A comparison and test of various site-response estimation techniques, including three that are not reference-site dependent

Abstract We compare various site-response estimation techniques using after-shock data of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake collected in Oakland, California. Because of recent interest in comparing results from weak and strong motion (to infer any nonlinearity) and between direct S and coda waves, we pay particular attention to the uncertainties. First, sediment to bedrock spectral-ratio estimates between pairs of sites are compared with those obtained from various generalized-inversion approaches where the source and site effects of multiply recorded events are solved for simultaneously. We find that the site amplification factors are very similar among these approaches, but that the uncertainties can be significantly different depending on how the data are weighted. We also examine and test three site-response estimation techniques that do not rely on a reference site to estimate source and path effects. The first involves a parameterized source- and path-effects inversion. Even when the bedrock data are excluded from consideration, this approach is found to reveal the frequency dependence of site response at each of the sediment sites. The second technique involves taking horizontal- to vertical-component spectral ratios (receiver-function-type estimates) of shear-wave aftershock data. These are also found to reveal the frequency dependence of site response at the sediment sites, and the results for the bedrock site are relatively flat and near unity. the third estimate is formed by taking horizontal-to vertical-component ratios of ambient seismic noise, and these are shown to reveal the fundamental resonant frequency of the sediment sites. Unfortunately, discrepancies exist among all of the site-response estimates (and with one-dimensional predictions) with respect to a frequency-independent scaling factor. Nevertheless, the highly frequency-dependent character of site response is well constrained, and the fact that non-reference-site-dependent methods are capable of revealing this is promising for site-specific hazard assessments in regions that lack adequate reference sites.

[1]  Francisco J. Chávez-García,et al.  Site effect evaluation using spectral ratios with only one station , 1993, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[2]  J. Boatwright,et al.  Source parameters of Loma Prieta aftershocks and wave propagation characteristics along the San Francisco Peninsula from a joint inversion of digital seismograms , 1991 .

[3]  Susan E. Hough,et al.  Earthquake site-response study in Giumri (formerly Leninakan), Armenia, using ambient noise observations , 1995 .

[4]  Francisco J. Chávez-García,et al.  Are microtremors useful in site response evaluation , 1994 .

[5]  E. Field,et al.  Using microtremors to assess potential earthquake site response: A case study in Flushing Meadows, New York City , 1990 .

[6]  J. Boatwright,et al.  Detailed spectral analysis of two small New York state earthquakes , 1978 .

[7]  Frank Scherbaum,et al.  Combined inversion for the three-dimensional Q structure and source parameters using microearthquake spectra , 1990 .

[8]  J. Lermo,et al.  The Mexico Earthquake of September 19, 1985—Natural Period of Sites in the Valley of Mexico from Microtremor Measurements and Strong Motion Data , 1988 .

[9]  Anthony F. Shakal,et al.  The site response of two rock and soil station pairs to strong and weak ground motion , 1991, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[10]  Kuo-Liang Wen,et al.  Seismological evidence for nonlinear elastic ground behavior during large earthquakes , 1995 .

[11]  M. Çelebi,et al.  Site Amplification in Mexico City (Determined from 19 September 1985 Strong-Motion Records and from Recordings of Weak Motions) , 1987 .

[12]  Z. Suzuki,et al.  Objective estimation of source parameters and local Q values by simultaneous inversion method , 1982 .

[13]  T. J. Owens,et al.  Shallow structure effects on broadband teleseismic P waveforms , 1988 .

[14]  H. Kagami,et al.  Observation of 1- to 5-second microtremors and their application to earthquake engineering. Part I: Comparison with long-period accelerations at the Tokachi-oki earthquake of 1968 , 1978, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[15]  W. Menke.  Geophysical data analysis : discrete inverse theory , 1984 .

[16]  Keiiti Aki,et al.  Local Site Effects on Strong Ground Motion , 1988 .

[17]  Allen H. Olson.  A Chebyshev condition for accelerating convergence of iterative tomographic methods-solving large least squares problems , 1987 .

[18]  J. Boatwright,et al.  Ground motion amplification, geology, and damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the city of San Francisco , 1994, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[19]  T. Ohmachi,et al.  Ground Motion Characteristics of the San Francisco Bay Area Detected by Microtremor Measurements , 1991 .

[20]  A. Mal,et al.  Observation of 1- to 5-second microtremors and their application to earthquake engineering. Part III. A two-dimensional study of site effects in the San Fernando Valley , 1986 .

[21]  Charles A. Langston,et al.  Structure under Mount Rainier, Washington, inferred from teleseismic body waves , 1979 .

[22]  K. Aki,et al.  The relation between site amplification factor and surficial geology in central California , 1992 .

[23]  Jim Mori,et al.  Attenuation of high‐frequency shear waves in the crust: Measurements from New York State, South Africa, and southern California , 1990 .

[24]  Roger D. Borcherdt,et al.  On the characteristics of local geology and their influence on ground motions generated by the Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region, California , 1992 .

[25]  J. Boatwright,et al.  A comparison of coda and S-wave spectral ratios as estimates of site response in the southern San Francisco Bay area , 1994 .

[26]  B. Tucker,et al.  Observed variations of earthquake motion across a sediment-filled valley , 1984 .

[27]  Frank L. Vernon,et al.  Multitaper spectral analysis of high-frequency seismograms , 1987 .

[28]  M. P. Romo,et al.  The Mexico Earthquake of September 19, 1985—Relationships between Soil Conditions and Earthquake Ground Motions , 1988 .

[29]  Y Nakamura,et al.  A METHOD FOR DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS ESTIMATION OF SUBSURFACE USING MICROTREMOR ON THE GROUND SURFACE , 1989 .

[30]  Keiiti Aki,et al.  Site amplification of coda waves from local earthquakes in central California , 1986 .

[31]  K. Aki,et al.  Site amplification from S-wave coda in the Long Valley caldera region, California , 1991, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[32]  R. Archuleta,et al.  Earthquake source parameters and the frequency dependence of attenuation at Coalinga, Mammoth Lakes, and the Santa Cruz Mountains, California , 1992 .

[33]  D. Thomson,et al.  Spectrum estimation and harmonic analysis , 1982, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[34]  K. Aki,et al.  Frequency-dependent site amplification factors using the S-wave coda for the island of Hawaii , 1992 .

[35]  R. D. Borcherdt,et al.  Sediment-induced amplification and the collapse of the Nimitz Freeway , 1990, Nature.

[36]  Charles S. Mueller,et al.  Ground motion amplification in the Marina District , 1991 .

[37]  E. Field,et al.  Monte-Carlo Simulation of the Theoretical Site Response Variability at Turkey Flat, California, Given the Uncertainty in the Geotechnically Derived Input Parameters , 1993 .

[38]  T. J. Owens.  A Detailed Analysis of Broadband Teleseismic P Waveforms , 1984 .

[39]  Mark A. Riedesel,et al.  Limits of sensitivity of inertial seismometers with velocity transducers and electronic amplifiers , 1990, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[40]  J. Humphrey,et al.  A Least Squares Method For Objective Determination of Earthquake Source Parameters , 1991 .

[41]  R. Borcherdt.  Effects of local geology on ground motion near San Francisco Bay , 1970 .

[42]  J. Brune.  Tectonic stress and the spectra of seismic shear waves from earthquakes , 1970 .

[43]  P. Somerville,et al.  The influence of critical Moho Reflections on strong ground motions recorded in San Francisco and Oakland during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake , 1990 .

[44]  E. Field,et al.  Earthquake site response estimation: A weak-motion case study , 1992, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[45]  S. Hartzell.  Site response estimation from earthquake data , 1992, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[46]  F. E. Udwadia,et al.  Comparison of earthquake and microtremor ground motions in El Centro, California , 1973, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[47]  Roger D. Borcherdt,et al.  Effects of local geological conditions in the San Francisco Bay region on ground motions and the intensities of the 1906 earthquake , 1976, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[48]  Jon B. Fletcher,et al.  A general inversion scheme for source, site, and propagation characteristics using multiply recorded sets of moderate-sized earthquakes , 1991 .

[49]  Site amplification from coda waves: Validation and application to S-wave site response , 1995 .

[50]  Edward H. Field,et al.  The theoretical response of sedimentary layers to ambient seismic noise , 1993 .

[51]  Pierre-Yves Bard,et al.  Numerical and Theoretical Investigations on the Possibilities and Limitations of Nakamura's Technique , 1994 .

[52]  C. M. Duke,et al.  Observation of 1- to 5-second microtremors and their application to earthquake engineering. Part II. Evaluation of site effect upon seismic wave amplification due to extremely deep soil deposits , 1982 .

[53]  Mario Ordaz,et al.  The Mexico Earthquake of September 19, 1985—A Study of Amplification of Seismic Waves in the Valley of Mexico with Respect to a Hill Zone Site , 1988 .

[54]  Keiiti Aki,et al.  Simultaneous study of the source, path, and site effects on strong ground motion during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake: A preliminary result on pervasive nonlinear site effects , 1991 .