Strong-Motion Records of the 2002 Denali Fault, Alaska, Earthquake

Abstract

The MW 7.9 Denali Fault earthquake on 3 November 2002 ruptured a 340-km section along the Susitna Glacier, Denali, and Totschunda faults in central Alaska. The earthquake was digitally recorded at more than 55 strong-motion sites throughout the state at distances up to 280 km from the fault rupture. The site closest to the fault, Trans-Alaska Pipeline Pump Station 10, is located about 3 km north of the surface rupture, where the observed maximum horizontal peak ground acceleration was about 0.35 g. The peak horizontal accelerations observed at the sites closest to the fault rupture were considerably smaller than those yielded by the ground-motion prediction equations. Although the earthquake provided a valuable set of strong-motion data, an important opportunity was missed to capture near-field recordings from such a major strike-slip event. A concerted national effort is needed to prioritize the instrumentation of faults that are likely locations of future great earthquakes.