Abstract
The P-wave seismogram method estimates the average shear wave velocity over a representative depth (\(V_{SZ}\)) from earthquake recordings at a site. The \(V_{SZ}\) is computed from the amplitudes of the radial and vertical P-wave arrivals on the earthquake recordings and an estimate of the seismological ray parameter (\(p\)). The ray parameter is estimated from the depth of the event, the epicentral distance, and the regional crustal velocity model. We evaluated the P-wave seismogram approach to estimating \(V_{SZ}\) at 153 seismic recording stations in California for which shear wave velocity profiles are available and tested the effect of different crustal models on the estimated ray parameter and the resulting \(V_{SZ}\). Across all the sites, the estimated \(V_{SZ}\) values were, on average, about 24% larger than the measured \(V_{SZ}\), although the difference was negligible for softer sites and as large as 45% at stiffer sites (>1000 m/s). Two crustal velocity models for California were considered: a simplified four-layer crustal model for the entire state and a set of more detailed crustal models used for different parts of the state. The effect of the assumed crustal velocity profile was not significant for earthquake events with focal depths greater than about 3–5 km, but for shallower events the detailed crustal velocity model produced \(V_{SZ}\) values significantly smaller than the \(V_{SZ}\) from the simplified crustal velocity model due to the effect of the shallow low velocity layers and large gradient on the ray parameter.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Wald, D.J., Allen, T.I.: Topographic slope as a proxy for seismic site conditions and amplification. Bull. Seisol. Soc. Am. 97, 1379–1395 (2007)
Yong, A.: Comparison of measured and proxy-based values in California. Earthq. Spectra 32(1), 171–192 (2016)
Wills, C.J., Clahan, K.B.: Developing a map of geologically defined site-condition categories for California. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 96, 1483–1501 (2006)
Parker, G.A., et al.: Proxy-based estimation in central, and eastern North America. Bull. Seisol. Soc. Am. 107(1), 117–131 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1785/012016010
Ni, S., Li, Z., Somerville, P.: Estimating subsurface shear velocity with radial to vertical ratio of local P waves. Seismol. Res. Lett. 85(1), 82–89 (2014)
Kim, B., et al.: Subsurface shear-wave velocity characterization using P-wave seismograms in Central, and Eastern North America. Earthq. Spectra 32(1), 143–169 (2016)
Zalachoris, G., Rathje, E.M., Paine, J.G.: VS30 characterization of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas using the P-wave seismogram method. Earthq. Spectra 33(3), 943–961 (2017)
Miao, Y., Shi, Y., Wang, S.-Y.: Estimating near-surface shear wave velocity using the P-wave seismograms method in Japan. Earthq. Spectra 34(4), 1955–1971 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1193/011818EQS015M
Kang, S., Kim, B., Park, H., Lee, J.: Automated procedure for estimating VS30 utilizing P-wave seismograms and its application to Japan. Eng. Geol. 264, 1–16 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105388
Aki, K., Richards, P.G., Ellis, J. (ed.): Quantitative Seismology. University Science Books, Sausalito (2002). 700 p.
Wald, L.A., Hutton, L.K., Given, D.D.: The southern California network bulletin: 1990–1993 summary. Seismol. Res. Lett. 66(1), 9–19 (1995)
Rathje, E.M., Li, M.: Evaluation of the P-wave seismogram approach to estimate. U. S. Geological Survey Final Technical Report (2021). https://earthquake.usgs.gov/cfusion/external_grants/reports/G19AP00104.pdf
Ahdi, S.K., Stewart, J.P., Ancheta, T.D., Kwak, D.Y., Mitra, D.: Development of Vs profile database and proxy-based models for Vs30 prediction in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bull. Seis. Soc. Am. 107(4), 1781–1801 (2017)
Rathje, E., et al.: DesignSafe: a new cyberinfrastructure for natural hazards engineering. ASCE Nat. Hazards Rev. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000246
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Li, M., Rathje, E.M. (2022). An Evaluation of \({{\varvec{V}}}_{{{\varvec{SZ}}}}\) Estimates from the P-wave Seismogram Method for Sites in California. In: Wang, L., Zhang, JM., Wang, R. (eds) Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Performance Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering (Beijing 2022). PBD-IV 2022. Geotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering, vol 52. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11898-2_70
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11898-2_70
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-11897-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-11898-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)