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SSA 2005


The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN) as part of ANSS

THOMAS, G., QAMAR, A., BARBAROPOULOU, A., LINDQUIST, P. MALONE, S.D., Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA;

The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN) has installed 62 ANSS strong-motion stations at locations throughout urbanized areas of Washington and Oregon. As part of the initial phase of ANSS in 2000 PNSN installed 20 stations in time to successfully record the Mw 6.8 Nisqually earthquake in February 2001. The most recent installation is a 4-sensor borehole array in the liquefaction-prone, industrialized Duwamish Valley in Seattle, with the deepest sensor at 51 m. Complexities in station siting considerations have increased over time. Driven by advice from the ANSS Regional Advisory Committee, recent criteria have included analysis and availability of subsurface geotechnical data, reoccupation of locations with recordings of the 1965 Ml 6.5 Olympia earthquake, and reoccupation of temporary experimental stations with significant recordings. In addition to ANSS supported improvements in data processing and information production and distribution, ANSS station data have contributed to research-related efforts. Results to date include the correlation of peak ground accelerations during the Nisqually earthquake with shallow sedimentary structures, which was well illustrated in the first ShakeMap generated by PNSN. Spectral ratio analysis of surface-wave arrivals of the M w 7.9 Denali earthquake of 3 November 2002 showed site amplification in 0.04-0.2 Hz correlated with deep (~9 km) sedimentary basin structures, while site amplification in 0.2-1.0 Hz correlated with shallow sedimentary structures. Preliminary analysis of the borehole array data suggests site amplification in 2-6 Hz results from structures above the 51m depth sensor. Real-time data streams from strong-motion ANSS stations have provided phase arrival data for regional earthquakes, leading to improvements in source locations in the regional earthquake database.

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