2007 SSA Meeting Special Session Announcement

Site Effects on Ground Motions

It is well known that local shallow geology plays a key role in the amplification of seismic ground motions. Prominent examples of this phenomenon are observed from past earthquakes, such as the 1985 M 8.0 Michoacan earthquake in Mexico, the 1989 M 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake in California, the 1995 M 6.9 Kobe earthquake in Japan, and the 2005 M 7.6 Muzaffarabad earthquake in Pakistan. To account for site effects, or site response, a variety of observations have been used to derive predictive models. These observations have included direct data, from site characterizations using invasive or noninvasive methods, or inferential data, such as the number of reported deaths, the reported intensity of shaking felt by observants, etc. To ascertain the current state of knowledge about assessing site effects on ground motions and to facilitate innovations through regional and international cooperation for improvements to the current state of knowledge, we invite papers that address the following areas of interest: the influence of shallow geology on ground motions, linear and nonlinear soil behavior, scatter, directivity, focusing effects, basin edge effects, spatial correlation and variation of ground motions, Vs30, Z1.0 or Z1.5, and the effects of deeper crustal structures.

Conveners

Alan Yong
Geophysicist
Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquake Hazards Team
525 S. Wilson Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626)583-7816
E-mail: yong [at] usgs.gov

John N. Louie
Professor of Seismology
Seismological Laboratory (174)
217 Laxalt Mineral Engineering Bldg.
Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering
College of Science
The University of Nevada
1664 N. Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89557-0141
(775) 784-4219
E-mail: louie [at] seismo.unr.edu