Precision of VS30 values derived from noninvasive surface wave methods at 31 sites in California

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
By: , and 

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Abstract

We study the inter- and intra-method variability of VS30 results by inverting/forward-modeling individual dispersion data for 31 seismographic stations located in California where combinations of surface-wave methods were applied and the minimum recorded wavelength from each method satisfies the 30-meter depth criteria. These methods consist of noninvasive geophysical (active and passive surface-wave techniques) multi-station approaches, including the Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW; Rayleigh and Love waves), Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW), Microtremor Array [using Extended Spatial Autocorrelation (ESAC) processing methods], and Refraction Microtremor (ReMi) methods. Depending on the apparent geologic or seismic complexity of the site, field crews applied one or a combination of these methods whenever economically feasible to estimate the one-dimensional shear-wave velocity (VS) profile and calculate VS30, the time-averaged VS to a depth of 30 m. For each of the 31 sites, we find both types of variability in VS30 estimates generally remain insignificant (arithmetic mean of 5 % difference). We also find similar results (3 %) when we evaluate individual-method based VS30 estimates against composite-method based estimates. We note that VS30 values vary insignificantly when using a combination of complementary methods, e.g., active MASW data combined with passive MAM data, and that the most reliable results are also based on close fitting of the theoretical dispersion data to the representative (experimental) dispersion data.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Precision of VS30 values derived from noninvasive surface wave methods at 31 sites in California
Series title Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
DOI 10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.105802
Volume 127
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 105802, 13 p.
Country United States
State California
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