Nonlinear Site Response: Where We're At

Edward H. Field, Steve Kramer, Ahmed-Waeil Elgamal, Jonathan Bray, Neven Matasovic, Peggy Johnson, Chris Cramer, Cliff Roblee, David J. Wald, Luis Bonilla, & John G. Anderson

Published May 1998, SCEC Contribution #427

Although the fact that sediments can amplify earthquake ground motion was recognized at least 100 years ago, there has been a lingering uncertainty as to whether the degree of amplification varies with the level of input motion (a nonlinear response). Since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, several papers claim to have identified significant sediment nonlinearity in southern California. Because this has very important implications with respect to predicting earthquake ground motion, SCEC and PEER cosponsored a seminar and workshop to assess our current understanding. This paper is a report from that meeting. There was widespread agreement that nonlinear sediment response is indeed a reality. However, several questions remain unresolved with respect to our physical understanding and ability to reliably predict sediment nonlinearity.

Citation
Field, E. H., Kramer, S., Elgamal, A., Bray, J., Matasovic, N., Johnson, P., Cramer, C., Roblee, C., Wald, D. J., Bonilla, L., & Anderson, J. G. (1998, 05). Nonlinear Site Response: Where We're At. Poster Presentation at VIIth International Symposium on the Observations of the Continental Crust through Drilling.