Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Ankara, Turkey, June 10-21, 1985

Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first one kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything.

Seismic Strong Motion Synthetics describes the methods of modeling the production of strong seismic ground motions by realistic seismic sources. Organized into six chapters, this book highlights the different ways of numerical treatment and the available computationally rapid and conceptually simple algorithms. The introductory chapter describes the intense bursts of radiation emitted during sudden changes in the rupture-front velocity occurring when the zone of slip reaches regions of differing stress drop. This topic is followed by an overview of the observations of seismic waves close to the fault and a discussion on the application of kinematic dislocation models to the synthesis of strong ground motion, such as the representation theorem and methods of theoretical and semi-empirical synthesis. A chapter deals with dynamic shear cracks with an emphasis on numerical modeling of complete three-dimensional, spontaneous rupture processes not only in an infinite, homogeneous medium but also in a homogeneous half-space or horizontally layered medium. This book also describes a tool capable of synthesizing strong motion records from a basic understanding of fault mechanics and seismic-wave propagation in the earth. The text further examines the calculation of ground motions at locations near to large earthquakes. The concluding chapter explores the methods of computing the motions that result from elastic waves propagating through complex structures. This book is an advanced text on numerical modeling for use in graduate and upper-division courses in physics, geophysics, and earthquake engineering.

Strong ground motion measuring and recording instruments play a major role in mitigation of seismic risk. The strong ground motion near the source of an earthquake describes the effects that endanger our built environment, and is also the most detailed clue concerning the source mechanism of the earthquake. The range of complexity that engulfs our understanding of the source parameters of a major earthquake (extent of the source mechanism, stress drop, wave propagation patterns) and how buildings and other works of construction respond to ground-transmitted dynamic effects may be overpowered by improved direct observations. Strong motion seismographs provide the information that enables scientists and engineers to resolve the many issues that are intertwined with practical problems of building safe communities worldwide. They may be installed as arrays close to major fault zones, consisting of many instruments arranged in some geometrical pattern, or in the vicinity and mounted on buildings. This book, which contains papers by invited authorities, represents a unique interaction between seismologists and earthquake engineers who examine issues of mutual concern in an overlapping area of major interest. The papers have been grouped around three major areas. -Seismic Hazard and Extreme Motions -Engineering Uses of Strong Motion Seismograms -Arrays and Observations.