SCEC Award Number 19053 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title A Technical Activity Group for the coordination of SCEC5 research activities on nonlinear effects in the shallow crust: Progress and Future Plans
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Domniki Asimaki California Institute of Technology Ricardo Taborda Universidad EAFIT (Colombia)
Other Participants
SCEC Priorities 4a, 4b, 4c SCEC Groups GM, CS, EEII
Report Due Date 04/30/2020 Date Report Submitted 05/05/2020
Project Abstract
 We report the progress and future plans of the TAG for the coordination of SCEC5 research activities on nonlinear effects in the shallow crust. Our TAG's mission is to develop, verify and validate a robust family of computational tools that will advance the capabilities of SCEC ground motion simulation frameworks to capture anelastic effects in the shallow crust. To achieve these goals, our TAG coordinates efforts in: (i) constitutive modeling and simulation of nonlinear effects; (ii) development and validation of semi-empirical and synthetic nonlinear site factors; and (iii) physics-based modeling of crustal heterogeneity and scattering attenuation. More specifically, our efforts focus on extending the capabilities of the SCEC Broadband Platform and of the 3D physics-based ground motion simulation codes. This report summarizes ongoing research efforts pertinent to the TAG's mission, and outlines target milestones for the next fiscal cycle.
Intellectual Merit The intellectual merit of this TAG lies in coordinating the development, verification and validation of a robust family of computational tools that advance the capabilities of SCEC ground motion simulation platforms to capture nonlinear effects that manifest in the shallow crust. By shallow crust, we refer to the upper 300--600 m of local and regional basins, where the crustal structure is predominantly composed of sedimentary soil deposits with typical shear wave velocities less than 1 km/s. On the temporal scale, our activities focus on localized transient phenomena occurring during, or as a consequence of, strong earthquake ground motions. On the spatial scale, we study how these effects affect far- and near-field ground motions, excluding the off-fault damaged rock zones.
Broader Impacts Within SCEC5, this TAG is complementary to research activities carried out in earthquake geology (focused on much deeper structures), fault and rupture mechanics (where nonlinearities are related to rupture dynamics), stress evolution and geodynamic modeling (focused on much longer time scales), and in developing the Community Rheology Model (focused on larger and deeper geologic scales). The TAG facilitates research initiatives at the intersection of seismology, ground motion, and computational science; supports the CXM initiative contributing to the characterization of small scale heterogeneities, sedimentary velocity structures, and shallow geomaterial rheology; and promotes the activities of the Earthquake Engineering Implementation Interface Focus Group by coordinating the development of products intended for the engineering community, such as site modules of the Broadband Platform (BBP) and semi-empirical site factors.
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