scholarly journals Comparison of strong-motion spectra with teleseismic spectra for three magnitude 8 subduction-zone earthquakes

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 913-934
Author(s):  
Heidi Houston ◽  
Hiroo Kanamori

Abstract We studied strong-motion spectra observed for three Mw 7.8 to 8.0 earthquakes (the 1985 Michoacán, Mexico; 1985 Valparaíso, Chile; and 1983 Akita-Oki, Japan earthquakes). We determined the decay of spectral amplitude with distance from the station, considering different measures of distance from a finite fault. We compared strong-motion spectra (Fourier acceleration spectra) observed for these three earthquakes with those estimated from the source spectrum determined from teleseismic P waves. We scaled the teleseismic source spectra to produce reference strong-motion spectra at periods from 1 to 10 sec using a simple physical model of far-field S body waves from a point source recorded at the surface of a homogeneous half-space. For all three earthquakes the reference spectral amplitudes at periods of 1 to 5 sec are about half the observed ones at distances of about 50 km. The difference increases as the distance increases. At distances of 200 to 300 km, the reference spectrum is about 1/10 of the observed one. The difference between the reference and the observed spectrum is attributed to the contribution of phases other than direct S waves and to site response. We applied corrections for the finiteness (spatial extent) of the source using a simple model of rupture propagation on a dipping two-dimensional fault. Including the source finiteness did not improve the estimate substantially at periods from 1 to 20 sec, but it modeled significant changes in the signal duration as a function of azimuth for the 1985 Michoacán earthquake. Our results can be used to establish empirical relations between the observed spectra and the half-space responses, depending on the distance and the site condition. If such empirical relations can be established, source spectra determined from teleseismic records may be used to estimate strong motions.

1989 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-944
Author(s):  
Lorraine J. Hwang ◽  
Hiroo Kanamori

Abstract The 20 May and 14 November 1986 Hualien earthquakes occurred in a seismically active region of Taiwan. Locally determined focal mechanisms and aftershock patterns from the Taiwan Telemetered Seismographic Network indicate that both earthquakes occurred on steeply dipping reverse faults that trend NNE. This agrees with teleseismic first-motion data for the May event but not for the November event. This discrepancy is due to a moderate foreshock before the November event. Surface-wave analysis gives a solution for the November event of: dip 57°, rake 100°, and strike 43°, which is similar to the locally reported focal mechanism. The seismic moment of the November event is M0 = 1.7 × 1027 dynecm and the magnitudes determined from WWSSN data are m^b = 6.4, Ms = 7.3. Teleseismic source spectra show that the two events also have similar spectral signatures above 0.15 Hz. Reference acceleration spectra are computed from the average teleseismic source spectra and compared to the averaged acceleration spectra computed from strong-motion stations for both events. Correlations between the spectral amplitudes of the strong-motion spectra obtained from the main portion of the SMART 1 array and the teleseismically estimated reference spectra are poor above 0.2 Hz. Data from the hard-rock site situated outside of the basin indicates that amplification of the ground motion between 0.17-1.7 Hz is due to the alluvial valley where the SMART 1 array is located. The amplitude of the observed spectrum is five times the reference spectrum at the hard-rock site. This is consistent with similar observations from the 1985 Michoacan and 1983 Akita-Oki earthquakes. The analysis of these and more teleseismic and strong-motion records will lead to a better understanding of the relationship between their spectra.


1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F Cassidy ◽  
Garry C Rogers

Three-component, digital recordings of two recent moderate earthquakes provide valuable new insight into the response to seismic shaking in the greater Vancouver area, particularly on the Fraser River delta. The 1996 M = 5.1 Duvall, Washington, earthquake (180 km southeast of Vancouver) triggered strong-motion seismographs at seven sites and the 1997 M = 4.3 Georgia Strait earthquake (37 km west of Vancouver) triggered instruments at 13 sites in the greater Vancouver area. The latter data set is especially important because it contains the first three-component recordings made on bedrock in greater Vancouver. Both data sets represent weak ground motion, with peak horizontal accelerations of 0.5-1.5% gravity (g) for the Duvall earthquake, and 0.2-2.4% g for the Georgia Strait earthquake. Using the method of spectral ratios, we estimate the site response for each of the strong-motion instrument soil sites. On the Fraser River delta amplification is observed over a relatively narrow frequency range of 1.5-4 Hz (0.25-0.67 s period), with peak amplification of 4-10 (relative to competent bedrock) for the thick soil delta centre sites, and about 7-11 for the delta edge sites. Relative to firm soil, the peak amplification ranges from 2 to 5 for the thick soil delta centre sites, and 2 to 6 for the delta edge sites. At higher frequencies, little or no amplification, and in many cases slight attenuation, is observed.Key words: seismic site response, Fraser delta, earthquakes.


Author(s):  
John D. Thornley ◽  
Utpal Dutta ◽  
John Douglas ◽  
Zhaohui (Joey) Yang

ABSTRACT Anchorage, Alaska, is a natural laboratory for recording strong ground motions from a variety of earthquake sources. The city is situated in a tectonic region that includes the interface and intraslab earthquakes related to the subducting Pacific plate and crustal earthquakes from the upper North American plate. The generalized inversion technique was used with a local rock reference station to develop site response at >20 strong-motion stations in Anchorage. A database of 94 events recorded at these sites from 2005 to 2019 was also compiled and processed to compare their site response with those in the 2018 Mw 7.1 event (main event). The database is divided into three datasets, including 75 events prior to the main event, the main event, and 19 aftershocks. The stations were subdivided into the site classes defined in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program based on estimated average shear-wave velocity in of the upper 30 m (VS30), and site-response results from the datasets were compared. Nonlinear site response was observed at class D and DE sites (VS30 of 215–300 and 150–215  m/s, respectively) but not at class CD and C sites (VS30 of 300–440 and 440–640  m/s, respectively). The relationship of peak ground acceleration versus peak ground velocity divided by VS30 (shear-strain proxy) was shown to further support the observation that sites with lower VS30 experienced nonlinear site response.


1994 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 1387-1396
Author(s):  
Shigeo Kinoshita

Abstract The attenuation characteristics of shear waves in the crust of the southern Kanto area, central Japan, were estimated using strong-motion data, including acceleration data recorded in the pre-Tertiary basement rocks by means of downhole observation. The quality factor Qs(f) was determined for a range of discrete frequencies from 0.5 to 16 Hz from the analysis of data from 13 local earthquakes with focal depths of less than about 50 km that occurred in the Philippine Sea plate and in the boundary zone between the lower part of the Eurasian plate and the upper part of the Philippine Sea plate. The estimated 1/Qs(f) shows a peaked structure in this frequency range on the assumption that the geometrical spreading exponent is -1 (body waves). The estimated peak 1/Qs(f) is of the order of 10-2 at 0.8 Hz.


1996 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-523
Author(s):  
Igor A. Beresnev ◽  
Kuo-Liang Wen

Abstract Spectral ratios between soft soil and reference rock sites are often used to predict the sedimentary site response to earthquakes. However, their relationship with the genuine site-specific amplification function is often unclear. We compare the soil-to-rock spectral ratios between the stations that are 3.3 km apart with the “genuine” response given by the ratios between the surface and 17 and 47 m downhole. Data from the SMART1 array in Taiwan are used. The “weak” and “strong” motion records are addressed separately to allow for nonlinear soil response. The soil-to-rock spectral ratios are nearly identical to the “true” amplification at the frequencies from 1 to 10 Hz, if the finite depth of the borehole is taken into account. They correctly capture the strong-motion deamplification effect. However, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios are roughly 1.4 times more uncertain than surface-to-47-m ratios. In summary, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios can be considered as the reliable estimates of the real site response.


1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 1483-1498
Author(s):  
F. Abramovici ◽  
E. R. Kanasewich ◽  
P. G. Kelamis

abstract The displacement components for a horizontal stress discontinuity along a buried finite fault in an elastic homogeneous layer on top of an elastic half-space are given analytically in terms of generalized rays. For a particular case of a concentrated horizontal force pointing in an arbitrary direction, detailed time-dependent expressions are given. For a simple model of a “crustal” layer over a “mantle” half-space, the numerical seismograms in the near- and intermediate-field show some interesting features. These include a prominent group of compressional waves whose radial component is substantial at distances four times the crustal thickness. All the dominant shear arrivals (s, SS, and sSS) are important and show large variations of amplitude as the source depth and receiver distance are varied. Some of the prominent individual generalized rays are shown, and it is found that they can be grouped naturally into families based on the number of interactions with the boundaries. The subdivision into individual generalized rays is useful for analysis and for checks on the numerical stability of the synthetic seismograms. Since the solution is analytic and the numerical evaluation is complete up to any desired time, the results are useful in comparing other approximate methods for the computation of seismograms.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 1629-1645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronnie Kamai ◽  
Norman Abrahamson

We evaluate how much of the fling effect is removed from the NGA database and accompanying GMPEs due to standard strong motion processing. The analysis uses a large set of finite-fault simulations, processed with four different high-pass filter corners, representing the distribution within the PEER ground motion database. The effects of processing on the average horizontal component, the vertical component, and peak ground motion values are evaluated by taking the ratio between unprocessed and processed values. The results show that PGA, PGV, and other spectral values are not significantly affected by processing, partly thanks to the maximum period constraint used when developing the NGA GMPEs, but that the bias in peak ground displacement should not be ignored.


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