Determination of GMPE functional form for an active region with limited strong motion data: application to the Himalayan region

Advancement in the seismic networks results in formulation of different functional forms for developing any new ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) for a region. Till date, various guidelines and tools are available for selecting a suitable GMPE for any seismic study area. However, these methods are efficient in quantifying the GMPE but not for determining a proper functional form and capturing the epistemic uncertainty associated with selection of GMPE. In this study, the compatibility of the recent available functional forms for the active region is tested for distance and magnitude scaling. Analysis is carried out by determining the residuals using the recorded and the predicted spectral acceleration values at different periods. Mixed effect regressions are performed on the calculated residuals for determining the intra- and interevent residuals. Additionally, spatial correlation is used in mixed effect regression by changing its likelihood function. Distance scaling and magnitude scaling are respectively examined by studying the trends of intraevent residuals with distance and the trend of the event term with magnitude. Further, these trends are statistically studied for a respective functional form of a ground motion. Additionally, genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo method are used respectively for calculating the hinge point and standard error for magnitude and distance scaling for a newly determined functional form. The whole procedure is applied and tested for the available strong motion data for the Himalayan region. The functional form used for testing are five Himalayan GMPEs, five GMPEs developed under NGA-West 2 project, two from Pan-European, and one from Japan region. It is observed that bilinear functional form with magnitude and distance hinged at 6.5 M _w and 300 km respectively is suitable for the Himalayan region. Finally, a new regression coefficient for peak ground acceleration for a suitable functional form that governs the attenuation characteristic of the Himalayan region is derived.     

Characteristics of horizontal ground motion measures along principal directions

<正>Ground motion records are often used to develop ground motion prediction equations(GMPEs) for a randomly oriented horizontal component,and to assess the principal directions of ground motions based on the Arias intensity tensor or the orientation of the major response axis.The former is needed for seismic hazard assessment,whereas the latter can be important for assessing structural responses under multi-directional excitations.However,a comprehensive investigation of the pseudo-spectral acceleration(PSA) and of GMPEs conditioned on different axes is currently lacking.This study investigates the principal directions of strong ground motions and their relation to the orientation of the major response axis, statistics of the PSA along the principal directions on the horizontal plane,and correlation of the PSA along the principal directions on the horizontal plane.For these,three sets of strong ground motion records,including intraplate California earthquakes,inslab Mexican earthquakes,and interface Mexican earthquakes,are used.The results indicate that one of the principal directions could be considered as quasi-vertical.By focusing on seismic excitations on the horizontal plane,the statistics of the angles between the major response axis and the major principal axis are obtained;GMPEs along the principal axes are provided and compared with those obtained for a randomly oriented horizontal component;and statistical analysis of residuals associated with GMPEs along the principal directions is carried out.     

Comparing predicted and observed ground motions from subduction earthquakes in the Lesser Antilles

This brief article presents a quantitative analysis of the ability of eight published empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for subduction earthquakes (interface and intraslab) to estimate observed earthquake ground motions on the islands of the Lesser Antilles (specifically Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad, and Dominica). In total, over 300 records from 22 earthquakes from various seismic networks are used within the analysis. It is found that most of the GMPEs tested perform poorly, which is mainly due to a larger variability in the observed ground motions than predicted by the GMPEs, although two recent GMPEs derived using Japanese strong-motion data provide reasonably good predictions. Analyzing separately the interface and intraslab events does not significant modify the results. Therefore, it is concluded that seismic hazard assessments for this region should use a variety of GMPEs in order to capture this large epistemic uncertainty in earthquake ground-motion prediction for the Lesser Antilles.     

Ground motion prediction equations for horizontal and vertical components of acceleration in Northern Iran

Recent studies have shown that the vertical component of ground motion can be quite destructive on a variety of structural systems. Development of response spectrum for design of buildings subjected to vertical component of earthquake needs ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). The existing GMPEs for northern Iranian plateau are proposed for the horizontal component of earthquake, and there is not any specified GMPE for the vertical component of earthquake in this region. Determination of GMPEs is mostly based on regression analyses on earthquake parameters such as magnitude, site class, distance, and spectral amplitudes. In this study, 325 three-component records of 55 earthquakes with magnitude ranging from M _w 4.1 to M _w 7.3 are used for estimation on the regression coefficients. Records with distances less than 300 km are selected for analyses in the database. The regression analyses on earthquake parameters results in determination of GMPEs for peak ground acceleration and spectral acceleration for both horizontal and vertical components of the ground motion. The correlation between the models for vertical and horizontal GMPEs is studied in details. These models are later compared with some other available GMPEs. According to the result of this investigation, the proposed GMPEs are in agreement with the other relationships that were developed based on the local and regional data.     

Use of Neural network to predict the peak ground accelerations and pseudo spectral accelerations for Mexican Inslab and Interplate Earthquakes

The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is explored to predict peak ground accelerations (PGA) and pseudospectral acceleration (SA) for Mexican inslab and interplate earthquakes. A total of 277 and 418 seismic records with two horizontal components for inslab and interplate earthquakes, respectively, are used to train the ANN models by using an ANN with a feed-forward architecture with a back-propagation learning algorithm. Both ANN with single and two hidden layers are considered. For comparison purposes, the PGA and SA values predicted by the trained ANN models are compared with those estimated with attenuation relations or ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). The comparison indicates that the predicted PGA and SA values by the trained ANN models, in general, follow the trends predicted by the GMPEs. However, an extensive verification of the trained models must be conducted before they can be used for seismic hazard and risk analysis since, on occasion, the PGA and SA values predicted by the trained ANN models depart from the behaviour observed from the actual records.     

Pan-European ground-motion prediction equations for the average horizontal component of PGA,PGV, and 5 %-damped PSA at spectral periods up to 3.0 s using the RESORCE dataset

This article presents a set of Ground-Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) for Europe and the Middle East, derived from the RESORCE strong motion data bank, following a standard regression approach. The parametric GMPEs are derived for the peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and 5 %-damped pseudo-absolute acceleration response spectra computed over 23 periods between 0.02 and 3 s, considering the average horizontal-component ground-motions. The GMPEs are valid for distances less than 300 km, hypocentral depth up to 35 km and over the magnitude range 4–7.6. Two metrics for the source-to-station distance (i.e. Joyner-Boore and hypocentral) are considered. The selected dataset is composed by 2,126 recordings (at a period of 0.1 s) related to 365 earthquakes, that includes strong-motion data from 697 stations.The EC8 soil classification (four classes from A to D) discriminates recording sites and four classes (normal, reverse, strike-slip, and unspecified) describe the style of faulting. A subset which contains only stations with measured Vs30 and earthquakes with specified focal mechanism (1,224 records from 345 stations and 255 earthquakes) is used to test of the accuracy of the median prediction and the variability associated to the broader data set. A random effect regression scheme is applied and bootstrap analyses are performed to estimate the 95 % confidence levels for the parameters. The total standard deviation sigma is decomposed into between-events and within-event components, and the site-to-site component is evaluated as well. The results show that the largest contribution to the total sigma is coming from the within-event component. When analyzing the residual distributions, no significant trends are observed that can be ascribed to the earthquake type (mainshock-aftershock classification) or to the non-linear site effects. The proposed GMPEs have lower median values than global models at short periods and large distances, while are consistent with global models at long periods $(\hbox {T} > 1)$  s. Consistency is found with two regional models developed for Turkey and Italy, as the considered dataset is dominated by waveforms recorded in these regions.     

Use of Seismotectonic Information for the Seismic Hazard Analysis for Surat City, Gujarat, India: Deterministic and Probabilistic Approach

Surat, the financial capital of Gujarat, India, is a mega city with a population exceeding five millions. The city falls under Zone III of the Seismic Zoning Map of India. After the devastating 2001 Bhuj earthquake of Mw 7.7, much attention is paid towards the seismic microzonation activity in the state of Gujarat. In this work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the seismic hazard for Surat City (21.170?N, 72.830?E) based on the probabilistic and deterministic seismic hazard analysis. After collecting a catalogue of historical earthquakes in a 350?km radius around the city and after analyzing a database statistically, deterministic analysis has been carried out considering known tectonic sources; a further recurrence relationship for the control region is found out. Probabilistic seismic hazard analyses were then carried out for the Surat region considering five seismotectonic sources selected from a deterministic approach. The final results of the present investigations are presented in the form of peak ground acceleration and response spectra at bed rock level considering the local site conditions. Rock level Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration values at 0.01?s and 1.0?s corresponding to 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years have been calculated. Further Uniform Hazard Response Spectrum (UHRS) at rock level for 5% damping, and 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years, were also developed for the city considering all site classes. These results can be directly used by engineers as basic inputs in earthquake-resistant design of structures in and around the city.     

Seismic design spectra and mapping procedures using hazard analysis based directly on oscillator response

The calculation of design spectra for building sites threatened by seismic ground motion is approached by considering the maximum responses of linearly elastic oscillators as indicators of ground motion intensity. Attenuation functions describing the distribution of response as a function of earthquake magnitude and distance are derived using 68 components of recorded ground motion as data. With a seismic hazard analysis for several hypothetical building sites, the distributions of maximum oscillator responses to earthquakes of random magnitude and location are calculated, and spectra are drawn to indicate the maximum responses associated with specified probability levels. These spectra are compared to design spectra calculated from published methods of amplifying peak ground motion parameters. The latter spectra are found to be inconsistent in terms of risk for building sites very close and very far from faults. A ground motion parameter defined to be proportional to the maximum response of a 1 Hz, 2 per cent damped linearly elastic oscillator is investigated; this parameter, in conjunction with peak ground acceleration, is found to lead to risk-consistent design spectra. Through these two parameters, a design earthquake magnitude and design hypocentral distance are defined, for a specified building site and risk level. The use of these parameters in the seismic hazard mapping of a region is illustrated.     

Peak ground motion predictions in India: an appraisal for rock sites

Proper selection and ranking of Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) is critical for successful logic-tree implementation in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. The present study explores this issue in predicting peak ground accelerations at the rock sites in India. Macroseismic intensity data complemented with limited strong ground-motion recordings are used for the purpose. The findings corroborate the possible conformity between the GMPEs developed for tectonically active shallow crust across the globe. On the other hand, the relevant GMPEs in the intraplate regions cluster into two different groups with the equations of lower ranks catering to higher ground motions. The earthquakes in the subduction zones have significant regional implications. However, affinity in the ground-motion attenuations between the major interface events (M _W > 7.4) in Andaman-Nicobar, Japan and Cascadia, respectively, is noted. This can be also observed for the intraslab events in the Hindukush and Taiwan respectively. Overall, we do not observe any significant advantage with the equations developed using the regional data. These findings are expected to be useful in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis across the study region.     

Horizontal and vertical ground motion prediction equations derived from the Italian Accelerometric Archive (ITACA)

A set of Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) for the Italian territory is proposed, exploiting a new strong-motion data set become available since July 2007 through the Italian Accelerometric Archive (ITACA). The data set is composed by 561 three-component waveforms from 107 earthquakes with moment magnitude in the range 4.0–6.9, occurred in Italy from 1972 to 2007 and recorded by 206 stations at distances up to 100 km. The functional form used to derive GMPEs in Italy (Sabetta and Pugliese in Bull Seismol Soc Am 86(2):337–352, 1996) has been modified introducing a quadratic term for magnitude and a magnitude-dependent geometrical spreading. The coefficients for the prediction of horizontal and vertical peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity and 5% damped acceleration response spectra are evaluated. This paper illustrates the new data set, the regression analysis and the comparisons with recently derived GMPEs in Europe and in the Next Generation Attenuation of Ground Motions (NGA) Project.     

Prediction of ground motion spectra on solidly frozen bedrock during large earthquakes

Two methods are discussed for determining changes in ground displacement spectra and the velocity and acceleration spectra derived from these when recorded on solidly frozen bedrock (T < ?3°C) versus epicentral distance and energy class. The first of these methods characterizes the entire epicenter field of earthquakes, while the second aims at studying possible differences between spectra in different source zones. We have found the maximum spectral level as a function of epicentral distance and energy class. The calculated spectra are compared with the available records of large earthquakes. The manner in which near and comparatively small earthquakes can be used to find ground motion spectra is shown for solidly frozen bedrock for earthquakes as large as the 15–17 energy class, as well, determination of the differences between the spectra of seismic signals due to earthquakes occurring in different source zones is performed. The results can be used both directly and for the zonation and prediction of seismic hazard within the zone of solidly frozen rock, and also for the case where the temperature regime of the frozen rock has been changed or disturbed.     

Earthquake ground motion predictive equations for Garhwal Himalaya,India

Predictive equations based on the stochastic approach are developed for earthquake ground motions from Garhwal Himalayan earthquakes of 3.5≤M_w≤6.8 at a distance of 10≤R≤250 km. The predicted ground motion parameters are response spectral values at frequencies from 0.25 to 20 Hz, and peak ground acceleration (PGA). The ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are derived from an empirically based stochastic ground motion model. The GMPEs show a fair agreement with the empirically developed ground motion equations from Himalaya as well as the NGA equation. The proposed relations also reasonably predict the observed ground motion of two major Himalayan earthquakes from Garhwal Himalayan region. For high magnitudes, there is insufficient data to satisfactorily judge the relationship; however it reasonably predicts the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake (M_w=6.8) and 1999 Chamoli earthquake (M_w=6.4) from Garhwal Himalaya region.     

Ground Motion Relations for Active Regions in India

In this article, a study on development of ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) is undertaken for seismically active regions in India. To derive the equations, the seismically active regions are divided into four units based on seismotectonic setting and geology. Due to lack of strong motion data, a stochastic finite-fault simulation method is used for generating a complete synthetic database with respect to magnitude and distance. The input parameters in the stochastic seismological model, such as site amplification and stress drop, are first derived from the past strong-motion data. A total of 236 three-component records from 62 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from M _w 3.4 to 7.8 are used to calibrate the seismological model. The obtained stress drops of these 62 events lie in between 60 and 165 bars. With the help of a large synthetic database generated from the calibrated seismological model, ground motion relations for 5 % damped spectral acceleration are obtained by regression analysis. The developed ground motion relations are compared with the existing GMPEs of the other active regions in the world. Although the proposed equations have trends similar to those of the existing relations, there are some differences attributed to stress drop and the quality factor of active regions in India. These relations will be useful to prepare spectral acceleration hazard maps of India for a given annual probability of exceedance.     

Ground motion prediction equations based on shallow crustal earthquakes in Georgia and the surrounding Caucasus

Strong ground motions caused by earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 3.5 to 6.9 and hypocentral distances of up to 300 km were recorded by local broadband stations and three-component accelerograms within Georgia’s enhanced digital seismic network. Such data mixing is particularly effective in areas where strong ground motion data are lacking. The data were used to produce models based on ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs), one benefit of which is that they take into consideration information from waveforms across a wide range of frequencies. In this study, models were developed to predict ground motions for peak ground acceleration and 5%-damped pseudo-absolute-acceleration spectra for periods between 0.01 and 10 s. Short-period ground motions decayed faster than long-period motions, though decay was still in the order of approximately 1/r. Faulting mechanisms and local soil conditions greatly influence GMPEs. The spectral acceleration (SA) of thrust faults was higher than that for either strike-slip or normal faults but the influence of strike-slip faulting on SA was slightly greater than that for normal faults. Soft soils also caused significantly more amplification than rocky sites.     

A macroseismic intensity prediction equation for intermediate depth earthquakes in the Vrancea region,Romania

The use of shake maps in terms of macroseismic intensity in earthquake early warning systems as well as intensity based seismic hazard assessments provides a valuable supplement to typical studies based on recorded ground motion parameters. A requirement for such applications is ground motion prediction equations (GMPE) in terms of macroseismic intensity, which have the advantages of good data availability and the direct relation of intensity to earthquake damage. In the current study, we derive intensity prediction equations for the Vrancea region in Romania, which is characterized by the frequent occurrence of large intermediate depth earthquakes giving rise to a peculiar anisotropic ground shaking distribution. The GMPE have a physical basis and take the anisotropic intensity distribution into account through an empirical regional correction function. Furthermore, the relations are easy to implement for the user. Relations are derived in terms of epicentral, rupture and Joyner–Boore distance and the obtained relations all provide a new intensity estimate with an uncertainty of ca. 0.6 intensity units.     

Probabilistic earthquake hazard assessment for Peninsular India

In this paper, a new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) is presented for Peninsular India. The PSHA has been performed using three different recurrence models: a classical seismic zonation model, a fault model, and a grid model. The development of a grid model based on a non-parameterized recurrence model using an adaptation of the Kernel-based method that has not been applied to this region before. The results obtained from the three models have been combined in a logic tree structure in order to investigate the impact of different weights of the models. Three suitable attenuation relations have been considered in terms of spectral acceleration for the stable continental crust as well as for the active crust within the Gujarat region. While Peninsular India has experienced large earthquakes, e.g., Latur and Jabalpur, it represents in general a stable continental region with little earthquake activity, as also confirmed in our hazard results. On the other hand, our study demonstrates that both the Gujarat and the Koyna regions are exposed to a high seismic hazard. The peak ground acceleration for 10 % exceedance in 50 years observed in Koyna is 0.4 g and in the Kutch region of Gujarat up to 0.3 g. With respect to spectral acceleration at 1 Hz, estimated ground motion amplitudes are higher in Gujarat than in the Koyna region due to the higher frequency of occurrence of larger earthquakes. We discuss the higher PGA levels for Koyna compared Gujarat and do not accept them uncritically.     

Response spectral attenuation relations for in-slab earthquakes in Indo-Burmese subduction zone

From an analysis of a limited number of strong-motion data recorded in northeast Indian region, the in-slab earthquakes along the Indo-Burmese subduction zone are found to be characterized by much larger ground motion amplitudes than that for the earthquakes along other subduction zones around the world. Specific type of source, propagation path and site geologic condition may perhaps simultaneously be responsible for such anomalous behaviour. The empirical attenuation relations developed by Atkinson and Boore [3] using a global database for subduction zone earthquakes have been therefore suitably modified to be more appropriate for the northeast India. The modified relationships are developed by combining the data for both horizontal and vertical components of motion. The response spectra of the accelerograms recorded in northeast India from earthquakes with widely varying magnitude and distance are, in general, found to match very well with the predictions from the modified attenuation model. The proposed model can thus be used to obtain more realistic estimate of the contribution of in-slab subduction zone earthquakes to seismic hazard in the northeast Indian region.     

Seismic hazard assessment for the Itoiz dam site (Western Pyrenees,Spain)

This work summarises the seismic hazard analysis performed for the complete characterisation of strong ground-motion at the site of the Itoiz dam (Western Pyrenees, Spain). The hazard analysis includes the compilation of a composite catalogue from French and Spanish agencies, the definition of an original hybrid seismogenic source model (including zones and major faults) and the selection of ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). Hazard results are provided as hazard curves and acceleration response spectra on rock for the 1000- and 5000-year return periods, which correspond respectively to the operating basis earthquake (OBE) and safety evaluation earthquake (SEE). The impact of truncating GMPEs at a number of standard deviations (epsilon) has been found not critical here for the return periods targeted. Subsequently, an analysis of the contribution of each source to total hazard and a hazard disaggregation analysis are performed in order to establish the earthquake-source parameters for both the OBE and SEE scenarios consistently with the seismotectonics of the region. The European Strong Motion database is then searched and a selection of records is proposed for each of the scenarios. Our results suggest that seismic hazard in the region is underestimated by the official Spanish seismic hazard map included in the current version of the code (NCSE-02), which is the reference document for the definition of seismic actions for dam projects in the whole Pyrenees.     

Empirical equations for the prediction of PGA and pseudo spectral accelerations using Iranian strong-motion data

A recently compiled, comprehensive, and good-quality strong-motion database of the Iranian earthquakes has been used to develop local empirical equations for the prediction of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and 5%-damped pseudo-spectral accelerations (PSA) up to 4.0 s. The equations account for style of faulting and four site classes and use the horizontal distance from the surface projection of the rupture plane as a distance measure. The model predicts the geometric mean of horizontal components and the vertical-to-horizontal ratio. A total of 1551 free-field acceleration time histories recorded at distances of up to 200 km from 200 shallow earthquakes (depth < 30 km) with moment magnitudes ranging from M_w 4.0 to 7.3 are used to perform regression analysis using the random effects algorithm of Abrahamson and Youngs (Bull Seism Soc Am 82:505–510, 1992), which considers between-events as well as within-events errors. Due to the limited data used in the development of previous Iranian ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) and strong trade-offs between different terms of GMPEs, it is likely that the previously determined models might have less precision on their coefficients in comparison to the current study. The richer database of the current study allows improving on prior works by considering additional variables that could not previously be adequately constrained. Here, a functional form used by Boore and Atkinson (Earthquake Spect 24:99–138, 2008) and Bindi et al. (Bull Seism Soc Am 9:1899–1920, 2011) has been adopted that allows accounting for the saturation of ground motions at close distances. A regression has been also performed for the V/H in order to retrieve vertical components by scaling horizontal spectra. In order to take into account epistemic uncertainty, the new model can be used along with other appropriate GMPEs through a logic tree framework for seismic hazard assessment in Iran and Middle East region.     

Regional adjustment factors for three NGA-West2 ground-motion prediction equations to be applicable in northern Iran

Ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are essential tools in seismic hazard studies to estimate ground motions generated by potential seismic sources. Global GMPEs which are based on well-compiled global strong-motion databanks, have certain advantages over local GMPEs, including more sophisticated parameters in terms of distance, faulting style, and site classification but cannot guarantee the local/region-specific propagation characteristics of shear wave (e.g., geometric spreading behavior, quality factor) for different seismic regions at larger distances (beyond about 80 km). Here, strong-motion records of northern Iran have been used to estimate the propagation characteristics of shear wave and determine the region-specific adjustment parameters for three of the NGA-West2 GMPEs to be applicable in northern Iran. The dataset consists of 260 three-component records from 28 earthquakes, recorded at 139 stations, with moment magnitudes between 4.9 and 7.4, horizontal distance to the surface projection of the rupture (R _JB) less than 200 km, and average shear-wave velocity over the top 30 m of the subsurface (V _S30) between 155 and 1500 m/s. The paper also presents the ranking results for three of the NGA-West2 GMPEs against strong motions recorded in northern Iran, before and after adjustment for region-dependent attenuation characteristics. The ranking is based on the likelihood and log-likelihood methods (LH and LLH) proposed by Scherbaum et al. (Bull Seismol Soc Am 94: 2164–2185, 2004, Bull Seismol Soc Am 99, 3234–3247, 2009, respectively), the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (Nash and Sutcliffe, J Hydrol 10:282–290, 1970), and the EDR method of Kale and Akkar (Bull Seismol Soc Am 103:1069–1084, 2012). The best-fitting models over the whole frequency range are the ASK14 and BSSA14 models. Taking into account that the models’ performances were boosted after applying the adjustment factors, at least moderate regional variation of ground motions is highlighted. The regional adjustment based on the Iranian database reveals an upward trend (indicated as high Q factor) for the selected database. Further investigation to determine adjustment factors based on a much richer database of the Iranian strong-motion records is of utmost important for seismic hazard and risk analysis studies in northern Iran, containing major cities including the capital city of Tehran.