Tatsuo Kanno

A New Attenuation Relation for Strong Ground Motion in Japan Based on Recorded Data

Following the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Kobe. Earthquake, the Japanese government, in an effort to prevent future earthquake disasters, installed networks consisting of a large number of strong-motion observation stations. Further, national seismic hazard maps were made available to the public on an Internet website in March 2005 by the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion. However, these maps indicate only the local seismic intensity for Japan, as empirically con- verted from predicted peak velocity in consolidated soils. For various applications, other strong-motion indexes such as the response spectral acceleration are required. In this study, a database of whole Japanese strong ground motion records between 1963 and 2003 is established in order to identify a new standard attenuation relation for Japan, for response acceleration as well as peak value. It is usually very difficult to determine a suitable model form due to the large variability of strong-motion data and correlation among the model variables, because the strong coupling of variables in an attenuation model, and the statistical power of the data is often not large enough to determine the necessity of these parameters. Therefore, in this study, our model has only three variables: earthquake magnitude, shortest distance to the seismic fault plane, and focal depth. To improve predictions given by the model, site correction terms are adopted and additional terms for correcting regional anomalous seismic intensity with respect to the base model are determined. The good fit between the model and observed strong-motion records suggests that the new model is reasonably robust.

Site-Specific Issues for Strong Ground Motions during the Kocaeli, Turkey, Earthquake of 17 August 1999, as Inferred from Array Observations of Microtremors and Aftershocks

Array observations of microtremors and aftershocks were carried out near the permanent strong-motion observation sites and the damaged areas, after the Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquake of 17 August 1999. The major objectives were to determine S -wave velocity structures at the sites and to understand the site effects on strong motion or damage. Array observation of microtremors is a useful method for determining the S -wave velocity structures in a sedimentary basin, with less practical restriction than the other geotechnical methods. The spatial autocorrelation method (SPAC) was applied to array data of microtremors for determining S -wave velocity structures. The SPAC method generally provides an equivalent result with that of the frequency-wavenumber method, using fewer array sites and a smaller array size. Most strong-motion sites near the fault are classified into stiff and/or very hard soils. The records cannot directly be used for interpreting damage to buildings in the sedimentary basin. Records of long durations of strong motion at ATS, near Avcilar, west of Istanbul, are closely related to the low velocity ( V s ∼ 200 m/sec) of the surface layers. The S -wave velocity structure at Avcilar, where there was severe damage during the mainshock, is similar to that of the lowland (ATS), and it differs significantly from that of CNA, located 4 km northeast of Avcilar, where the strong-motion record was obtained from the mainshock. The strong ground motion at Avcilar during the mainshock is estimated to be similar to that at ATS. Of the strong-motion sites, Sakarya (SKR) is located on very hard soil, whereas thick and soft sediments cover downtown Adapazari. It is plausible that strong ground motions during the mainshock in the damaged area, ADC, were significantly different from those of SKR. A large difference between the strong motions of a hillside and the lzmit Bay area in and around Golcuk is also indicated by a comparison of aftershock records.

Control Factors of Spatial Variation of Long-Period Strong Ground Motions in the Yufutsu Sedimentary Basin, Hokkaido, during the Mw 8.0 2003 Tokachi-oki, Japan, Earthquake

We successfully reproduced important features of long-period (7 to 8 sec), large-amplitude ground motions observed in the Yufutsu basin, Hokkaido, during the M w 8.0 2003 Tokachi-oki, Japan, earthquake through numerical simulation of wave propagation. Recordings from the dense nationwide strong ground motion networks in Japan demonstrated significant spatial variation of long-period strong ground motions within the Yufutsu basin and revealed that the long-period shaking in the Tomakomai western port was the strongest of all the sites within the basin. In interpreting or predicting long-period strong ground motions in sedimentary basins, the importance of deep basin structures, such as the depth of bedrock with an S -wave velocity over 3 km/sec has been emphasized. However, the characteristics of the underground structure model of the Yufutsu basin that explain the observations indicate that thickness of near-surface (