A Survey of Techniques for Predicting Earthquake Ground Motions for Engineering Purposes

Over the past four or five decades many advances have been made in earthquake ground-motion prediction and a variety of procedures have been proposed. Some of these procedures are based on explicit physical models of the earthquake source, travel-path and recording site while others lack a strong physical basis and seek only to replicate observations. In addition, there are a number of hybrid methods that seek to combine benefits of different approaches. The various techniques proposed have their adherents and some of them are extensively used to estimate ground motions for engineering design purposes and in seismic hazard research. These methods all have their own advantages and limitations that are not often discussed by their proponents. The purposes of this article are to: summarise existing methods and the most important references, provide a family tree showing the connections between different methods and, most importantly, to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

地震波预报方法在青海地区的应用

回顾和总结了地震波方法在青海省地震预报工作中的研究应用情况,提出了影响该方法应用的问题,介绍了利用数字地震波形资料开展研究的优点,同时也介绍了深入开展地震波研究的新方法。     

Truncation of the distribution of ground-motion residuals

Recent studies to assess very long-term seismic hazard in the USA and in Europe have highlighted the importance of the upper tail of the ground-motion distribution at the very low annual frequencies of exceedance required by these projects. In particular, the use of an unbounded lognormal distribution to represent the aleatory variability of ground motions leads to very high and potentially unphysical estimates of the expected level of shaking. Current practice in seismic hazard analysis consists of truncating the ground-motion distribution at a fixed number (ε _max) of standard deviations (σ). However, there is a general lack of consensus regarding the truncation level to adopt. This paper investigates whether a physical basis for choosing ε _max can be found, by examining records with large positive residuals from the dataset used to derive one of the ground-motion models of the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) project. In particular, interpretations of the selected records in terms of causative physical mechanisms are reviewed. This leads to the conclusion that even in well-documented cases, it is not possible to establish a robust correlation between specific physical mechanisms and large values of the residuals, and thus obtain direct physical constraints on ε _max. Alternative approaches based on absolute levels of ground motion and numerical simulations are discussed. However, the choice of ε _max is likely to remain a matter of judgment for the foreseeable future, in view of the large epistemic uncertainties associated with these alternatives. Additional issues arise from the coupling between ε _max and σ, which causes the truncation level in terms of absolute ground motion to be dependent on the predictive equation used. Furthermore, the absolute truncation level implied by ε _max will also be affected if σ is reduced significantly. These factors contribute to rendering a truncation scheme based on a single ε _max value impractical.     

Effect of coherent noise on single-station direction of arrival estimation

Polarization analysis of multi-component seismic data is used in both exploration seismology and earthquake seismology. In single-station polarization processing, it is generally assumed that any noise present in the window of analysis is incoherent, i.e., does not correlate between components. This assumption is often violated in practice because several overlapping seismic events may be present in the data. The additional arrival(s) to that of interest can be viewed as coherent noise. This paper quantifies the error because of coherent noise interference. We first give a general theoretical analysis of the problem. A simple mathematical wavelet is then used to obtain a closed-form solution to the principal direction estimated for a transient incident signal superposed with a time-shifted, unequal amplitude version of itself, arriving at an arbitrary angle to the first wavelet. The effects of relative amplitude, arrival angle, and the time delay of the two wavelets on directional estimates are investigated. Even for small differences in angle of arrival, there may be significant error (>10°) in the azimuth estimate.     

华中、华南中强地震区地震烈度衰减关系研究

本文收集了1990-2006年间,我国华中、华南中强地震地区25次地震的烈度分布图,再配合1918-1989年间,9次地震的地震烈度分布图,重新拟合了该地区地震烈度衰减关系。震级下限从5级扩展到3．5级,地震烈度主要增加了Ⅳ度-Ⅵ度之间的样本量。与以往的地震烈度衰减关系相比,在小地震时计算烈度得到了相应的提高。充分反映出我国华中、华南地区地震震级小,而烈度相对高的特点。     

Study on the Characteristics of Seismic Activity in the Interior of the Ordos Block

The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of earthquakes in the Ordos block are studied by using historical earthquake data,instrument data of the regional seismic network around the Ordos block and the historical felt earthquake data,and the relationship between seismicity in the Ordos block and seismicity around the Ordos block is discussed. The result shows that the Ordos block is a typical moderate-strong earthquake active region where many M_S≥5.0 destructive earthquakes have occurred. The temporal and spatial distribution of earthquakes in the Ordos block is asymmetrical. The temporal distribution of earthquakes shows a periodic characteristic and the activity of earthquakes in the southeastern Ordos block is higher than in the northwest Ordos block. The M_S≥5.0 moderate size earthquakes in the Ordos block are controlled by the M_S≥6.0 earthquake around the Ordos block.     

Emergency Seismic Damage Assessment of the M_S8.0 Great Wenchuan Earthquake Based on Remote Sensing Imagery

The fast processing, seismic damage data extraction and loss evaluation from RS imagery acquired immediately after a destructive earthquake occurs, are important means for compen-sating the insufficiency of seismic damage information from ground-based investigations and provide an important basis for emergency command and rescue. The paper introduces the method of emergency seismic damage assessment using remote sensing data and its application to the great Wenchuan earthquake of magnitude 8.0 occurring in southwest Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. The practical effectiveness of the method is also evaluated in the paper.     

汶川8.0级与昆仑山口西8.1级地震前地震活动异常特征与启示

两次特大地震前在不同时段、 不同范围出现了多项相似的地震活动性异常, 它们对预测特大地震具有一定意义: ① 两次大震前10余年, 青藏块体同期出现了两个规模巨大的中强以上地震增强区, 两次大地震发生在增强区内的空区里; ② 两次巨大地震前数年, 形成规模巨大的中强地震活动带, 地震发生在两个条带间的平静区里; 同期形成中等以上地震活动环, 其内部的地震频度、 加卸载响应比及非均匀度等参数甚高, 且随时间而变化, 这可作为孕震进入中期的信号; ③ 两次大震前的震群、 震丛均很显著, 昆仑山口西地震前四个显著震丛环绕震中四周分布, 汶川地震前震群在震中周围形成包围圈, 它们应视为大震孕育进入后期的显示; ④ 大震前数月, 靠近发震断裂带发生少量中小地震或少见的震群。 汶川地震前10个月, 龙门山断裂带北部发生两次青川4级多地震和松潘4.3级地震, 南部康定附近发生3次4级以上地震。 紫坪铺水库区小震群于震前3个月活动十分强烈。 昆仑山口西地震前约1年青海兴海发生6.6级地震, 昆仑山口西发生5.1级地震, 该地震距离8.1级地震约30 km。这些特征给我们的重要启示是: ① 特大地震前出现的前兆时空特征与常见的中强地震差异很大, 现行的监测预报体制(分省分片负责)与特大地震前兆不相适应; ② 特大地震的预测预报不能单纯依靠地震前兆, 必须与地质构造及深部探测紧密结合起来; ③ 特大地震的预测预报应有新的预报战略、 观测系统与组织机构相适应。     

福建地区流体对2007年4次4级地震映震特征分析

通过对2007年福建地区4次4级地震的震例分析, 认为福建地区流体对内陆中等地震具有如下映震特征: ① 地震前兆表现为不同测项在时间上呈有规律的层次发展且均以短临、 临震和短期异常为主; ② 模拟观测井孔的映震效能好于数字化观测井孔, 其中水氡、 水质是福建地区的特征灵敏组分; ③ 温泉井孔的映震效能好于普通井孔; ④ 异常台项数取决于震级和震中周围的观测点数目。 同时指出今后要根据区域特征, 有重点地加大映震灵敏井孔和灵敏组分的观测、 科学布网、 合理建点, 使各种前兆观测成场成网; 建立一批符合地震监测预报要求的高质量水观测点, 更有效地为地震分析预报服务。     

汶川8.0级地震震害遥感定量化初步研究以都江堰城区破坏为例

随着遥感技术的飞速发展, 遥感在地震应急救援、 灾害调查和损失评估中的作用越来越显著。 然而由于缺乏系统的遥感震害定量研究, 使得遥感的实用性常常受到质疑。 文中叙述了遥感震害定量研究的基本思路, 提出了遥感震害指数的概念与定量分析的基本模型, 并以2008年汶川8.0级地震造成的都江堰城区震害为例, 依据建筑物震害遥感解译结果和地面震害调查结果, 进行了都江堰城区部分街区的建筑物遥感震害指数和地面调查震害指数的统计分析, 并建立了两者之间的统计关系。 初步研究结果表明, 依据高分辨率航空遥感影像和卫星雷达图像建立的建筑物遥感震害指数与地面调查震害指数及房屋倒塌率存在显著的对应性。 因此, 通过遥感震害定量化研究, 将为地震震害调查、 损失评估提供有力的方法和工具。