PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR SEISMIC SITE CHARACTERIZATION: A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BY THE “MIDDLE AMERICA” SEISMOLOGICAL COMMUNITY

“Site characterization” consists of measuring the local geological and geotechnical factors that potentially affect earthquake shaking at particular site, such as sediment thickness and shallow shear-wave velocity. Shallow shear-wave velocity is the only site factor included for assessment at all building sites by the International Building Code (BSSC, 1997; IBC, 2006). The field of seismic site characterization, a critical component of earthquake hazard mitigation, is currently undergoing a revolution in response to new sensor and communication technologies, theoretical developments that allow the use of ambient energy (“noise” or “microtremors”) instead of active energy sources, and the development of practical “global search” algorithms. These new techniques offer the promise of numerous, comprehensive, fast and accurate surveys whose results can form the basis of detailed and realistic simulations on high-performance computers, to rapidly create and evaluate “what if” scenarios in the context of urban areas or particularly vulnerable structures.

A Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) will be convened in Santo Domingo, DR in July 2013 to study, apply, and assess modern strategies for earthquake hazard analysis with a focus on techniques for seismic site characterization. The PASI will include lectures, demonstrations, data acquisition in the city of Santo Domingo, data analysis in a laboratory, and a round-table discussion of future research directions and projects. The Institute, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation as a project of the IRIS Consortium and the Alliance for Middle America Seismology/Alianza Mesoamericana de Sismología (ALMAS), builds on a workshop held in Heredia, Costa Rica in October 2010 called Geophysical Hazards and Plate Boundary Processes in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean: A Workshop to Build Seismological Collaboration and Capacity. Early-career scientists and engineers from across the Americas are invited to apply to attend the PASI (and eleven-day workshop). This presentation will discuss the goals and strategies of the PASI and invite discussion that will aid in the workshop’s planning, as well as contributions aimed at generating the next “Middle America” seismology community event.