Abstract
—The applicability of the single-station H/V method, based on the spectral ratio between the horizontal and the vertical components of strong ground motions, is examined for site-response estimation using the high quality data from the 1994 Northridge earthquake sequence. Instead of using Rayleigh-wave data from microtremors, the large amplitude-wave part of the S-wave data is used and based on the 1994 Northridge mainshock and aftershock recordings. We have found that upon averaging over a number of recordings for a given station, the station site responses, derived both from the single-station H/V ratio and from the standard spectral ratio (with respect to a reference rock-site station) are sufficiently close for practical purposes. We therefore conclude that the H/V ratio can reasonably predict the resonant frequency and the amplification level of a site response, especially for sites in the neighborhood of the epicenters. In the absence of a reference rock-site station, the H/V ratio provides a practical alternative to the standard site-response estimation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received September 10, 1998, accepted May 6, 1999
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, HC., Teng, TL. An Evaluation on H/V Ratio vs. Spectral Ratio for Site-response Estimation Using the 1994 Northridge Earthquake Sequences. Pure appl. geophys. 156, 631–649 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s000240050316
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s000240050316