Estimating Site Response with Recordings from Deep Boreholes and HVSR: Examples from the Mississippi Embayment of the Central United States

Research Article| March 27, 2018 Estimating Site Response with Recordings from Deep Boreholes and HVSR: Examples from the Mississippi Embayment of the Central United States N. Seth Carpenter; N. Seth Carpenter aKentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0107, seth.carpenter@uky.edu, zmwang@uky.edudAlso at Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 101 Slone Research Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0053. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhenming Wang; Zhenming Wang aKentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0107, seth.carpenter@uky.edu, zmwang@uky.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Edward W. Woolery; Edward W. Woolery bDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 101 Slone Research Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0053, woolery@uky.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mianshui Rong Mianshui Rong cInstitute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, No. 1 Anningzhuang Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, People's Republic of China, waltrong@126.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information N. Seth Carpenter aKentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0107, seth.carpenter@uky.edu, zmwang@uky.edudAlso at Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 101 Slone Research Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0053. Zhenming Wang aKentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0107, seth.carpenter@uky.edu, zmwang@uky.edu Edward W. Woolery bDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 101 Slone Research Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40506‐0053, woolery@uky.edu Mianshui Rong cInstitute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, No. 1 Anningzhuang Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, People's Republic of China, waltrong@126.com Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2018 Online Issn: 1943-3573 Print Issn: 0037-1106 © Seismological Society of America Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (2018) 108 (3A): 1199–1209. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120170156 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation N. Seth Carpenter, Zhenming Wang, Edward W. Woolery, Mianshui Rong; Estimating Site Response with Recordings from Deep Boreholes and HVSR: Examples from the Mississippi Embayment of the Central United States. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 2018;; 108 (3A): 1199–1209. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0120170156 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyBulletin of the Seismological Society of America Search Advanced Search Abstract Recordings of weak‐motion S waves at two deep vertical seismic arrays in the northern Mississippi embayment (i.e., vertical seismic array Paducah [VSAP] and the Central United States Seismic Observatory [CUSSO]) were used to estimate empirical site responses using ratios of surface‐to‐bedrock transverse‐component amplitude spectra TFT⁠. The mean TFT curves were also compared with theoretical transfer functions derived from Thomson–Haskell propagator matrices. The results were comparable, indicating that mean spectral ratios, calculated from few (10) events at local and regional distances, represent empirical linear S‐wave transfer functions for weak‐motion SH waves at these sites. At both sites, the largest amplifications implied by the theoretical responses and the observed S‐wave spectral ratios occur at frequencies higher than the sites' fundamental frequencies.These spectral ratios were used to evaluate the suitability of surface S‐wave horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratios HVS for estimating the empirical site transfer function. The mean S‐wave HVS curves are similar to the mean TFT spectral ratios for frequencies below approximately the fifth natural frequency at each site; for higher frequencies, vertical‐component amplification from incident SV waves reduces HVS relative to TFT⁠. Therefore, HVS curves at these sites reflect the SH‐wave transfer functions for low frequencies. We also observed that HVS curves from ambient noise recordings do not estimate the SH‐wave transfer function at these deep borehole sites for frequencies higher than the fundamental. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.