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The accuracy of soil response estimates using soil-to-rock spectral ratios

Department of Earth Sciences Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada
Institute of Earth Sciences Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 1-55, Nankang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan

Abstract

Spectral ratios between soft soil and reference rock sites are often used to predict the sedimentary site response to earthquakes. However, their relationship with the genuine site-specific amplification function is often unclear. We compare the soil-to-rock spectral ratios between the stations that are 3.3 km apart with the "genuine" response given by the ratios between the surface and 17 and 47 m downhole. Data from the SMART1 array in Taiwan are used. The "weak" and "strong" motion records are addressed separately to allow for nonlinear soil response. The soil-to-rock spectral ratios are nearly identical to the "true" amplification at the frequencies from 1 to 10 Hz, if the finite depth of the borehole is taken into account. They correctly capture the strong-motion deamplification effect. However, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios are roughly 1.4 times more uncertain than surface-to-47-m ratios. In summary, the soil-to-rock spectral ratios can be considered as the reliable estimates of the real site response.

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				I. A. Beresnev and K.-L. Wen Nonlinear soil response--A reality? Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1996; 86(6): 1964 - 1978. [Abstract] [PDF]