Ground-Motion Records

Introduction

The dynamic analyses in this framework employ a comprehensive set of 700 ground-motion records selected from multiple international strong-motion databases. These records span a wide range of seismological characteristics to ensure robust representation of ground shaking variability across different tectonic environments.

Database Sources

Records were compiled from five major strong-motion databases:

Ground-Motion Database Sources

Database	Description
NGA-West2	PEER Next Generation Attenuation database for active shallow crustal regions
NGA-East	PEER database for stable continental regions (Eastern North America)
NGA-Sub	PEER database for subduction zone earthquakes
KiK-Net	Japanese strong-motion network (K-NET and KiK-net)
ESM	Engineering Strong-Motion database (European/Mediterranean)

Tectonic Environments

The record set covers three main tectonic environments:

Active Shallow Crust

Earthquakes occurring at depths less than 35 km in tectonically active regions (e.g., Western North America, Mediterranean, Japan).

Stable Continental Regions

Intraplate earthquakes in stable continental interiors with typically lower attenuation rates (e.g., Eastern North America, Northern Europe).

Subduction Zones

Both interface and intraslab earthquakes from subduction environments (e.g., Cascadia, Japan, South America).

Record Selection Criteria

Records were selected following these criteria:

• Magnitude range: M_w 4.5 to 9.0

• Distance range: R_jb 0 to 300 km (Joyner-Boore distance)

• Minimum PGA: 0.05g threshold to exclude weak motions

• Scaling limit: Maximum scaling factor of 2.5 to preserve spectral shape

• Site conditions: V_s30 ranging from 180 to 1500 m/s

• Uniform distribution: Records distributed across IM bins to avoid clustering

Intensity Measures

Multiple intensity measures (IMs) are computed for each record:

Intensity Measures

IM	Description
PGA	Peak Ground Acceleration [g]
PGV	Peak Ground Velocity [m/s]
PGD	Peak Ground Displacement [m]
SA(0.3s)	Spectral Acceleration at T=0.3s [g]
SA(0.6s)	Spectral Acceleration at T=0.6s [g]
SA(1.0s)	Spectral Acceleration at T=1.0s [g]
AvgSA	Geometric mean of SA over period range [g]
D5-95	Significant duration (5% to 95% Arias intensity) [s]

Ground-Motion Record Summary

The table below displays the properties of all 700 ground-motion records used in the analysis.

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Record Visualization

Select a ground-motion record to view its acceleration time-history and response spectrum.

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References

• Ancheta T.D. et al. (2014). NGA-West2 Database. Earthquake Spectra.

• Goulet C.A. et al. (2021). NGA-East Ground-Motion Models for the U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Maps. Earthquake Spectra.

• Parker G.A. et al. (2020). NGA-Subduction Global Ground-Motion Models with Regional Adjustment Factors. Earthquake Spectra.

• Luzi L. et al. (2020). Engineering Strong Motion Database (ESM). European facilities for earthquake hazard and risk.

• Aoi S. et al. (2020). MOWLAS: NIED observation network for earthquake seismology and engineering. Earth, Planets and Space.