3D Wave Propagation and Site Effects in the Humboldt Bay Area using Strong Ground Motion Records from the M6.5 2010 Ferndale Earthquake.

摘要

In this study we simulate and analyze strong ground motion waveform data recorded in the Humboldt Bay and Eureka areas during the M6.5 Ferndale earthquake of January 2010. The scope of the presented work was two-fold. First, we investigated the main aspects of seismic wave generation and propagation, including kinematic rupture process and 3D wave propagation scattering. Our goal is to analyze their potential effects on seismic motion recorded at free field stations across Humboldt Bay and Eureka, California, and test the performance of a standard broadband strong ground motion simulation technique. Second, we evaluated the implication of the non-linear response of shallow sediments on ground motion recorded at the Humboldt Bay geotechnical array. Using synthetic and recorded data we compared the performance of numerical and empirical techniques in simulating local non-linear site response. Our study provides insight into the composition of the wave field during the earthquake and an improved understanding of how the strong ground motion is affected by the 3D structure and non-linear response of shallow sedimentary layers in the Humboldt Bay.