On December 18, 2023, an Ms6.2 earthquake struck Jishishan County, Gansu Province, in western China. The China Earthquake Early Warning Network (CEEWN) captured extensive near-field ground motion data using high-density microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors and force-balanced accelerographs (FBAs). Through noise level and usable frequency range assessments of MEMS/FBA recordings, we compiled a strong- motion dataset encompassing the Ms6.2 mainshock and 13 aftershocks (Ms >= 3.0). Analysis of this dataset revealed distinct source characteristics and site effects through spatial distributions and attenuation patterns of peak ground acceleration (PGA, up to 1.1 g at station N002B), peak ground velocity (PGV), and spectral accelerations (SAs) across various periods. The mainshock's near-fault motions exhibited pronounced short-period energy, with 0.2 s SAs exceeding 1.0 gin intensity zones VII-VIII due to hanging wall effects, soil amplification, and topographic influences. Site-to-reference ratio (SSR) analysis identified site nonlinearity above 1 Hz and amplification between 1 and 10 Hz. Observed PGAs and short-period SAs surpassed ground motion model (GMM) predictions with faster attenuation rates, while long-period SAs (>1.0 s) remained below predictions. Residual analysis of intensity measures (IMs) and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSRs) demonstrated progressive site nonlinearity, showing HVSR frequency reductions and amplitude declines at PGAs >500 cm/s(2). This dataset advances regional ground motion model (GMM) development, while our findings on strong ground motion characteristics offer critical insights for earthquake damage assessment and post-disaster reconstruction.

The impact of site effects on ground motion is a critical factor for earthquake disaster prevention and mitigation, as these effects can amplify ground motion and affect building fragility. On February 6, 2023, southeastern Turkey was struck by two strong earthquakes, with magnitudes of Mw7.7 and Mw7.6, followed by numerous aftershocks. These events resulted in severe casualties and substantial economic losses. Field investigations revealed severe damage to mid-rise and high-rise buildings in Kahramanmara & scedil; and Antakya. Both cities are located in valley regions, which are particularly susceptible to earthquake damage due to the amplification of ground motion caused by soft soil conditions and valley topography. In this paper, Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (H/V) technique is used to decipher how site effects affect ground motion and damage using the strong motion records. The analysis revealed that the predominant frequency of ground motion decreases near the valley areas and increases toward the hill slopes. These spatial variations in predominant frequency have significant implications for building safety. Structures located in areas where the predominant frequency matches their natural frequency are more prone to resonance effects, significantly increasing the risk of damage during seismic events. Additionally, the study found that the nonlinearity of the site conditions amplified the acceleration response spectrum at a period of 1 s. This amplification exceeded the local structural design capacity. The findings indicate that site effects can significantly intensify earthquake damage in Kahramanmara & scedil; and Antakya by amplifying ground motion and increasing the vulnerability of mid-rise and high-rise structures.

An earthquake of Mw = 7.0 occurred on October 30, 2020, in the Aegean Sea near Samos Island, which caused severe structural damage in Bayrakl & imath;, Izmir (T & uuml;rkiye), located around 70 km from the epicenter. To investigate the source, path, and site effects, ground motions recorded in Western Anatolia are simulated using the stochastic finite-fault method based on a dynamic corner frequency approach. The input model parameters are calibrated using the recorded motions at selected 10 stations within an epicentral distance of less than 100 km. The soil amplifications are modeled using horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios and generic amplification factors. At most stations, including a few within Izmir Bay, amplitudes and frequency contents are modeled closely. Minor discrepancies within particular frequency bands can be attributed to insufficient representation of the local site effects. Finally, distributions of observed and simulated felt intensities are found to be consistent.

Rayleigh waves are crucial in earthquake engineering due to their significant contribution to structural damage. This study aims to accurately synthesize Rayleigh wave fields in both uniform elastic half-spaces and horizontally layered elastic half-spaces. To achieve this, we developed a self-programmed FORTRAN program utilizing the thin layer stiffness matrix method. The accuracy of the synthesized wave fields was validated through numerical examples, demonstrating the program's reliability for both homogeneous and layered half-space scenarios. A comprehensive analysis of Rayleigh wave propagation characteristics was conducted, including elliptical particle motion, depth-dependent decay, and energy concentration near the surface. The computational efficiency of the self-programmed FORTRAN program was also verified. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of Rayleigh wave behavior and lays the foundation for further studies on soil-structure interaction under Rayleigh wave excitation, ultimately improving the safety and resilience of structures in seismic-prone regions.

Strong ground shaking has the potential to generate significant dynamic strains in shallow materials such as soils and sediments, thereby inducing nonlinear site response resulting in changes in near-surface materials. The nonlinear behaviour of these materials can be characterized by an increase in wave attenuation and a decrease in the resonant frequency of the soil; these effects are attributed to increased material damping and decreased seismic wave propagation velocity, respectively. This study investigates the 'in-situ' seismic velocity changes and the predominant ground motion frequency evolution during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence. This sequence includes two foreshocks (M-w 6 and M-w 6.2) followed by a mainshock (M-w 7.2) that occurred 24 hr after the last foreshock. We present the results of the seismic velocity evolution during these earthquakes for seismological records collected by the KiK-net (32 stations) and K-NET (88 stations) networks between 2002 and 2020. We analyse the impulse response and autocorrelation functions to investigate the nonlinear response in near-surface materials. By comparing the results of the impulse response and autocorrelation functions, we observe that a nonlinear response occurs in near-surface materials. We then quantify the velocity reductions that occur before, during, and after the mainshock using both approaches. This allows us to estimate the 'in-situ' shear modulus reduction for different site classes based on V-S30 values (V-S30760 m s(-1)). We also establish the relationships between velocity changes, shear modulus reduction, variations in predominant ground motion frequencies and site characteristics (V-S30). The results of this analysis can be applied to site-specific ground motion modelling, site response analysis and the incorporation of nonlinear site terms into ground motion models.

The Pohang Basin sustained the most extensive seismic damage in the history of instrumental recording in Korea due to the 2017 Mw 5.5 earthquake. The pattern of damage shows marked differences from a radial distribution, suggesting important contributions by local site effects. Our understanding of these site effects and their role in generating seismic damage within the study area remains incomplete, which indicates the need for a thorough exploration of subsurface information, including the thickness of soil to bedrock and basin geometry, in the Pohang Basin. We measured the depth to bedrock in the Pohang Basin using dense ambient noise measurements conducted at 698 sites. We propose a model of basin geometry based on depths and dominant frequencies derived from the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) of microtremor at 698 sites. Most microseismic measurements exhibit one or more clear HVSR peak(s), implying one or more strong impedance contrast(s), which are presumed to represent the interface between the basement and overlying basin-fill sediments at each measurement site. The ambient seismic noise induces resonance at frequencies as low as 0.32 Hz. The relationship between resonance frequency and bedrock depth was derived using data from 27 boreholes to convert the dominant frequencies measured at stations adjacent to the boreholes into corresponding depths to the strong impedance contrast. The relationship was then applied to the dominant frequencies to estimate the depth to bedrock over the whole study area. Maps of resonance frequency and the corresponding depth to bedrock for the study area show that the greatest depths to bedrock are in the coastal area. The maps also reveal lower fundamental frequencies in the area west of the Gokgang Fault. The results indicate a more complex basin structure than previously proposed based on a limited number of direct borehole observations and surface geology. The maps and associated profiles across different parts of the study area show pronounced changes in bedrock depth near inferred blind faults proposed in previous studies, suggesting that maps of bedrock depth based on the HVSR method can be used to infer previously unknown features, including concealed or blind faults that are not observed at the surface.

The recent seismic activity on Turkiye's west coast, especially in the Aegean Sea region, shows that this region requires further attention. The region has significant seismic hazards because of its location in an active tectonic regime of North-South extension with multiple basin structures on soft soil deposits. Recently, despite being 70 km from the earthquake source, the Samos event (with a moment magnitude of 7.0 on October 30, 2020) caused significant localized damage and collapse in the Izmir city center due to a combination of basin effects and structural susceptibility. Despite this activity, research on site characterization and site response modeling, such as local velocity models and kappa estimates, remains sparse in this region. Kappa values display regional characteristics, necessitating the use of local kappa estimations from previous earthquake data in region-specific applications. Kappa estimates are multivariate and incorporate several characteristics such as magnitude and distance. In this study, we assess and predict the trend in mean kappa values using three-component strong-ground motion data from accelerometer sites with known VS30 values throughout western Turkiye. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) were used to build the prediction models. The effects of epicentral distance Repi, magnitude Mw, and site class (VS30) were investigated, and the contributions of each parameter were examined using a large dataset containing recent seismic activity. The models were evaluated using well-known statistical accuracy criteria for kappa assessment. In all performance measures, the MARS model outperforms the MLR model across the selected sites.

Rapid changes in geotechnical and geological ground conditions lead to significant ground motion variability. This condition mainly occurs at the so-called basin edges, where there is an abrupt transition between soft highly compressible soils and stiffer materials. This problem becomes more relevant in areas where ground subsidence drastically changes the dynamic response of high plasticity clay deposits, such as those found in Mexico City, due to fundamental site period evolution with time. This paper presents site response analyses at an abrupt transition area in the southeast Mexico City region, along the edges of the Xochimilco-Chalco lakes. Considerable damage associated with three-dimensional wave propagation effects was observed in this zone during the September 2017 Puebla-Mexico earthquake. A series of three-dimensional finite difference numerical models of the basin edge were developed to evaluate ground motion variability, considering topographic effects and soil non-linearities. Good agreement between the computed response and the observed damage during the 2017 Puebla-Mexico earthquake reconnaissance was found. In addition, several normal and subduction events with a return period of 250 years were considered to evaluate the effect that frequency content, and strong ground motion duration have on the soil response variability. From the results gathered here, it was established the relevance of accounting for three-dimensional wave propagation fields to assess site effects at basin-edge zones properly and to be able to implement proper risk mitigation measurements at these zones.

Evaluating soil nonlinearity during cyclic loading is one of the most significant challenges in ground response analysis, especially when dealing with the inverse problem of deconvolution. Different schemes have already been developed for dynamic ground response analysis, both in the time and the frequency domain. The most accurate method to account for soil nonlinearity is the nonlinear dynamic analysis in the time domain. This approach is based on nonlinear constitutive models capable of accurately simulating highly nonlinear problems like soil liquefaction. However, the time-domain analysis is suitable only for the convolution analysis to define the ground motion at the free surface of a soil deposit from the bedrock motion. The frequency-domain analysis is the most common solution for the inverse problem called deconvolution, which is used to define the bedrock motion from the free surface ground motion. A well-known approach developed in the frequency domain for ground response analysis is the equivalent-linear method (EQL). This approach adopts an iterative procedure to define elastic shear modulus and damping ratio compatible with the induced strain level. Still, it presents some limitations, especially for highly nonlinear soil response, due to the use of strain-compatible but constant soil properties. This article presents a new scheme to conduct truly nonlinear dynamic analysis in the frequency domain based on the new concept of the short-time transfer function. Unlike the EQL method, which uses a constant transfer function, the proposed approach, called the Equivalent-Nonlinear method (EQNL), defines a soil transfer function evolving in time, depending on the shear stress and strain demands. The EQNL method approximates the response of a nonlinear system as an incrementally changing viscoelastic system and could represent a valuable tool for nonlinear deconvolution. This article shows the analytical formulation and the first set of validations of the EQNL approach, with detailed comparisons with the EQL and NL methods and vertical array data. These comparisons show the potentialities of the EQNL approach to reproduce the results of the nonlinear dynamic analysis. The EQNL approach has been implemented in MATLAB, and the source code is provided as supplementary material for this article. A more comprehensive validation is underway, aiming to better characterize the limitations and the capabilities of the method.