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Evaluating the effects of ground motion parameters on response spectra in Uttarakhand Himalayas, India

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Abstract

Uttarakhand, a state of India, is located in seismically active Himalayan region and in the proximity of plate boundaries. The effects of important ground motion parameters like magnitude, distance, and local geology and site conditions on acceleration response spectra are examined in Uttarakhand Himalayas in this work. A total of 447 strong ground motion histories (horizontal and vertical) from 42 earthquakes were selected. The results show that the shape of the acceleration response spectra is influenced by the local site conditions and regional geology. The studies are carried out for two categories of sites, i.e., rock sites and soft soil sites. The maximum average horizontal spectral amplification for rock sites is 2.7 at 0.1 s, while for soft soil sites, it is found to be 3.2 at 0.2 s. In the same way, the maximum average vertical spectral amplification for rock is found to be 2.7 at 0.1 s, while for soft soil, it is found to be 2.95 at 0.1 s. The average spectral amplification in vertical component also shifts from low period (rock) to high period (soft soil). The level of spectra increases with decrease in distance for rock sites as well as soft soil sites. When comparing different magnitude earthquakes in different geological conditions, the response spectra are found to follow each other up to 0.04 s, while for period greater than 0.04 s, the spectra of higher magnitude earthquake is observed on the higher side. For soft soil sites, spectra from different magnitude earthquakes are observed to follow each other up to 0.1 s, beyond which they get separated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of China, for funding projects (105-2116-M-002-002) under which this research was carried out. The authors really appreciate constructive comments from reviewers that helped in clarifying some of the missing points. We are also very thankful to editor-in-chief Abdullah M. Al-Amri for his valuable revision, which helped us to clarify and improve this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Himanshu Mittal & Yih-Min Wu

  2. Department of Earthquake Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 247667, India

    Ashok Kumar

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Arni University, Kathgarh (Indora), Himachal Pradesh, India

    Arjun Kumar

  4. Seismology Division, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Babita Sharma

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  1. Himanshu Mittal
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  2. Yih-Min Wu
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  3. Ashok Kumar
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  4. Arjun Kumar
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Correspondence to Himanshu Mittal.

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Mittal, H., Wu, YM., Kumar, A. et al. Evaluating the effects of ground motion parameters on response spectra in Uttarakhand Himalayas, India. Arab J Geosci 9, 712 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2747-5

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