Body and Surface Wave Modeling of Observed Seismic Events Part 1.

Abstract

The main topics are: 1) the effects of lateral structure, in particular, complicated sedimentary basins on the propagation and amplication of seismic strong motion; and 2) the effects of ocean continent transition zones on L sub g waves. 1) 2-D finite difference techniques are used to model the seismic strong motions observed for the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The finite difference seismograms show strong effects due to lateral variation in sediment thickness in the San Fernando valley and the Los Angeles basin. Using basin structure derived mostly from well logs and teleseismically determined source parameters, two dimensional SH and P-SV finite difference calculations reproduce the amplitude and duration of the strong motion velocities recorded across the Los Angeles and San Fernando basins for the period range 2-10 secs. The edges of basins nearest the seismic source show ground motion amplification up to a factor of three over the case without the basin, and tend to convert direct shear waves into Love and Rayleigh waves that travel within the basin. 2) The methods for Representation Theorem coupling of finite element or finite difference calculations and propagator matrix method calculations to produce a hybrid method for propagation of SH mode sum seismograms across paths that contain regions of non plane-layered structure are explained and developed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 11, 1987
Accession Number
ADA193563

Entities

People

  • David G. Harkrider
  • Donald V. Helmberger
  • Robert W. Clayton

Organizations

  • California Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymptotic Series
  • Doppler Effect
  • Earth Sciences
  • Elastic Waves
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Geography
  • Geophysics
  • North America
  • Phase Velocity
  • Planetary Sciences
  • Ridges
  • Seismology
  • Three Dimensional
  • Topography
  • Two Dimensional
  • United States
  • Wave Propagation

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Seismology
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.