Geology topics

Arben Pitarka

Publications and source records attributed to Arben Pitarka.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2024

California community Earth Models for Seismic Hazard Assessments workshop report

The California Community Earth Models for Seismic Hazard Assessments Workshop (https://www.scec.org/workshops/2024/california-community-models) was held online March 4–5, 2024, with more than 200 participants over the two days. In this report, we provide a summary of the key points from the presentations and discussions. We highlight three use cases that drive the development of community Earth models, present an inventory of existing community Earth models in California, summarize a few techniques for integrating and merging models, discuss potential connections with the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center, and discuss what “community” means in community Earth models.

California↗

USGS2021

Refinements to the Graves–Pitarka kinematic rupture generator, including a dynamically consistent slip‐rate function, applied to the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake

The main objective of this study is to develop physics‐based constraints on the spatiotemporal variation of the slip‐rate function using a simplified dynamic rupture model. First, we performed dynamic rupture modeling of the 2019 M w 7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake, to analyze the effects of depth‐dependent stress and material friction on slip rate. Then, we used our modeling results to guide refinements to the slip‐rate function that were implemented in the Graves–Pitarka kinematic rupture generation technique. The dynamic ruptures were computed on a surface‐rupturing, planar strike‐slip fault that includes a weak (negative to low‐stress‐drop) zone in the upper 4 km of the crust. Below the weak zone, we placed high‐stress‐drop patches designed to mirror the large‐slip areas seen in various rupture model inversions of the event. The locations of the high‐stress‐drop patches and the hypocenter were varied in multiple realizations to investigate how changing the dynamic conditions affected the resulting rupture kinematics, in particular, the slip rate. From these simulations, we observed a systematic change in the shape of the slip‐rate function from Kostrov type below the weak zone to a predominantly symmetric shape within the weak zone, along with a depth‐dependent reduction of peak slip rate. We generalized these shallow rupture features into a depth‐dependent parametric variation of the slip‐rate function and implemented it in the Graves–Pitarka kinematic rupture model generator. The performance of the updated kinematic approach was then verified in 0–4 Hz simulations of the M w 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake, which showed that incorporating the depth‐dependent variation in the shape of the slip‐rate function improves the fit to the observed near‐fault ground motions in the 0.5–3 s period range.

California↗

USGS2019

Kinematic rupture modeling of ground motion from the M7 Kumamoto, Japan earthquake

We analyzed a kinematic earthquake rupture generator that combines the randomized spatial field approach of Graves and Pitarka (Bull Seismol Soc Am 106:2136–2153, 2016 ) (GP2016) with the multiple asperity characterization approach of Irikura and Miyake (Pure Appl Geophys 168:85–104, 2011 ) (IM2011, also known as Irikura recipe). The rupture generator uses a multi-scale hybrid approach that incorporates distinct features of both original approaches, such as small-scale stochastic rupture variability and depth-dependent scaling of rupture speed and slip rate, inherited from GP2016, and specification of discrete high slip rupture patches, inherited from IM2011. The performance of the proposed method is examined in simulations of broadband ground motion from the 2016 Kumamoto, Japan earthquake, as well as comparisons with ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs). We generated rupture models with multi-scale heterogeneity, including a hybrid one in which the slip is a combination of high- slip patches and stochastic small scale variations. We find that the ground motions simulated with these rupture models match the general characteristics of the recorded near-fault motion equally well, over a broad frequency range (0–10 Hz). Additionally, the simulated ground motion is in good agreement with the predictions from Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs). Nonetheless, due to sensitivity of the ground motion to the local fault rupture characteristics, the performance among the models at near-fault sites is slightly different, with the hybrid model producing a somewhat better fit to the recorded ground velocity waveforms. Sensitivity tests of simulated near-fault ground motion to variations in the prescribed kinematic rupture parameters show that average rupture speeds higher than the default value in GP2016 (average rupture speed = 80% of local shear wave speed), as well as slip rate durations shorter than the default value in GP2016 (rise time coefficient = 1.6), generate ground motions that are higher than the recorded ones at periods longer than 1 s. We found that these two parameters also affect the along strike and updip rupture directivity effects, as illustrated in comparisons with the Kumamoto observations.

Kumamoto↗

USGS2018

Validating ground-motion simulations on rough faults in complex 3D media

We utilize a two-step process to validate 0-4 Hz ground motion simulations using the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In the first step we run multiple realizations using the Graves and Pitarka hybrid method as implemented on the SCEC Broadband Simulation Platform and compare these with near-fault (R < 40 km) recorded motions. A total of 648 rupture scenarios are examined and from these results we select the best fitting ruptures, which are then used in the second step of the validation. This second step consists of running 3D simulations using a finely sampled seismic velocity mesh. The base 3D structure is obtained from the USGS SF Bay Area velocity model, which is also modified to include small-scale 3D stochastic perturbations. The 3D results are compared with the recorded motions and show very good agreement over the frequency band 0-4 Hz for distances out to 40 km. Most importantly, the newly added features to the simulation process reduce the coherency of the radiated higher frequency (f > 1 Hz) ground motions, and homogenize radiation-pattern effects in this same bandwidth, bringing the simulations into closer agreement with the very near-fault records.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2017

Performance of Irikura recipe rupture model generator in earthquake ground motion simulations with Graves and Pitarka hybrid approach

We analyzed the performance of the Irikura and Miyake (Pure and Applied Geophysics 168(2011):85–104, 2011) (IM2011) asperity-based kinematic rupture model generator, as implemented in the hybrid broadband ground motion simulation methodology of Graves and Pitarka (Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 100(5A):2095–2123, 2010), for simulating ground motion from crustal earthquakes of intermediate size. The primary objective of our study is to investigate the transportability of IM2011 into the framework used by the Southern California Earthquake Center broadband simulation platform. In our analysis, we performed broadband (0–20 Hz) ground motion simulations for a suite of M6.7 crustal scenario earthquakes in a hard rock seismic velocity structure using rupture models produced with both IM2011 and the rupture generation method of Graves and Pitarka (Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2016) (GP2016). The level of simulated ground motions for the two approaches compare favorably with median estimates obtained from the 2014 Next Generation Attenuation-West2 Project (NGA-West2) ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) over the frequency band 0.1–10 Hz and for distances out to 22 km from the fault. We also found that, compared to GP2016, IM2011 generates ground motion with larger variability, particularly at near-fault distances (<12 km) and at long periods (>1 s). For this specific scenario, the largest systematic difference in ground motion level for the two approaches occurs in the period band 1–3 s where the IM2011 motions are about 20–30% lower than those for GP2016. We found that increasing the rupture speed by 20% on the asperities in IM2011 produced ground motions in the 1–3 s bandwidth that are in much closer agreement with the GMPE medians and similar to those obtained with GP2016. The potential implications of this modification for other rupture mechanisms and magnitudes are not yet fully understood, and this topic is the subject of ongoing study. We concluded that IM2011 rupture generator performs well in ground motion simulations using Graves and Pitarka hybrid method. Therefore, we recommend it to be considered for inclusion into the framework used by the Southern California Earthquake Center broadband simulation platform.

Pure and Applied Geophysics↗

USGS2016

Kinematic ground motion simulations on rough faults including effects of 3D stochastic velocity perturbations

We describe a methodology for generating kinematic earthquake ruptures for use in 3D ground‐motion simulations over the 0–5 Hz frequency band. Our approach begins by specifying a spatially random slip distribution that has a roughly wavenumber‐squared fall‐off. Given a hypocenter, the rupture speed is specified to average about 75%–80% of the local shear wavespeed and the prescribed slip‐rate function has a Kostrov‐like shape with a fault‐averaged rise time that scales self‐similarly with the seismic moment. Both the rupture time and rise time include significant local perturbations across the fault surface specified by spatially random fields that are partially correlated with the underlying slip distribution. We represent velocity‐strengthening fault zones in the shallow (<5 km) and deep (>15 km) crust by decreasing rupture speed and increasing rise time in these regions. Additional refinements to this approach include the incorporation of geometric perturbations to the fault surface, 3D stochastic correlated perturbations to the P ‐ and S ‐wave velocity structure, and a damage zone surrounding the shallow fault surface characterized by a 30% reduction in seismic velocity. We demonstrate the approach using a suite of simulations for a hypothetical M w 6.45 strike‐slip earthquake embedded in a generalized hard‐rock velocity structure. The simulation results are compared with the median predictions from the 2014 Next Generation Attenuation‐West2 Project ground‐motion prediction equations and show very good agreement over the frequency band 0.1–5 Hz for distances out to 25 km from the fault. Additionally, the newly added features act to reduce the coherency of the radiated higher frequency ( f >1 Hz) ground motions, and homogenize radiation‐pattern effects in this same bandwidth, which move the simulations closer to the statistical characteristics of observed motions as illustrated by comparison with recordings from the 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

USGS2014

Refinements to the Graves and Pitarka (2010) Broadband Ground Motion Simulation Method

This brief article describes refinements to the Graves and Pitarka (2010) broadband ground motion simulation methodology (GP2010 hereafter) that have been implemented in version 14.3 of the SCEC Broadband Platform (BBP). The updated version of our method on the current SCEC BBP is referred to as GP14.3. Our simulation technique is a hybrid approach that combines low-‐frequency and high-‐frequency motions computed with different methods into a single broadband response. The separate low-‐ and high-‐frequency components have traditionally been called “deterministic” and “stochastic”, respectively; however, this nomenclature is an oversimplification. In reality, the low-‐frequency approach includes many stochastic elements, and likewise, the high-‐frequency approach includes many deterministic elements (e.g., Pulido and Kubo, 2004; Hartzell et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2006; Frankel, 2009; Graves and Pitarka, 2010; Mai et al., 2010). While the traditional terminology will likely remain in use by the broader modeling community, in this paper we will refer to these using the generic terminology “low-‐frequency” and “high-‐ frequency” approaches. Furthermore, one of the primary goals in refining our methodology is to provide a smoother and more consistent transition between the low-‐ and high-‐ frequency calculations, with the ultimate objective being the development of a single unified modeling approach that can be applied over a broad frequency band. GP2010 was validated by modeling recorded strong motions from four California earthquakes. While the method performed well overall, several issues were identified including the tendency to over-‐predict the level of longer period (2-‐5 sec) motions and the effects of rupture directivity. The refinements incorporated in GP14.3 are aimed at addressing these issues with application to the simulation of earthquakes in Western US (WUS). These refinements include the addition of a deep weak zone (details in following section) to the rupture characterization and allowing perturbations in the correlation of rise time and rupture speed with the specified slip distribution. Additionally, we have extended the parameterization of GP14.3 so that it is also applicable for simulating Eastern North America (ENA) earthquakes. This work has been guided by the comprehensive set of validation studies described in Goulet and Abrahamson (2014) and Dreger et al. (2014). The GP14.3 method shows improved performance relative to GP2010, and we direct the interested reader to Dreger et al. (2014) for a detailed assessment of the current methodology. In this paper, we concentrate on describing the modifications in more detail, and also discussing additional refinements that are currently being developed.

California↗