Index Geophysics

en-US Reference stations for Christchurch

en-US During the Canterbury earthquake sequence, the observed level of ground motion on the soft soils of Christchurch was very strong and highly variable. Many studies are now emerging that analyse the amplification effect of these soft soils, usually by estimating a frequency-dependent amplification function relative to a rock outcrop station, or ‘reference site’. If the rock outcrop has its own amplification due to weathering or topographic effects, then the calculated amplification for the soil sites can be compromised. This study examines ten seismic stations in Canterbury to determine the best reference site for Christchurch, using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method for S-wave shaking. More broadly, this study uses HVSR to expand existing knowledge of the dynamic characteristics of seismic stations in the Canterbury area. Most rock stations show their own local amplification effects that reduce their individual ability to be used as reference stations. The recently installed Huntsbury station (HUNS) appears to be the best reference site for Christchurch, but this will need to be verified when more records become available. In the meantime, the D13C temporary station is currently the best reference station for site effect studies in both Christchurch and Lyttelton.

Van Houtte, C.

Ktenidou, O.-J.

Larkin, T.

Kaiser, A.

en-US New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering

2012-12-31

info:eu-repo/semantics/article

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

en-US Article

application/pdf

https://bulletin.nzsee.org.nz/index.php/bnzsee/article/view/198

10.5459/bnzsee.45.4.184-195

en-US Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering; Vol 45 No 4 (2012); 184-195

2324-1543

1174-9857

eng

https://bulletin.nzsee.org.nz/index.php/bnzsee/article/view/198/185

en-US Copyright (c) 2012 C. Van Houtte, O.-J. Ktenidou, T. Larkin, A. Kaiser

en-US https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0