Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; April 1998; v. 88; no. 2; p. 337-356
© 1998 Seismological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wald, D. J.
Right arrow Articles by Graves, R. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

The seismic response of the Los Angeles basin, California

David J. Wald and Robert W. Graves

U.S. Geological Survey, 525 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, California 91106
Woodward-Clyde Federal Services, El Dorado Street, Pasadena, California 91101

Abstract

Using strong-motion data recorded in the Los Angeles region from the 1992 (Mw 7.3) Landers earthquake, we have tested the accuracy of existing three-dimensional (3D) velocity models on the simulation of long-period (greater double equals2 sec) ground motions in the Los Angeles basin and surrounding San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. First, the overall pattern and degree of long-period excitation of the basins were identified in the observations. Within the Los Angeles basin, the recorded amplitudes are about three to four times larger than at sites outside the basins; amplitudes within the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys are nearly a factor of 3 greater than surrounding bedrock sites. Then, using a 3D finite-difference numerical modeling approach, we analyzed how variations in 3D earth structure affect simulated waveforms, amplitudes, and the fit to the observed patterns of amplification. Significant differences exist in the 3D velocity models of southern California that we tested (Magistrale et al., 1996; Graves, 1996a; Hauksson and Haase, 1997). Major differences in the models include the velocity of the assumed background models; the depth of the Los Angeles basin; and the depth, location, and geometry of smaller basins. The largest disparities in the response of the models are seen for the San Fernando Valley and the deepest portion of the Los Angeles basin. These arise in large part from variations in the structure of the basins, particularly the effective depth extent, which is mainly due to alternative assumptions about the nature of the basin sediment fill. The general ground-motion characteristics are matched by the 3D model simulations, validating the use of 3D modeling with geologically based velocity-structure models. However, significant shortcomings exist in the overall patterns of amplification and the duration of the long-period response. The successes and limitations of the models for reproducing the recorded ground motions as discussed provide the basis and direction for necessary improvements to earth structure models, whether geologically or tomographically derived. The differences in the response of the earth models tested also translate to variable success in the ability to successfully model the data and add uncertainty to estimates of the basin response given input "scenario" earthquake source models.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
D. Bindi, S. Parolai, F. Cara, G. Di Giulio, G. Ferretti, L. Luzi, G. Monachesi, F. Pacor, and A. Rovelli
Site Amplifications Observed in the Gubbio Basin, Central Italy: Hints for Lateral Propagation Effects
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2009; 99(2A): 741 - 760.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
M. Stupazzini, R. Paolucci, and H. Igel
Near-Fault Earthquake Ground-Motion Simulation in the Grenoble Valley by a High-Performance Spectral Element Code
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2009; 99(1): 286 - 301.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
S.-J. Lee, D. Komatitsch, B.-S. Huang, and J. Tromp
Effects of Topography on Seismic-Wave Propagation: An Example from Northern Taiwan
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2009; 99(1): 314 - 325.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
A. Rodgers, N. A. Petersson, S. Nilsson, B. Sjogreen, and K. McCandless
Broadband Waveform Modeling of Moderate Earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area and Preliminary Assessment of the USGS 3D Seismic Velocity Model
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2008; 98(2): 969 - 988.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
B. T. Aagaard, T. M. Brocher, D. Dolenc, D. Dreger, R. W. Graves, S. Harmsen, S. Hartzell, S. Larsen, and M. L. Zoback
Ground-Motion Modeling of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Part I: Validation Using the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2008; 98(2): 989 - 1011.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
S.-J. Lee, H.-W. Chen, Q. Liu, D. Komatitsch, B.-S. Huang, and J. Tromp
Three-Dimensional Simulations of Seismic-Wave Propagation in the Taipei Basin with Realistic Topography Based upon the Spectral-Element Method
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2008; 98(1): 253 - 264.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
C. M. Snelson, T. M. Brocher, K. C. Miller, T. L. Pratt, and A. M. Trehu
Seismic Amplification within the Seattle Basin, Washington State: Insights from SHIPS Seismic Tomography Experiments
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 2007; 97(5): 1432 - 1448.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
D. K. McPhee, V. E. Langenheim, S. Hartzell, R. J. McLaughlin, B. T. Aagaard, R. C. Jachens, and C. McCabe
Basin Structure beneath the Santa Rosa Plain, Northern California: Implications for Damage Caused by the 1969 Santa Rosa and 1906 San Francisco Earthquakes
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 2007; 97(5): 1449 - 1457.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
P. Chen, L. Zhao, and T. H. Jordan
Full 3D Tomography for the Crustal Structure of the Los Angeles Region
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2007; 97(4): 1094 - 1120.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
J. Pujol, K. Mueller, P. Shen, and V. Chitupolu
High-Resolution 3D P-Wave Velocity Model for the East Ventura-San Fernando Basin, California, and Relocation of Events in the Northridge and San Fernando Aftershock Sequences
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2006; 96(6): 2269 - 2280.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
T. L. Pratt and T. M. Brocher
Site Response and Attenuation in the Puget Lowland, Washington State
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2006; 96(2): 536 - 552.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
K. B. Olsen, A. Akinci, A. Rovelli, F. Marra, and L. Malagnini
3D Ground-Motion Estimation in Rome, Italy
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2006; 96(1): 133 - 146.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
L. Zhao, T. H. Jordan, K. B. Olsen, and P. Chen
Frechet Kernels for Imaging Regional Earth Structure Based on Three-Dimensional Reference Models
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2005; 95(6): 2066 - 2080.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
T. M. Brocher
A Regional View of Urban Sedimentary Basins in Northern California Based on Oil Industry Compressional-Wave Velocity and Density Logs
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2005; 95(6): 2093 - 2114.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
J. B. Fletcher and K.-L. Wen
Strong Ground Motion in the Taipei Basin from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, Earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2005; 95(4): 1428 - 1446.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
S. Hartzell, M. Guatteri, P. M. Mai, P.-C. Liu, and M. Fisk
Calculation of Broadband Time Histories of Ground Motion, Part II: Kinematic and Dynamic Modeling Using Theoretical Green's Functions and Comparison with the 1994 Northridge Earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2005; 95(2): 614 - 645.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
D. Komatitsch, Q. Liu, J. Tromp, P. Suss, C. Stidham, and J. H. Shaw
Simulations of Ground Motion in the Los Angeles Basin Based upon the Spectral-Element Method
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2004; 94(1): 187 - 206.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Empirical Corrections for Basin Effects in Stochastic Ground-Motion Prediction, Based on the Los Angeles Basin Analysis
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2003; 93(4): 1679 - 1690.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Amplification of Seismic Waves by the Seattle Basin, Washington State
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2003; 93(2): 533 - 545.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Estimation of Q for Long-Period (>2 sec) Waves in the Los Angeles Basin
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 2003; 93(2): 627 - 638.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Site Response, Shallow Shear-Wave Velocity, and Wave Propagation at the San Jose, California, Dense Seismic Array
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2003; 93(1): 443 - 464.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
The Effect of Shallow San Francisco Bay Sediments on Waveforms Recorded during the MW 4.6 Bolinas, California, Earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2003; 93(1): 465 - 479.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
3D Heterogeneous Staggered-Grid Finite-Difference Modeling of Seismic Motion with Volume Harmonic and Arithmetic Averaging of Elastic Moduli and Densities
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2002; 92(8): 3042 - 3066.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Equivalent Medium Parameters for Numerical Modeling in Media with Near-Surface Low Velocities
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, March 1, 2002; 92(2): 711 - 722.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Waveform Modeling of Strong Motions Observed in the Sendai Basin, Japan
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2001; 91(4): 812 - 825.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Memory-Efficient Simulation of Anelastic Wave Propagation
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 2001; 91(3): 520 - 531.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
A Reciprocity Method for Multiple-Source Simulations
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 2001; 91(3): 553 - 560.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Accuracy of the Explicit Planar Free-Surface Boundary Condition Implemented in a Fourth-Order Staggered-Grid Velocity-Stress Finite-Difference Scheme
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 2001; 91(3): 617 - 623.



Home page
GeologyHome page
G.S. Fuis, T. Ryberg, N.J. Godfrey, D.A. Okaya, and J.M. Murphy
Crustal structure and tectonics from the Los Angeles basin to the Mojave Desert, southern California
Geology, January 1, 2001; 29(1): 15 - 18.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
E. H. Field and the SCEC Phase III Working Group
Accounting for Site Effects in Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analyses of Southern California: Overview of the SCEC Phase III Report
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2000; 90(6B): S1 - S31.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
H. Magistrale, S. Day, R. W. Clayton, and R. Graves
The SCEC Southern California Reference Three-Dimensional Seismic Velocity Model Version 2
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2000; 90(6B): S65 - S76.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
J. H. Steidl
Site Response in Southern California for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2000; 90(6B): S149 - S169.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
Basin Structure Estimation by Waveform Modeling: Forward and Inverse Methods
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 2000; 90(4): 964 - 976.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
3D Fourth-Order Staggered-Grid Finite-Difference Schemes: Stability and Grid Dispersion
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 2000; 90(3): 587 - 603.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
3D Viscoelastic Wave Propagation in the Upper Borrego Valley, California, Constrained by Borehole and Surface Data
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 2000; 90(1): 134 - 150.



Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
S. Hartzell, S. Harmsen, A. Frankel, and S. Larsen
Calculation of broadband time histories of ground motion: Comparison of methods and validation using strong-ground motion from the 1994 Northridge earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1999; 89(6): 1484 - 1504.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
C. W. Scrivner and D. V. Helmberger
Finite-difference modeling of two aftershocks of the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1999; 89(6): 1505 - 1518.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
C. Stidham, M. Antolik, D. Dreger, S. Larsen, and B. Romanowicz
Three-dimensional structure influences on the strong-motion wavefield of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, October 1, 1999; 89(5): 1184 - 1202.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
T. Sato, R. W. Graves, and P. G. Somerville
Three-dimensional finite-difference simulations of long-period strong motions in the Tokyo metropolitan area during the 1990 Odawara earthquake (MJ 5.1) and the great 1923 Kanto earthquake (MS 8.2) in Japan
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1999; 89(3): 579 - 607.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
C. W. Scrivner and D. V. Helmberger
Variability of ground motions in southern California--data from the 1995 to 1996 Ridgecrest sequence
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1999; 89(3): 626 - 639.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
A. Pitarka
3D Elastic finite-difference modeling of seismic motion using staggered grids with nonuniform spacing
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1999; 89(1): 54 - 68.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
P. Moczo, M. Lucka, J. Kristek, and M. Kristekova
3D Displacement finite differences and a combined memory optimization
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1999; 89(1): 69 - 79.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
J. N. Brune and A. Anooshehpoor
A physical model of the effect of a shallow weak layer on strong ground motion for strike-slip ruptures
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1998; 88(4): 1070 - 1078.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
A. Pitarka, K. Irikura, T. Iwata, and H. Sekiguchi
Three-dimensional simulation of the near-fault ground motion for the 1995 Hyogo-Ken Nanbu (Kobe), Japan, earthquake
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1998; 88(2): 428 - 440.
[Abstract] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1998 by the Seismological Society of America.