Correlation patterns in characteristics of spatially variable seismic ground motions

A methodology for the investigation of the spatial variation of seismic ground motions is presented; data recorded at the SMART-1 dense instrument array in Lotung, Taiwan, during Events 5 and 39 are used in the analysis. The seismic motions are modeled as superpositions of sinusoidal functions, described by their amplitude, frequency, wavenumber and phase. For each event and direction (horizontal or vertical) analysed, the approach identifies a coherent, common component in the seismic motions at all recording stations, and variabilities in amplitudes and phases around the common component sinusoidal characteristics, that are particular for each recording station. It is shown that the variations in both the amplitudes and the phases of the motions at the station locations around the common component characteristics contribute significantly to the spatially variable nature of the motions, and, furthermore, they are correlated: increase in the variability of the amplitudes of the motions recorded at individual stations around the common amplitude implies increase in the variability of the phases around the common phase. The dispersion range of the amplitude and phase variability around their corresponding common components appear also to be associated with physical parameters. The spatially variable arrival time delays of the waveforms at the stations due to their upward travelling through the site topography, in addition to the wave passage delays identified from signal processing techniques, constitute another important cause for the spatial variation of the motions; their consideration in the approach facilitates also the identification of the correlation patterns in the amplitudes and phases.