A Multidimension Source Model for Generating Broadband Ground Motions with Deterministic 3D Numerical Simulations

A multidimension source model for generating broadband ground motions with deterministic 3D numerical simulations is proposed in this article. In this model, the source is composed of several superimposed layers, and the total seismic moment is assigned to these layers in different proportions. Each layer exactly fills up the seismic fault and is uniformly divided into subsources with size decreased progressively to reflect different levels of rupture details. Hence, the proposed multidimension source model may consider the realistic rupture process of an earthquake, that is, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of source parameters, and generate broadband ground motions. To verify this source model, the 1994 Northridge earthquake is simulated with four multidimension source models, based on different source inversion results. The amplitudes, durations, and spectral characteristics of the observed ground motions of the 1994 Northridge earthquake are respectably reproduced in a range of frequencies up to 5 Hz. In addition, a scenario earthquake is also simulated with four multidimension source models, with different synthetic rupture process. The simulated ground motions of the scenario earthquake are generally in good agreement with the Next Generation Attenuation-West 2 ground-motion prediction equations. This demonstrates that it is promising to simulate realistic broadband ground motions of strong earthquakes with a proper source description and realistic Earth models.