VS30, site amplifications and some comparisons: The Adapazari (Turkey) case

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of V_S30 in site amplifications in the Adapazari region, Turkey. To fulfil this aim, amplifications from V_S30 measurements were compared with earthquake data for different soil types in the seismic design codes. The Adapazari area was selected as the study area, and shear-wave velocity distribution was obtained by the multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASWs) method at 100 sites for the top 50 m of soil. Aftershock data following the Mw 7.4 Izmit earthquake of 17 August 1999 gave magnitudes between 4.0 and 5.6 at six stations installed in and around the Adapazari Basin, at Babalı, Şeker, Genç, Hastane, Toyota and Imar. This data was used to estimate site amplifications by the reference-station method. In addition, the fundamental periods of the station sites were estimated by the single station method. Site classifications based on V_S30 in the seismic design codes were compared with the fundamental periods and amplification values. It was found that site amplifications (from earthquake data) and relevant spectra (from V_S30) are not in good agreement for soils in Adapazari (Turkey).     

Comparing Loss Estimation with Observed Damage in a Zone of Ground Failure: A Study of the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake in Turkey

The building losses in Adapazari following the 17 August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake are estimated for both ground-shaking and ground-failure induced damage and the predictions compared with field observations. The ground-shaking damage is estimated using the capacity spectrum approach and accommodating the results of a previously published calibration of this model. These results, which do not incorporate ground-failure damage, are compared to the observed damage patterns in Adapazari to illustrate the significance of not including the more complex ground failure component in a loss model for a region of high liquefaction susceptibility. A preliminary estimation of ground-failure-induced damage is then presented based upon the HAZUS (FEMA, 2003) default methodology. The benefits of these additional calculations to the overall loss model are assessed to provide some quantitative decision-making guidance for those producing loss estimation models. The findings suggest that the benefits of specifically incorporating ground failure into a loss model only start to be obtained if a detailed approach using in situ geotechnical data as well as adequate representation of building foundations is adopted. Otherwise, the additional input data required is not commensurate with the small potential refinement in the estimated losses, particularly considering the compounded uncertainties associated with the simplified approach.     

Bedrock structure in Adapazari, Turkey—a possible cause of severe damage by the 1999 Kociaeli earthquake

The 1999 Kocaeli earthquake brought serious damage to downtown of Adapazari. To study why strong motions were generated at the town, a bedrock structure was investigated on the basis of Bouguer gravity anomaly, and SPAC and H/V analyses of microseisms. It was revealed that, the basin consists of three narrow depressions of bedrock with very steep edges, extending in E–W or NE–SW directions along the North Anatolia faults, and the depth to bedrock reaches 1000 m or more. Downtown of Adapazari is located 1–2 km apart from the basin-edge. It is considered that, the specific configuration of bedrock amplifies ground motions at the downtown area by focusing of seismic waves and/or interference between incident S-waves and surface-waves secondarily generated at the basin-edge. Studying 3D bedrock structure is an urgent issue for microzoning an urban area in a sedimentary basin.     

Contributions of Basin-edge-induced Surface Waves to Site Effect in the Dinar Basin,Southwestern Turkey

Ground motion amplifications in the Dinar basin, and contributions of the surface waves generated from basin edges are investigated in frequency and time domains. Amplification functions are computed from the aftershock data of the October 1, 1995 Dinar earthquake (M_W=6.4) using the Standard Spectral Ratio method which requires a pair of instruments; one located at the site under investigation (generally on alluvium) and the other on a reference site, preferably a nearby rock site. First, a time window covering the whole signal is used to compute the amplification function, and, successively, the noise, P wave, S wave and the surface wave time windows are used in computation to observe their contributions to the amplification function. It is seen that the maximum amplifications observed at about 2.0 Hz on the amplification functions of the stations located in the basin are largely due to basin edge induced surface waves. These waves have significantly increased the duration of signals recorded within the basin. Particularly, on the vertical component records, the amplitudes of surface waves are larger than the S-wave amplitudes. The periods of waves amplified maximally due to the basin structure coincide with the natural periods of 4–6-story buildings which were heavily damaged in Dinar. This indicates that the site effects may have been important regarding the damage which occurred during the Dinar earthquake of October 1995.     

A site effect study in the Verchiano valley during the 1997 Umbria-Marche (Central Italy) earthquakes

Strong site effects were observed during the two M _W 5.7 and M _W 6.0 main shocks of the Colfiorito seismic crisis which occured on September 26, 1997 in Umbria-Marche (Central Italy).The most obvious indications of these effects are the dramatic differences in damage shown by buildings of similar construction in neighboring villages.Such observations were specifically made in the Verchiano valley in the fault area, 15 km south of Colfiorito where the Verchiano village and the Colle and Camino hamlets were heavily damaged (MCS intensity IX-X) since the first main shock of 1997/09/26,while in contrast, the Curasci village located 2 km eastwards remains almost intact.In order to study the anomalous ground motion amplifications in this area, an array of 11, 3-components seismo- and accelero-meters was set up during the 1997/10/20-24 period, extending from the western side of the valley, up to the top of Mount San Salvatore, going accross the Colle and Curasci hamlets.During the experiment, 67 aftershocks enlightened the valley from the Colfiorito (10 km north) and the Sellano (6 km south) active swarms.Seismic refraction experiments were conducted at the same time in the 500 m wide, 1500 m long Verchiano valley in order to determine the thickness and main characteristics of the alluvial infilling.The main results are: (i) compared to the valley side ground motion, and for all the events, recordings in the central part of the valley (piana di Verchiano) show relative amplification of 10 with a clear lengthening of the seismogram duration by a factor of 2 – (ii) broad band relative amplification of 6–8 is also clearly identified at the top of the Mount San Salvatore overhanging the valley – (iii) any of the site effect measurements done explains by itself the strongly contrasted damage observed at Colle and Curasci: i.e. the modification of the near-field radiation pattern by interaction with the free heterogeneous surface may have induced local shadow zones that saved Curasci.     

Attenuation characteristics of peak ground acceleration from fault trace of the 1999 Kocaeli (Turkey) earthquake and comparison of spectral acceleration with seismic design code

The 17 August 1999 Kocaeli earthquake in Turkey produced a majorsurface rupture. We traced this surface rupture from Gölcük toDüzce and located it accurately by using GPS. The closest distancefrom the surface rupture to the strong motion observation sites weredetermined. Then the attenuation characteristics of the observed peakground acceleration were compared with the attenuation relation given byFukushima and Tanaka (1992), which is suitable for the near-fault zone inJapan and gives results that closely match data recorded during the 1995Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake in Japan. Although this attenuation relationwas developed for Japan, we found that it agreed well with the KOCAELIearthquake. Furthermore, the observed spectral acceleration of 5%damping was compared with the building design code of Turkey and theobserved level was lower than the code.     

Analysis and interpretation of the aftershock sequence of the August 17, 1999, Izmit (Turkey) earthquake

A micro-seismic field experiment has been carried out in the Marmara Searegion. The analysis of the events before and after the August 17, 1999Izmit (Turkey) earthquake has been completed. 1446 events have beenwell located out of a total of 3165 recorded within the period from July15 to November 2, 1999. 67% of the aftershocks with magnitudegreater than 4 have occurred within the first 6 days after the main-shock. Earthquakes of the Izmit sequence are distributed in the first 15 km of theearth crust, but major events are located in between 5 km and 15 kmdepth. The seismicity pattern defines a rupture plane extending for about150 km in an E-W direction. The rupture is extremely linear butsegmented, and its complexity increases towards the western endmanifesting bifurcation. A stress analysis has been carried out both at thewestern end and all along the aftershock zone. 96 selected aftershocks,registered between August 21 and October 22, were chosen in order tocompute their focal mechanisms and obtain information about the stressregime after the Izmit earthquake. Strike-slip and normal faultingmechanisms are dominant. The numerous strike-slip mechanisms arecompatible with a dextral motion on an EW oriented vertical fault plane. The best stress tensor solution shows a regime in extension with awell-defined ₃ axis oriented approximately N35^°.     

Site effects in Mexico City: Constraints from surface wave inversion of shallow refraction data

In order to understand and simulate site effects on strong ground motion records of recent earthquakes in Mexico City, it is fundamental to determine the in situ elastic and anelastic properties of the shallow stratigraphy of the basin. The main properties of interest are the shear wave velocities and Q-quality factors and their correlation with similar parameters in zones of the city. Despite population density and paved surfaces, it is feasible to gather shallow refraction data to obtain laterally homogeneous subsoil structures at some locations. We focused our analysis in the Texcoco Lake region of the northeastern Mexico City basin. This area consists of unconsolidated clay sediments, similar to those of the lake bed zone in Mexico City, where ground motion amplification and long duration disturbances are commonly observed. We recorded Rayleigh and Love waves using explosive and sledgehammer sources and 4.5 Hz vertical and horizontal geophones, respectively. Additionally, for the explosive source, we recorded three-component seismograms using 1 Hz seismometers. We obtained phase velocity dispersion curves from ray parameter-frequency domain analyses and inverted them for vertical distribution of S wave velocity. The initial model was obtained from a standard first-break refraction analysis. We also obtained an estimation of the Q_S shear wave quality factor for the uppermost stratigraphy. Results compare well with tilt and cone penetrometer resistance measurements at the same test site, emphasizing the importance of these studies for engineering purposes.     

Estimation on site-amplification from different methods using strong motion data obtained in Tangshan, China

Introduction It has been known that each soil type responds differently when it is subjected to ground mo-tion from earthquakes. So, the study of local site effects on seismic ground motions is one of the most important goals of earthquake engineering. It is practical importance to develop methods for assessing the nature and potential of sediment amplification, especially when choosing the location and design of critical and essential facilities. At present, however, the method by which site …     

汶川地震强余震场地非线性反应

采用汶川地震强余震26个强震动台站记录,基于H/V谱比法,计算台站场地的强、弱震作用下场地卓越频率之比R_(fp)和体现强、弱震作用下场地H/V谱比曲线差异程度的DNL,进而识别并分析场地非线性反应特征。结果显示,R_(fp)、DNL与PGA之间存在显著相关性;其中10个台站出现明显的场地非线性反应特征;大部分台站发生场地非线性反应的PGA阈值为100 cm/s~2,部分为50 cm/s~2;实例证明,因某些台站不易通过H/V谱比法识别场地卓越频率,因此采用R_(fp)识别场地非线性反应具有一定局限性。     

Site attenuation and source parameters on the North Anatolian Fault zone, eastern Turkey estimated from the aftershocks of 13 March 1992 Erzincan earthquake

Site attenuation and source characteristics of 45 aftershocks of the 13 March 1992 Erzincan, eastern Turkey earthquake have been determined from SH-wave spectra using a least-squares best-fit method. Although the most of the seismograms were recorded on the ophiolitic rock sites and the average regional attenuation correction of Q(f) = 35 f^0.83 was applied, the high fall-off rates ranging between 3.0 and 4.5 beyond the corner frequencies of 8–13 Hz were observed on the SH spectra. The site attenuation value, , has been calculated from the slope of the high frequency part of the SH spectra. It was found that varied in the range of 0.0124–0.0364 s and the average was 0.0246 s with a standard deviation of 0.0047 s. The high fall-off rates of observed spectra have decreased considerably as a result of site attenuation corrections and converged to an average value of 2.3. We concluded that the high fall-off rates of SH wave spectra are mainly controlled by highly deformed Miocene ophiolitic formations which covers a wide area in the North Anatolian Fault zone in the vicinity of Erzincan region. Using the spectra that were corrected for regional and site attenuation, and assuming a Brune's source model; seismic moment, source radius, and stress-drops of the aftershocks were computed. We found that stress-drops for some of the aftershocks in Erzincan area have slightly decreased after removal of site attenuation over SH wave observed spectra.     

Evaluation of site effects by means of Joint Analysis of Sonogram and Standard Spectral Ratio (JASSSR)

In order to evaluate thefrequency dependence of site effects, thejoint analysis of the standard spectralratio technique with a sonogram approach isproposed (Joint Analysis of Sonogram andStandard Spectral Ratio). Two tools aresuggested: the enhanced sonograms andthe differential sonograms. Inparticular, the local geology effects areinvestigated by considering both theamplification of the seismic signals andtheir prolongation. Tests carried out onsynthetic signals show the capability ofthe sonogram approach to evaluate thefrequency-dependent lengthening of theseismic signal. The JASSSR is applied todata recorded by a dense local networkdeployed during the Umbria-Marche seismicsequence of 1997 and to data recorded inthe Volvi Test site (Euroseistest, Greece).The results show that using the JASSSR gives amore complete overview of the effects oflocal geology on seismic ground motion than maybe obtained by using the StandardSpectral Ratio alone. In particular, theeffect of secondary arrivals, both on theamplitude and on the lengthening of theseismic ground motion, can be pointed out.In addition, the characteristic frequencyof these arrivals can be evaluated.     

Ground motion directionality inferred from a survey of minaret damage during the 1999 Kocaeli and Düzce, Turkey earthquakes

Directionality of ground motions has been discussed in near-source groundmotion study. This is interesting from the point of structural response.Dominance of the fault normal (FN) component has been reported inrelation to fault rupture direction based on the observation recordsobtained in the source area (e.g.. Somerville et al., 1996). The authorsperformed the damage survey of the two Turkey earthquakes in 1999, theKocaeli and the Düzce earthquake, and realized that minaret is a goodtarget to investigate the ground motion directionality, because a minaret isa simple cantilever structure without structural directionality. This paperdescribes the ground motion directionality based on the survey of minaretdamages during the two earthquakes in Turkey. From the damage survey,it is found that the fault normal direction was dominant with a certaindistance from the fault, say, less than 1km. While, at the region withshorter distances, the damage direction was not fault normal but about40^° from the fault strike. Discussion is addressed for the specificdamage direction inferred from the minaret damage near the fault.     

Shear wave velocity-based liquefaction evaluation in the great Wenchuan earthquake： a preliminary case study

The great Wenchuan earthquake (Ms = 8.0) in 2008 caused severe damage in the western part of the Chengdu Plain. Soil liquefaction was one of the major causes of damage in the plain areas, and proper evaluation of liquefaction potential is important in the definition of the seismic hazard facing a given region and post-earthquake reconstruction. In this paper, a simplified procedure is proposed for liquefaction assessment of sandy deposits using shear wave velocity (Vs), and soil liquefaction from the Banqiao School site was preliminarily investigated after the earthquake. Boreholes were made at the site and shear wave velocities were measured both by SASW and down-hole methods. Based on the in-situ soil information and Vs profiles, the liquefaction potential of this site was evaluated. The results are reasonably consistent with the actual field behavior observed after the earthquake, indicating that the proposed procedure is effective. The possible effects of gravel and fines contents on liquefaction of sandy soils were also briefly discussed.     

四川地区震源参数和台站场地响应初步研究

利用成都遥测数字地震台网数字地震波形数据资料,采用Atkinson方法得到四川地区的品质因子Q值与频率,的关系为：Q（f）=203．1f0.834。采用Moya方法反演得到了地震的场地响应,采用Moya方法与Atldnson方法分别得到了相应地震的震源谱参数,两种方法的结果保持了很好的一致性。得到的震源参数结果表明：地震矩与震级的关系为：logM0=17．27＋1．18Mt,地震矩与拐角频率关系,即随着地震矩的增大,拐角频率减小,这些地震的应力降在10-400巴之间,应力降与地震矩之间没有明显的依赖关系。     

Some relationships between lithology,basin form and hydrology: a case study from the Thames basin,UK

The role of lithology in influencing basin form and function is explored empirically by investigating correlations between a range of catchment variables, where the spatial unit of analysis is not surface catchments but lithologically coherent groundwater units. Using the Thames basin, UK, as a case study, nine groundwater units have been identified. Values for 11 hydrological and geomorphological variables, including rainfall, drainage density, Baseflow Index, aquifer porosity, storage coefficient and log‐hydraulic conductivity, aquifer and drainage elevation, river incision, and hypsometric integral have been estimated for each of the groundwater units in the basin, and Pearson correlation coefficients calculated for all pairs of variables. Seven of the correlation coefficients are found to be significant at a confidence level of > 99%. Negative correlations between drainage density and log aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and between drainage density and river incision, and positive correlations between log‐hydraulic conductivity and river incision, log‐hydraulic conductivity and Baseflow Index, and between Baseflow Index and river incision are inferred to have consistent causal explanations. For example, incision of rivers into aquifers leads to relative increases in hydraulic gradients in the vicinity of rivers which, in turn, promotes the development of secondary porosity increasing both aquifer hydraulic conductivity and, hence, Baseflow Index. The implication of this interpretation is that the geomorphological evolution of basins is intimately linked to the evolution of hydraulic conductivity of the underlying aquifers. This is consistent with, and supports the notion of a coupled complexly evolving surface water‐groundwater system. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

考虑场地条件与设计地震分组的输入能量谱研究

建立简单适用的设计输入能量谱是将能量方法应用于实际工程设计及校核的前提.选择了Ⅰ类、Ⅱ类和Ⅲ类场地共694条水平地震动记录,分析了不同的场地类别和设计地震分组下输入能量谱的特点.通过12个不同地震动参数与能量谱值的相关性分析,得到了表征地震动输入能量的地震动参数.基于我国现行规范规定的设防烈度和设防水准,提出了地震分组...     

2008年5月12日汶川地震谱震级及相关问题研究

基于P波和S波的谱震级特征对汶川地震进行了定量研究,可以看出P波和S波的最大谱震级出现在不同的周期上。对这一现象的构造物理意义进行了讨论,推测相对于P波而言,地震发生期间辐射的S波能量来自异常大的震源体积。选择部分全球地震的谱特征为背景,对汶川地震的体波谱震级特征进行了分析,结论是汶川地震的特征与其所处的周边环境是一致的。     

Horizontal to vertical spectral ratio and geological conditions: an analysis of strong motion data from Greece and Taiwan (SMART-1)

Nowadays, several research efforts have been directed towards the evaluation of the horizontal to vertical, (h/v), spectral ratio technique, following the pioneering work of Nakamura originally proposed for microtremor measurements. In the present study, an extension of this technique based on Greek and Taiwanese (SMART-1) strong motion data is attempted. Whenever possible comparisons with results obtained by the standard spectral ratio technique for the same sites are made. Regarding the Greek data it is concluded that (h/v) spectral ratio clearly distinguishes the range of resonant peaks between ‘rock’ and ‘alluvium’ sites. On the other hand, nonlinear effects that take place beneath SMART-1 array most probably obscure the expected consistency between (h/v) and standard spectral ratio technique.     

一种实时场地校正方法及其在地震预警中的应用

地震预警系统对地震数据处理的实时性要求极高。其系统数据来源除布设在基岩的测震台站外,还有大量非基岩场地的强震动台站和地震烈度仪台站,其场地影响不容忽视。为了考虑震级估算和地震动场预测中的场地影响,需实时对各种场地条件下的地震波形进行校正。目前处理一般使用某个标量来表征场地放大效应。本文采用一种实时的场地校正方法,首先计算目标场地与参考场地的谱比,然后通过最小二乘法、双线性变换将谱比转化为因果递归的无限冲激响应(IIR)时域滤波器,之后可以应用该滤波器进行实时场地校正。该方法考虑了场地放大系数的频率依赖性,相比于标量校正提高了准确度。应用我国四川和日本部分强震动台站记录,验证并讨论了这种实时场地校正方法在地震预警中的应用效果。