An Evaluation on H/V Ratio vs. Spectral Ratio for Site-response Estimation Using the 1994 Northridge Earthquake Sequences

—The applicability of the single-station H/V method, based on the spectral ratio between the horizontal and the vertical components of strong ground motions, is examined for site-response estimation using the high quality data from the 1994 Northridge earthquake sequence. Instead of using Rayleigh-wave data from microtremors, the large amplitude-wave part of the S-wave data is used and based on the 1994 Northridge mainshock and aftershock recordings. We have found that upon averaging over a number of recordings for a given station, the station site responses, derived both from the single-station H/V ratio and from the standard spectral ratio (with respect to a reference rock-site station) are sufficiently close for practical purposes. We therefore conclude that the H/V ratio can reasonably predict the resonant frequency and the amplification level of a site response, especially for sites in the neighborhood of the epicenters. In the absence of a reference rock-site station, the H/V ratio provides a practical alternative to the standard site-response estimation.     

P- and S-Wave Site Response of the Seismic Network RESNOM Determined from Earthquakes of Northern Baja California, Mexico

—We determined the response to P- and S-wave incidence of the permanent stations of the seismic network of Baja California (RESNOM) using two independent methods. We selected 65 events with magnitudes between 2.2 and 4.8 and hypocentral distances ranging between 5 and 330 km. The site response of the ten stations analyzed was first estimated using average spectral ratios between the horizontal and the vertical components of motion (H/V ratios). As a second approach we performed a simultaneous inversion for source and site. In order to invert the spectral records to determine the site response, we made an independent estimate of the attenuation for two different source-station path regions. Then we corrected the spectral records for the attenuation effect before we made the inversion. Although the average H/V ratio of many sites is inside the error bars of the site response estimated with the spectral inversion, the spectral inversion tends to give higher values. For the S wave some sites show similar frequency of predominant peak when comparing the responses obtained with both methods. In contrast, for the P waves the H/V ratios disagree with the results of the inversion. In general, the site response of the stations is strongly frequency dependent for both P and S waves. We also found that the natural frequency of resonance of the sites is near 0.5 Hz for P and near 0.8 Hz for the S waves.     

Effect of seawater on incident plane P and SV waves at ocean bottom and engineering characteristics of offshore ground motion records off the coast of southern California,USA

The effect of seawater on vertical ground motions is studied via a theoretical method and then actual offshore ground motion records are analyzed using a statistical method. A theoretical analysis of the effect of seawater on incident plane P and SV waves at ocean bottom indicate that on one hand, the affected frequency range of vertical ground motions is prominent due to P wave resonance in the water layer if the impedance ratio between the seawater and the underlying medium is large, but it is greatly suppressed if the impedance ratio is small; on the other hand, for the ocean bottom interface model selected herein, vertical ground motions consisting of mostly P waves are more easily affected by seawater than those dominated by SV waves. The statistical analysis of engineering parameters of offshore ground motion records indicate that:(1) Under the infl uence of softer surface soil at the seafl oor, both horizontal and vertical spectral accelerations of offshore motions are exaggerated at long period components, which leads to the peak spectral values moving to a longer period.(2) The spectral ratios(V/H) of offshore ground motions are much smaller than onshore ground motions near the P wave resonant frequencies in the water layer; and as the period becomes larger, the effect of seawater becomes smaller, which leads to a similar V/H at intermediate periods(near 2 s). These results are consistent with the conclusions of Boore and Smith(1999), but the V/H of offshore motion may be smaller than the onshore ground motions at longer periods(more than 5 s).     

安徽强震动台站场地响应研究

采用H/V谱比法,利用安徽强震台网记录的波形数据,计算了3个强震台的场地响应。结果表明,当台站场地为基岩或覆盖层较薄时,由地脉动和S波数据分别计算出的谱比曲线一致性很好。当覆盖层大于30.5 m的时候,两者的放大因子有差异,即用S波计算的场地放大响应要明显大于用脉动计算的场地响应。     

Characteristics of strong ground motion data recorded in the Gubbio sedimentary basin (Central Italy)

Various authors, analysing the set of accelerograms recorded at Gubbio Piana (GBP) (central Italy), have demonstrated that strong amplification occurs at this accelerometric station, which is installed within an alluvial basin. In particular, Ambraseys et al. [(2005a), Bull Earthq Eng 3:1–53; (2005b), Bull Earth Eng 3:55–73] observed that the strong motion peaks at GBP greatly exceed the median values predicted by the attenuation relationships they derived for Europe. In this work, we analyse and discuss some characteristics of the ground motion recorded at the GBP station. We show that the ground motion parameters, such as peak-ground acceleration and peak-ground velocity, are strongly influenced by the presence of locally induced surface waves that produce both a lengthening of the significant shaking duration and an increase in the peak values with respect to a nearby bedrock site. The basin-induced surface waves are observed in the three components of motion and their effects on the peak values are particularly evident in the vertical component. In the frequency domain, the energy of the surface waves is mostly restricted to the frequency band 0.4–0.8 Hz for both the horizontal and vertical components. The horizontal and vertical Fourier amplitudes are also very similar, and this indicates that the H/V spectral ratio technique is not applicable to describing the site response due to the propagation of seismic wave in a complex 2D/3D geological structure. Finally, a preliminary polarization analysis shows that the directions of polarization, as well as the degree of elliptical polarization, exhibit a strong variability with time, that may be related to a complex propagation of Love and Rayleigh waves within the basin.     

Site characterizations for the Tehran network (TDMMO) in Tehran Region Using Micro-Earthquake,Microtremor and Quarry Blast Data

We did a Study of Horizontal-to-Vertical Component Spectral Ratio in the Tehran seismic zone. Micro-earthquakes, microtremors and quarry blasts data were used as an estimation of the site response in the Tehran zone. Site effects were studied based on horizontal to vertical ratios by the Nakamura׳s technique. Also, we used the spectra of signals for three components with the lowest noise levels for spectral slope studies. The analysis used seismic events from a network of 13 seismic stations by the permanent local seismological network of the Tehran Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization (TDMMO) from 2004 to 2007. The number of events used were different for each station. Quarry blast events were with 1.2≤M_L≤2.2 and micro-earthquakes were with 1.1≤M_L≤4.1.By comparing results for earthquake, microtremor and quarry blast, we could see that there is a significant difference between them. The data showed clear observations, especially in high-frequencies. The H/V spectral ratios indicate dominant frequency for rock/soft site with a higher ratio level for quarry blast ratios, which are comparable to the earthquake results due to their difference sources. The results derived by spectral H/V ratios and spectral analysis may be used to distinguish between local earthquakes and quarry blasts.     

汶川地震远场地震动场地相关性与分析方法评价

为考查远场地震动的场地相关性并评价一些场地特性分析方法的适用性,采用不同方法对汶川地震山东省12个远场台站的强震记录进行了分析.选取台站分别位于按建筑抗震设计规范(CBC)场地划分中的Ⅰ—Ⅲ类场地上.地震动记录的分析方法包括傅里叶幅值谱法,地震反应谱法,水平与竖向谱比率法,参考点谱比率法,以及尾波分析等.结果表明,按傅里叶幅值谱法,地震反应谱法,水平与竖向谱比法计算得到的卓越周期均远大于台站场地的卓越周期,不同方法得到的结果之间也有较大差别,且主要反映长周期地震动的卓越频率;参考点谱比率法的结果未反映地震动的卓越周期,也与场地的卓越周期差别较大;对完整记录尾波分析所得的结果比较接近场地的卓越周期.希望本文能为考虑远场地震作用时设计谱的建立,以及场地特性估计时地震动分析方法的选取提供参考依据.     

Love wave contribution to the ambient vibration H/V amplitude peak observed with array measurements

This study applies array methods to measure the relative proportions of Love and Rayleigh waves in the ambient vibration wavefield. Information on these properties is of special relevance for frequencies around the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral amplitude ratio peak. The analysis of H/V curves, a popular technique in site characterisation, commonly assumes that the curves represent the frequency-dependent Rayleigh wave ellipticity. For the detailed interpretation of amplitudes or the inversion of the curves, it is therefore necessary to estimate and correct for the contribution of other wave types to the ambient vibration wavefield. I use available ambient vibration array measurements to determine the relative amount of Love and Rayleigh waves on the horizontal components by frequency-dependent analysis of the main propagation and polarisation directions, with a special emphasis on the H/V peak frequency as determined from the same recordings. Tests with synthetic data demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, at least in the presence of dominant source regions. Analysis of the data from 12 measurements at nine European sites, which include shallow as well as deep locations that span a wide range of impedance contrasts at the sediment-bedrock interface, indicates that the relative contribution of Rayleigh waves varies widely with frequency, from close to 0% to more than 70%. While most data sets show relative Rayleigh wave contributions between 40% and 50% around the H/V peak, there are also examples where Love waves clearly dominate the wavefield at the H/V peak, even for a site with a low impedance contrast. Longer-term measurements at one site indicate temporal variations in the relative Rayleigh wave content between day- and nighttime. Results calculated with the method introduced herein generally compare well with results of modified spatial autocorrelation analysis. These two methods might be used in a complimentary fashion, as both rely on different properties of the ambient vibration wavefield. This study illustrates that it is possible to measure the relative Rayleigh wave content of the noise wavefield from array data. Furthermore, the examples presented herein indicate it is important to estimate this property, as the assumption that there are an equal proportion of Love and Rayleigh waves is not always correct.     

Influence of the quality factor on simulated seismic waves: A case study of the 1994 Northridge earthquake

In numerical simulations of ground motion, the constant quality factor Q of a viscoelastic medium can be determined using the time-domain constitutive approximation method of the generalized standard linear solid (GSLS) model. This study introduces a numerical seismic wavefield simulation method which combines the spectral element method with the constant-Q model. The method is used to simulate the seismic wavefield of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The optimal attenuation coefficient for the simulated seismic waves in this study area is determined empirically based on a quantitative analysis of the deviation curve. Further, the effect of the quality factor on the simulated wavefield are analyzed according to the site characteristics of each seismic station. The quality factor shows a variable effect on the different frequency components of the simulated wavefield. The effect of the quality factor also varies with the characteristic parameters of each seismic station site, such as site velocity structure, fault distance, and azimuth angle.     

基于台阵记录的土层山体场地效应分析

选取2008年5月25日至8月7日期间由甘肃省文县上城山地形效应台阵获取的12次汶川地震余震事件(M_S≥4.0),在分析其地震动基本参数的基础上,采用参考场地谱比(RSSR)法和水平-竖向谱比(HVSR)法,研究了不同地震作用下上城山地形台阵的场地效应.分析结果显示:随着高程和覆盖层的增加,记录台站地震动的PGA呈增大趋势,地震频谱形状由宽变窄;上城山台阵记录到的地震波在地形基阶频段(2—4 Hz)和浅部土层频段(7—9 Hz)的幅值明显放大,RSSR曲线显示山顶NS向的土层频段谱比大于山体地形频段谱比;由于土层山体竖向地震动在中高频段放大,使得HVSR方法谱比结果在中高频段较RSSR方法所得结果明显偏低,而在山体基阶频段附近两种方法的谱比值接近.松散土层山体的台阵记录特征体现了地形和土层对地震动的联合作用,揭示了强震区起伏地形场地震害加重及地震滑坡集中发生的原因所在.      

Local Site Effects in the Town of Benevento (Italy) from Noise Measurements

— The study of ground motion amplification produced by surface geology is extremely interesting in the Benevento area, Southern Italy, as it is characterized by high seismic hazard. The present moderate-to-low seismicity makes the noise method appropriate to estimate the seismic site response in the area. The three components of seismic noise have been recorded in five sites in the Benevento metropolitan area characterized by different surface geology, in order to estimate the seismic site response. In evaluating site amplification effects we used the direct interpretation of amplitude spectra and standard spectral ratio techniques, evaluating sediment-to-bedrock, sediment-to-average and H/V spectral ratios. The temporal evolution of the noise spectra is analysed within one day, in order to assess the stationarity of the noise signal. The noise wavefield properties have been studied through polarization analyses in selected bands of frequency, where spectral peaks are observed to dominate, to better understand the real nature of those peaks. Results give evidence of low amplification levels, missing any correlation between spectral amplitudes and sediment thickness over the basement. We interpret this result as due to the poor impedance contrast between sediments and basement, which is characterized by low values of shear waves velocity. Moreover, sharp amplitude peaks are observed in the raw spectra of the sediment-sites, in the 2–4 Hz frequency band; a numerical simulation interprets this effect as possibly associated with a wide-scale structure, invoking the presence of a sharper impedance contrast at greater depth. At high frequencies the action of ambient noise sources, mainly active on horizontal components of motion, is retained dominant to generate the prominent peaks observed in the H/V spectral ratios; in some cases the presence of a near-surface low-velocity layer can contribute to amplify the seismic motion generated at these frequencies.     

Implications of the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku Japan earthquake for the treatment of site effects in large earthquakes

Site response in Japan is characterized using thousands of surface and borehole recordings from events of moment magnitude $(\mathbf{M}) > 5.5$ collected by the KiK-net network, including the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Site amplification is defined by the ratio of motions at the surface to those at depth (within the borehole), corrected for the depth effect due to destructive interference using a technique based on cross-spectral ratios between surface and down-hole motions. Site effects were particularly strong at high frequencies, despite the expectation that high-frequency response may be damped by nonlinear effects. In part, the large amplitudes at high frequencies are due to the prevalence of shallow soil conditions in Japan. We searched for typical symptoms for soil nonlinearity, such as a decrease in the predominant frequency and/or amplification, using spectral ratios of weak to strong ground motions. Localized nonlinearity occurred at some recording sites, but was not pervasive. We developed a general empirical model to express site amplification for the KiK-net sites as a function of common site variables, such as the average shear-wave velocity in the uppermost 30 m ( $\text{ V}_\mathrm{S30})$ and the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio. We use the model to estimate site-corrected ground-motions for the Tohoku mainshock for a reference site condition; these motions are in reasonable agreement with the predictions of some of the published ground motion prediction equations for subduction zones.     

2018年陕西宁强5.3级地震强地面运动特征及局部场地效应分析

2018年9月12日陕西省宁强县发生5.3级地震,中国数字强震动台网的39个专业台站在此次地震中触发。文章中通过处理捕获的117条三分向加速度记录,给出近场台站的地震动参数,绘制震中附近区域峰值加速度等值线图,其长轴呈西南-东北方向展布。采用实际观测数据与几种常用地震动衰减关系对比,发现霍俊荣衰减预测模型能更好地反映此次地震的影响场。将振幅最大的51GYD台的反应谱与我国抗震设计反应谱比较,采用最小二乘法拟合出不同震中距5个台站各周期谱加速度衰减特性,总结出此次地震的反应谱基本特征。运用H/V谱比法对51GYD土层台和62ZM台阵进行局部场地地震反应分析,研究覆盖土层对地震动的放大作用,及局部地形对峰值加速度和峰值速度的影响过程。     

Applicability of the H/V spectral ratio of microtremors in assessing site effects on seismic motion

The authors examine the reliability of site response estimations obtained by the horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratios of microtremors by means of cross‐validation with the ratio of the horizontal spectra of earthquake motion with respect to reference sites. The data comprise microtremor and ground motion records recorded at 150 sites of Yokohama strong motion array. The use of non‐supervised pattern recognition techniques aims to group the sites with more objectivity. Attributes defining the overall shape of the amplification spectra serve as input in the computation of Euclidean distance similarity coefficients amongst sites. The implementation of the Ward clustering scheme leads to the attainment of a meaningful tree diagram. Its analysis shows the possibility of summarizing the results into six general patterns. A good coincidence of site effects estimates at 80 per cent of the sites becomes apparent. However, this coincidence appears poor for sites characterized by H/V amplification ratios around 2 or smaller and predominant periods longer than 0.5 s. In such cases, the presence of stiff, sandy sediments in the soil profile proves common. To proscribe H/V estimations, relying solely on the small spectral ratios criterion seems inadequate. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of three techniques for locating a resonating magnetic field line

Three techniques for locating field lines in the magnetosphere that contain standing ULF pulsations are compared using dynamic spectra. The first technique compares ratios of the H- and D-components of the magnetic field at a single site; the second examines the ratios of the H-components at neighboring sites along a magnetic meridian; and the third displays the phase difference between H-components at neighboring sites. We find that the H:D ratio at a single station appears to detect magnetospheric standing waves but not their precise location. In contrast, the dual station H-ratio technique is sensitive to resonances local to the stations and has advantages over the widely used phase-gradient technique. In contrast to the latter technique calculating the H-power ratio does not require precise timing and provides two resonant locations, not one. We also find that the stations used need not be strictly confined to a single magnetic meridian. Resonance signatures can be detected with stations up to 1300 km in east–west separation. In our initial data near L=2 multiple-harmonic structure is generally not observed. The resonant wave period, when assumed to be the fundamental of the standing Alfven wave, gives densities in the range 3000–8000 amu/cm³. These mass densities agree with in situ observations at earlier epochs. The equatorial mass density varies most during the day (by over a factor of two for the case studied) at L=1.86 and much less (20%) at L=2.2. This is consistent with a constant upward flux of ions over this latitude range flowing into a flux tube whose volume increases rapidly with increasing L-value.     

Site effects by generalized inversion technique using strong motion recordings of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

The generalized inversion of S-wave amplitude spectra from the free-field strong motion recordings of the China National Strong Motion Observation Network System (NSMONS) are used to evaluate the site effects in the Wenchuan area. In this regard, a total of 602 recordings from 96 aftershocks of the Wenchuan earthquake with magnitudes of M3.7-M6.5 were selected as a dataset. These recordings were obtained from 28 stations at a hypocenter distance ranging from 30 km to 150 km. The inversion results have been verified as reliable by comparing the site response at station 62WUD using the Generalized Inversion Technique (GIT) and the Standard Spectral Ratio method (SSR). For all 28 stations, the site predominant frequency F _p and the average site amplification in different frequency bands of 1.0–5.0 Hz, 5.0–10.0 Hz and 1.0–10.0 Hz have been calculated based on the inversion results. Compared with the results from the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method, it shows that the HVSR method can reasonably estimate the site predominant frequency but underestimates the site amplification. The linear fitting between the average site amplification for each frequency band and the V _s20 (the average uppermost-20 m shear wave velocity) shows good correlation. A distance measurement called the asperity distance D _Aspt is proposed to reasonably characterize the source-to-site distance for large earthquakes. Finally, the inversed site response is used to identify the soil nonlinearity in the main shock and aftershocks of Wenchuan earthquake. In ten of the 28 stations analyzed in the main shock, the soil behaved nonlinearly, where the ground motion level is apparently beyond a threshold of PGA > 300 cm/s² or PGV > 20 cm/s, and only one station coded 51SFB has evidence of soil nonlinear behavior in the aftershocks.     

Directional dependence of site effects observed near a basin edge at Aegion,Greece

We study site effects using 520 weak motion earthquake records from a vertical array in Aegion, Greece. The array is inside a basin, has four stations in soil, and one in bedrock (178 m depth). The site is marked by high seismicity and complex surface geology. We first use the records to establish the downhole accelerometer orientations and their evolution with time. Then we estimate site effects using empirical spectral ratios with and without a reference site (standard and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio). We find significant site amplification which cannot be accounted for by 1D model predictions, along with a significant difference in the amplification level between the two horizontal components. These are indications of 2D effects, namely surface waves generated at the basin edge. The difference in amplification between the horizontal components is maximised when these are rotated with respect to the orientation of the basin edge. The strongest amplification takes place in the direction parallel to the basin edge (SH, or out-of-plane motion), and is up to 2 times higher than in the perpendicular direction (SV, or in-plane motion). This directional effect on the amplification is corroborated by numerical 2D modelling using incident SH and SV waves, with the former possibly generating strong Love waves. In the records, the directionality is clear for windows containing the largest amplitudes of the records (S waves and strong surface waves), while it tends to vanish for coda-wave windows. This directionality is also observed when using response spectral ratios rather than Fourier ratios. We compute soil-to-rock amplification factors for peak ground acceleration (PGA) and find it is significantly higher than what is predicted by current design codes. We attribute this difference to the basin edge amplification, linear soil behaviour, and to the inability of simple scalar values like PGA to describe complex amplification effects. Finally, we analyse the earthquake records at a surface station near the slope crest and do not observe significant topographic amplification.     

Effects of Surface Geology on Seismic Ground Motion Deduced from Ambient-Noise Measurements in the Town of Avellino, Irpinia Region (Italy)

The effects of surface geology on ground motion provide an important tool in seismic hazard studies. It is well known that the presence of soft sediments can cause amplification of the ground motion at the surface, particularly when there is a sharp impedance contrast at shallow depth. The town of Avellino is located in an area characterised by high seismicity in Italy, about 30?km from the epicentre of the 23 November 1980, Irpinia earthquake (M?=?6.9). No earthquake recordings are available in the area. The local geology is characterised by strong heterogeneity, with impedance contrasts at depth. We present the results from seismic noise measurements carried out in the urban area of Avellino to evaluate the effects of local geology on the seismic ground motion. We computed the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) noise spectral ratios at 16 selected sites in this urban area for which drilling data are available within the first 40?m of depth. A Rayleigh wave inversion technique using the peak frequencies of the noise H/V spectral ratios is then presented for estimating Vs models, assuming that the thicknesses of the shallow soil layers are known. The results show a good correspondence between experimental and theoretical peak frequencies, which are interpreted in terms of sediment resonance. For one site, which is characterised by a broad peak in the horizontal-to-vertical spectral-ratio curve, simple one-dimensional modelling is not representative of the resonance effects. Consistent variations in peak amplitudes are seen among the sites. A site classification based on shear-wave velocity characteristics, in terms of Vs30, cannot explain these data. The differences observed are better correlated to the impedance contrast between the sediments and basement. A more detailed investigation of the physical parameters of the subsoil structure, together with earthquake data, are desirable for future research, to confirm these data in terms of site response.     

Estimation of local site effects by a generalized inversion scheme using observed records of ‘Small-Titan’

A simple-extended array of observation for strong motions, named ‘Small-Titan’, was installed in Sendai City, Japan in 1997. This array system consists of 20 observation sites, which have an average of about 4 km for the station-to-station distance. Each observation station was located at various kinds of soils to effectively obtain local site effects. Since its completion, the system has obtained about 160 motion records. As is well known, ground motions are influenced by the three main factors such as source, path and local site effects. An accurate prediction of ground motions should thus be performed based on the three factors. In this context, theoretical methods used commonly lack enough information related with source and path effects. A generalized inversion scheme to separate the effects of source, propagation path and local site from S-wave spectra was applied to the records of Small-Titan obtained in the Sendai region, Japan. The objective of this paper is to estimate local site effects in Sendai City and to obtain meaningful information of input motions available to earthquake-resistant design, aimed at setting in terms of local soil conditions. This paper also describes the applicability of the generalized inversion scheme to seismic zoning.

Site amplification factors estimated from the generalized inversion scheme vary significantly, reflecting the effects of soil characteristics at each site. Strong site-dependency was found in the site amplification factors. In particular, the local site amplification factors in the western side are smaller than those in the eastern side, across the Nagamachi–Rifu Fault that exists in the central part of the Sendai area. Results from the generalized inversion scheme are compared with those obtained by the direct spectral ratio scheme, the H/V method and the bootstrap inversion. There is a good agreement in the amplification factors between the generalized inversion scheme, the direct spectral ratio scheme and the bootstrap inversion scheme. The H/V method for estimating site amplification is found to extract the same dominant periods as the other methods. This paper especially emphasizes a good agreement in not only dominant period, but also amplification factor.

The generalized inversion scheme is a useful method in separating the effects of source, propagation path and local site and in revealing the site amplification. In addition, the generalized inversion scheme provides meaningful information of input motions available to earthquake-resistant design, aimed at setting in terms of local soil conditions. Moreover, this paper indicates that the generalized inversion scheme is applicable to the seismic zoning toward disaster mitigation.