Earthquake motion input and its dissemination via the Internet

Abstract

Objectives of this task are to conduct research on seismic hazards, and to provide relevant input on the expected levels of these hazards to other tasks. Other tasks requiring this input include those dealing with inventory, fragility curves, rehabilitation strategies and demonstration projects. The corresponding input is provided in various formats depending on the intended use: as peak ground motion parameters and/or response spectral values for a given magnitude, epicentral distance and site conditions; or as time histories for scenario earthquakes that are selected based on the disaggregated seismic hazard mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey and are incorporated in building codes. The user community for this research is both academic researchers and practicing engineers who may use the seismic input generated by the synthesis techniques that are developed under this task for a variety of applications. These include ground motions for scenario earthquakes, for developing fragility curves and in specifying ground motion input for critical facilities (such as hospitals) located in the eastern U.S.