Earthquake potential and ground motions for the Pillar Mountain landslide, Kodiak, Alaska
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Geology topics
Robert A. Page
Publications and source records attributed to Robert A. Page.
Estimation of ground motion parameters
Strong motion data from western North America for earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5 are examined to provide the basis for estimating peak acceleration, velocity, displacement, and duration as a function of distance for three magnitude classes. Data from the San Fernando earthquake are examined to assess the effects of associated structures and of geologic site conditions on peak recorded motions. Small but statistically significant differences are observed in peak values of horizontal acceleration, velocity, and displacement recorded on soil at the base of small structures compared with values recorded at the base of large structures. Values of peak horizontal acceleration recorded at soil sites in the San Fernando earthquake are not significantly different from the values recorded at rock sites, but values of peak horizontal velocity and displacement are significantly greater at soil sites than at rock sites. Three recently published relationships for predicting peak horizontal acceleration are compared and discussed. Considerations are reviewed relevant to ground motion predictions at close distances where there are insufficient recorded data points.
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Interim report of the Guatemalan earthquake of 4 February 1976 and the activities of the U.S. Geological Survey earthquake investigation team
No abstract available.
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Interim report on petroleum resource potential and geologic hazards in the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Alaska Tertiary province
The potential for discovering large accumulations of petroleum on the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Alaska Tertiary Province cannot be evaluated with much confidence at present because of the inadequacies of the available offshore geological and geophysical data. The 22 deep test wells that have been drilled since 1954 have been unsuccessful because structure is complex and because suitable reservoir rocks have not been found in favorable structural positions. Although it is possible that the factors controlling accumulation of petroleum may improve offshore, regional stratigraphic and structural considerations together with the limited geophysical data suggest that this is not necessarily the case. Extrapolation of onshore geology together with the limited amount of marine geophysical data, indicate that the eastern Gulf of Alaska Outer Continental Shelf is geologically complex and consists of several areas with markedly differing structural styles and petroleum potential.
Alaska↗
Ground motion values for use in the seismic design of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system
The proposed trans-Alaska oil pipeline, which would traverse the state north to south from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast to Valdez on Prince William Sound, will be subject to serious earthquake hazards over much of its length. To be acceptable from an environmental standpoint, the pipeline system is to be designed to minimize the potential of oil leakage resulting from seismic shaking, faulting, and seismically induced ground deformation. The design of the pipeline system must accommodate the effects of earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 5.5 to 8.5 as specified in the 'Stipulations for Proposed Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System.' This report characterizes ground motions for the specified earthquakes in terms of peak levels of ground acceleration, velocity, and displacement and of duration of shaking. Published strong motion data from the Western United States are critically reviewed to determine the intensity and duration of shaking within several kilometers of the slipped fault. For magnitudes 5 and 6, for which sufficient near-fault records are available, the adopted ground motion values are based on data. For larger earthquakes the values are based on extrapolations from the data for smaller shocks, guided by simplified theoretical models of the faulting process.
Circular↗
Accelerations near faults that have moved during moderate-sized earthquakes
Peak ground accelerations recently recorded within 10-15 km of faulting during moderate-sized earthquakes (m = 4 to 6) are significantly underestimated by many, if not most, of the empirical acceleration-distance relations commonly used in seismic engineering. The recent data show a rapid decrease of peak acceleration with increasing distances (at a rate between r -1.4 and r -I.8 ) beyond 5 to 20 km and suggest a less rapid rate of attenuation closer to the causative fault.
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