SCEC Award Number 21144 View PDF
Proposal Category Workshop Proposal
Proposal Title Lessons Learned from a Decade of Ground Motion Simulation Validation (GMSV) Exercises and a Path Forward
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Sanaz Rezaeian United States Geological Survey Nicolas Luco United States Geological Survey Jonathan Stewart University of California, Los Angeles
Other Participants
SCEC SCEC Priorities 4d, 4b, 4c SCEC Groups EEII, GM
Report Due Date 03/15/2022 Date Report Submitted 04/23/2026
Project Abstract
 The objective of this project was to produce a publication that summarizes the findings from a decade of ground motion simulation validation research and presents a path forward. The four PIs collaborated and published the intended article with the following doi: 10.1177/87552930231212475
The publication is submitted as the report.
Intellectual Merit This project delivered a synthesis paper on the work done in a decade by various SCEC groups on validation of simulated ground motions. It presented a path forward for similar activities to advance use of SCEC's simulated ground motions in engineering and other applications.
Broader Impacts The resulting publication is referenced by other researchers and provide training and guidance to those continuing to validate simulated ground motions.
Exemplary Figure Figure 6 from the published article reference:
Rezaeian, S., Stewart, J.P., Luco, N., and Goulet, C.A. (2024), “Findings from a decade of ground motion simulation validation research and a path forward”: Earthquake Spectra, 40(1), pp. 346-378. doi: 10.1177/87552930231212475.

Caption & Credit:
A recorded ground motion from the 1994 Northridge earthquake and a corresponding
simulated motion, (a) original acceleration time-series, (b) simulation corrected to have the same
time-sampling as the recorded motion and time-shifted to be synchronized with the recorded motion,
(c) Fourier spectra of the recorded and simulated motions, (d) validation metric 1 (evolution of
intensity), (e) validation metric 2 (evolution of predominant frequency), (f) validation metric 3 (evolution
of motion bandwidth).
Source. The proposed scalar error measures, Ei, j and ni, j , for each validation metric are also shown in (d), (e), and (f);
figure from Rezaeian et al. (2015).
Linked Publications

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