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SSA 2001 Abstract 2 of 3


OVERVIEW OF STRONG-MOTION RECORDINGS OF THE M6.8 NISQUALLY, WASHINGTON, EARTHQUAKE

FRANKEL, A. and CARVER, D., U.S. Geological Survey, MS 966, Box 25046, DFC, Denver, CO 80225, afrankel@usgs.gov, carver@usgs.gov;

MALONE, S. and THOMAS, G., University of Washington, Geophysics Dept., Box 351650, Seattle, WA 98195, steve@geophys.washington.edu, george@lobo.geophys.washington.edu;

WEAVER, C., USGS, Univ. of Washington, Box 351650, Seattle, WA 98195, craig@usgs.gov;

STEPHENS, C., USGS, 345 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, cdstephens@usgs.gov;

PORCELLA, R., USGS, 2665 N. Air-Fresno Dr., Fresno, CA 93727, porcella@usgs.gov;

BENZ, H., USGS, Denver, CO 80225, benz@usgs.gov;

FILSON, J., USGS, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192, jfilson@usgs.gov;

WONG, I., URS Greiner-Woodward Clyde, 500 12th St., Suite 200, Oakland, CA 94607, ivan_wong@urscorp.com;

BICE, T., USGS, Golden, CO 80225, bice@usgs.gov;

NORRIS, R., USGS, Univ. of WA, Box 351650, Seattle, WA 98195, norris@usgs.gov;

PETERSEN, M. and HARMSEN, S., USGS, Golden, CO 80225, mpetersen@usgs.gov and harmsen@usgs.gov.

The Nisqually earthquake of Feb 28, 2001 was recorded by more than 90 digital and analog accelerographs at epicentral distances between 12 and 100 km. Three major sets of strong-motion data are available. The first is from the University of Washington strong-motion network of about 40 stations, part of the Advanced National Seismic System. Data from most of these sensors were telemetered in realtime and used to produce shakemaps released rapidly on the Internet showing intensity, peak acceleration, and other values (www.geophys.washington.edu). Peak accelerations and velocities from the digital instruments of the National Strong Motion Program (NSMP) of the USGS were released shortly after the event and records from about 40 NSMP sites are available (nsmp.wr.usgs.gov). The third data set is from an array of 25 digital recorders in Seattle operated by the USGS office in Golden, CO, consisting of sites on soft soils south of downtown and closely-spaced sites in downtown, Queen Anne Hill, and other locations (groundmotion.cr.usgs.gov). Peak ground accelerations ranged from about 5%g to 30%g within a hypocentral distance of 100 km. These values are generally lower than those predicted from current attenuation relations for intraslab events. Stations located on soft soils show substantial amplification at frequencies below 3 Hz, compared to firm-rock sites. Stiff-soil sites also exhibit some amplification below 2 Hz. Comparison of soil site to rock site spectral ratios for the mainshock and a ML 3.4 aftershock show the loss of high-frequency amplification (3-8 Hz) for soft-soil sites during the mainshock and shifts of spectral peaks to lower frequency. This indicates nonlinear response at the soft-soil sites, some of which had nearby liquefaction. Many of the mainshock records from soft-soil sites display spiked arrivals after the S-wave, another symptom of nonlinearity.

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