S-wave velocity measurement and the effect of basin geometry on site response, east San Francisco Bay area, California, USA

Publication date: Available online 22 July 2016 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): Koichi Hayashi, Mitchell Craig We measured S-wave velocity profiles at eleven sites in the east San Francisco Bay area using surface wave methods. Data acquisition included multichannel analysis of surface waves using an active source (MASW), a passive surface-wave method using a linear array of geophones (Linear-MAM), and a two-station spatial autocorrelation method (2ST-SPAC) using long-period accelerometers. Maximum distance between stations ranged from several hundred meters to several kilometers, depending on the site. Minimum frequency ranged from 0.2 to 2 Hz, depending on the site, corresponding to maximum wavelengths of 10 to 1 km. Phase velocities obtained from three methods were combined into a single dispersion curve for each site. A nonlinear inversion was used to estimate S-wave velocity profiles to a depth of 200–2000 m, depending on the site. Resultant S-wave velocity profiles show significant differences among the sites. On the west side of the Hayward fault and the east side of the Calaveras fault, there is a low velocity layer at the surface, with S-wave velocity less than 700 m/s, to a depth of approximately 100 m. A thick intermediate velocity layer with S-wave velocity ranging from 700 to 1500 m/s lies beneath the low velocity layer. Bedrock with S-wave velocity greater than 1500 m/s was measured at depths greater than approximate...

Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - August 5, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: research