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 Quote:
Originally posted by soubriquet:
only mechanism I can see for "amplification" is if the P waves are reflecting back and forth off the margins of the basin, and you are getting constructive and destructive interference.
On the last big TV 'special' I watched, they had an animation of something that sounds very similar to what you describe. Definitely a lot of bouncing off the edges.
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 Quote:
Originally posted by soubriquet:
While everyone's paying attention, I have a question for tsondaboy.

Clearly in a basin of saturated sediment, the intensity and duration of the event is much greater. I have seen this referred to as "amplification". Is this genuinely the case? The only mechanism I can see for "amplification" is if the P waves are reflecting back and forth off the margins of the basin, and you are getting constructive and destructive interference.

Anyone?
Not necessarily, it is highly depended on the frequency of the wave and the elastic constants of the formations. For frequency lower than 0.4 sec the amplification of a wave pashing through a rock formation is higher than that of passing through a sedimentary formation. Generally speaking though, rock formations have higher shear rigidity strength than sedimentary formation, which results in the amplification of the wave when passing through a rock layer to a sedimentary layer.
Multiple reflection between some layers has nothing to do with the above mentioned process.
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Thanks tsondaboy.

 

Some time googling turned up some stuff.

 

From here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/pacnw/ships/pdfs/SnelsonBSSA2005.pdf

 

"Amplification of strong ground motions around the edges of basins has been interpreted as resulting from interference patterns along crustal fault zones and thinning basins (Kawase, 1996; Graves et al., 1998). Finally, surface waves generated within these basins are thought to be responsible for much of the increased amplitude and duration of shaking during earthquakes (Frankel et al., 1999, 2002; Pratt et al., 2003a; Barberopoulou et al., 2004)"

 

And from here:

http://peer.berkeley.edu/year7/yr7_projects/ta4/2212003.html

 

221smfig10en.gif

 

"..show results of vertical wave propagation in soft and stiff soils. The plotted lines are the time histories of displacements from the depth of 30 meters to the surface. The seismic amplification in soft soil (clay) is apparent!"

 

It sheds some light on last year's Niigata shinkansen derailment. It was in a tunnel at the time of the earthquake, and the emergency stop system failed to detect the earthquake, although the surface ground motion was strong enough to damage the elevated section outside the tunnel.

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Just saw this on tv this morning....

 

There's some 2 hour drama on tv tonight, 9:30 I think. Story is about a shindo 7 quake hitting Tokyo.

 

It's called Aasu-kuweiku.

(I don't think it has anything to do with bottoms).

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