquakes and Associated Ground-Motion Saturation Effects

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 1458-1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Yenier ◽  
G. M. Atkinson
Author(s):  
Behzad Hassani ◽  
Gail Marie Atkinson

ABSTRACT We use an equivalent point-source ground-motion model (GMM) to characterize subduction earthquakes (interface and in-slab) in Japan. The model, which is calibrated using the newly published Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) Subduction database (Bozorgnia et al., 2020), provides a useful complement to the more traditional empirical NGA models developed from the same database. The utility of the point-source model approach lies in its ability to aid in the interpretation of observed trends in the data and to guide modifications to the GMM for application to other regions having fewer data. Key trends in the data that are parameterized with the model include: (a) the enrichment of high-frequency amplitudes for in-slab versus interface events, as modeled by a depth-dependent stress parameter, and (b) attenuation attributes that vary with event type and region, including consideration of fore-arc versus back-arc settings. The developed GMMs of this study are applicable for M 4.5–9.2 for interface events, and M 4–8.5 for in-slab earthquakes, for rupture distances (Drup) from 10 to 600 km, and for 100  m/s<VS30<1500  m/s (time-averaged shear-wave velocity in the top 30 m).


2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 2393-2407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dara E. Goldberg ◽  
Diego Melgar ◽  
Gavin P. Hayes ◽  
Brendan W. Crowell ◽  
Valerie J. Sahakian

ABSTRACT We present an updated ground-motion model (GMM) for Mw 6–9 earthquakes using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations of the peak ground displacement (PGD). Earthquake GMMs inform a range of Earth science and engineering applications, including source characterization, seismic hazard evaluations, loss estimates, and seismic design standards. A typical GMM is characterized by simplified metrics describing the earthquake source (magnitude), observation distance, and site terms. Most often, GMMs are derived from broadband seismometer and accelerometer observations, yet during strong shaking, these traditional seismic instruments are affected by baseline offsets, leading to inaccurate recordings of low-frequency ground motions such as displacement. The incorporation of geodetic data sources, particularly for characterizing the unsaturated ground displacement of large-magnitude events, has proven valuable as a complement to traditional seismic approaches and led to the development of an initial point-source GMM based on PGD estimated from high-rate GNSS data. Here, we improve the existing GMM to more effectively account for fault finiteness, slip heterogeneity, and observation distance. We evaluate the limitations of the currently available GNSS earthquake data set to calibrate the GMM. In particular, the observed earthquake data set is lacking in observations within 100 km of large-magnitude events (Mw>8), inhibiting evaluation of fault dimensions for earthquakes too large to be represented as point sources in the near field. To that end, we separately consider previously validated synthetic GNSS waveforms within 10–1000 km of Mw 7.8–9.3 Cascadia subduction zone scenario ruptures. The synthetic data highlight the importance of fault distance rather than point-source metrics and improve our preparedness for large-magnitude earthquakes with spatiotemporal qualities unlike those in our existing data set.


1966 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1363-1371 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Stauder ◽  
G. A. Bollinger

Abstract P- and S-wave data for thirty-five earthquakes selected from among the larger earthquakes of 1963 have been investigated. Focal mechanism determinations for twenty-six of these shocks are here presented. The solutions are based upon a combination of a graphical and a computer method for determining the poles of the nodal planes. In all cases it has been found that the mechanism may be adequately represented by a double couple as an equivalent point source of the focus, although in some few instances a single couple cannot be excluded as a possible alternate interpretation. The solution of a mid-Atlantic earthquake of November 17, 1963 is presented as an example of a focus which clearly conforms to the double couple model. Special attention is called to the solutions for a series of earthquakes in the Kurile Islands, and to three earthquakes of the mid-Atlantic.


Geophysics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 1874-1874
Author(s):  
David A. Chapin

Xia et al. do an excellent job developing a new method for using the equivalent point source method in the frequency domain. The transformation from a varying datum to flat datum has always been a major problem in potential fields data. This is because the existing methods to perform this transformation have tended to be cumbersome, time‐consuming, and expensive. I congratulate the authors for this breakthrough technology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (2A) ◽  
pp. 977-991
Author(s):  
David M. Boore

Abstract The three sets of ground-motion predictions (GMPs) of Boore (2018; hereafter, B18) are compared with a much larger dataset than was used in deriving the predictions. The B18 GMPs work well for response spectra at periods between ∼0.15 and 4.0 s after an adjustment accounting for a path bias at distances beyond 200 km—this was the maximum distance used to derive the stress parameters on which the simulations in B18 are based. An additional offset adjustment is needed in the B18 predictions for short and long periods. The adjustment at short periods may be because the κ0 of 0.006 s stipulated by the Next Generation Attenuation-East (NGA-East) project to be used in deriving the GMPs is inconsistent with the observations on rock sites. The explanation for the offset adjustment at long periods is not clear, but it could be a combination of limitations of the point-source stochastic model for longer period motions, as well as a decreasing number of observations at longer periods available to constrain the simulations on which the predictions are based. The predictions of B18, developed for very-hard-rock sites (VS30 of 2000 and 3000  m/s), have here been extended down to VS30 values as low as 200  m/s. I find, as have others, that for a given VS30, there is generally less site amplification for central and eastern North America (CENA) than for the active crustal region dataset used for the Boore, Stewart, et al. (2014; hereafter, BSSA14) GMP equations. This might have an impact on conclusions of several previous studies of CENA GMPs that used the site amplifications in BSSA14 in comparing data and predictions. An additional finding is that the κ0 implied by recordings on a subset of stations in the Charlevoix region located on rock (data from these stations were not used in the analysis described earlier) is more consistent with a value near 0.014 s than the 0.006 s value used in B18 and the NGA-East project.


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