Enhancements in earthquake ground motion assessment through regional Vₛ₃₀ characterization and Vₛ₃₀ scaling
type: CreativeWork
description: Local site conditions can have significant effects on the intensity of ground shaking caused by earthquakes. Vₛ₃₀, the time-averaged shear wave velocity in the upper 30m, is a prevalently utilized parameter in numerous predictive ground motion models (GMMs) and building codes to account for site effects. Although the database of in-situ measurements of Vₛ₃₀ is constantly expanding, Vₛ₃₀ measurements are not yet available for the vast majority of ground motion recording stations. This research aims to provide reliable estimates of Vₛ₃₀ of these stations using site-specific application of the P-wave seismogram method and to evaluate the regional Vₛ₃₀ scaling effects of ground motions using the new site characterization information and ground motion recordings. The P-wave seismogram method relates Vₛ₃₀ to the vertical and horizontal amplitudes of the P-wave arrival from earthquake recordings. The method is applied to estimate the Vₛ₃₀ at 194 ground motion recording stations in California to verify the accuracy of this method. Comparison with the measured Vₛ₃₀ validates the performance of the P-wave seismogram technique. Additionally, this study suggests the use of Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) measurements to identify and correct the potential bias in the P-wave seismogram estimated Vₛ₃₀. A Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map is created using a region-specific geologic proxy, geostatistical kriging, and observations of Vₛ₃₀ measurements and Vₛ₃₀ estimates from the P-wave seismogram method. The Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map is compared with the Vₛ₃₀ map currently available from the USGS, which uses topographic slope to predict Vₛ₃₀. Across much of Texas, the Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map predicts higher Vₛ₃₀ values than the USGS Vₛ₃₀ map derived from a topographic slope proxy, except for the Gulf Coast region, where the values are comparable. Due to the generally larger values of Vₛ₃₀ in the Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map, generally smaller ground motions are predicted for Texas. We em…
abstract: Local site conditions can have significant effects on the intensity of ground shaking caused by earthquakes. Vₛ₃₀, the time-averaged shear wave velocity in the upper 30m, is a prevalently utilized parameter in numerous predictive ground motion models (GMMs) and building codes to account for site effects. Although the database of in-situ measurements of Vₛ₃₀ is constantly expanding, Vₛ₃₀ measurements are not yet available for the vast majority of ground motion recording stations. This research aims to provide reliable estimates of Vₛ₃₀ of these stations using site-specific application of the P-wave seismogram method and to evaluate the regional Vₛ₃₀ scaling effects of ground motions using the new site characterization information and ground motion recordings. The P-wave seismogram method relates Vₛ₃₀ to the vertical and horizontal amplitudes of the P-wave arrival from earthquake recordings. The method is applied to estimate the Vₛ₃₀ at 194 ground motion recording stations in California to verify the accuracy of this method. Comparison with the measured Vₛ₃₀ validates the performance of the P-wave seismogram technique. Additionally, this study suggests the use of Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) measurements to identify and correct the potential bias in the P-wave seismogram estimated Vₛ₃₀. A Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map is created using a region-specific geologic proxy, geostatistical kriging, and observations of Vₛ₃₀ measurements and Vₛ₃₀ estimates from the P-wave seismogram method. The Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map is compared with the Vₛ₃₀ map currently available from the USGS, which uses topographic slope to predict Vₛ₃₀. Across much of Texas, the Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map predicts higher Vₛ₃₀ values than the USGS Vₛ₃₀ map derived from a topographic slope proxy, except for the Gulf Coast region, where the values are comparable. Due to the generally larger values of Vₛ₃₀ in the Texas-specific Vₛ₃₀ map, generally smaller ground motions are predicted for Texas. We em…
author: Li, Meibai
language: en
keywords: Ground motion model, Vₛ₃₀, Site amplification
date published: 2022-12
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:01:18Z
provider: University of Texas
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Texas at Austin

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2152/130692

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.26153/tsw/58041