Utah Earthquake

Ground-Shaking Maps

Which One Do I Use?

Utah Seismic Safety Commission

Geoscience Committee
January 2003
Use of Earthquake Ground-Shaking Information
in Engineering and Design
Various regulatory documents specify minimum levels of earthquake ground shaking
(usually a peak or spectral horizontal acceleration given as a percentage of the acceler-
ation of gravity, or %g) that must be used in earthquake-resistant design. Such docu-
ments include the International Building Code (IBC), which in Utah replaced the Uniform
Building Code (UBC) in January 2002, for buildings; the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bridge design specifications, for high-
way bridges; and the Utah State Dam Safety rules for dams. In each, minimum levels
of ground shaking that must be used in design are given, and the source(s) of the infor-
mation is specified. Some require “deterministic” analyses, which consider a maximum
ground-shaking level or level resulting from a particular specified scenario earthquake,
whereas others require “probabilistic” analyses which consider the ground motions
expected at a specified annual exceedance probability from all possible sources.
Because earthquake ground-shaking evaluation is a complicated and evolving disci-
pline, many constantly updated products are available for various applications. The pur-
pose of this brochure is to identify for structural engineers, architects, building officials,
planners, transportation engineers, geotechnical consultants, dam owners/operators,
and other design professionals the sources of earthquake ground-shaking information in
Utah and to describe their respective uses.

U.S. Geological Survey map of Utah (12/2002) showing 0.2 sec. spectral acceleration (%g) with a
2% probability of exceedance in 50 years; IBC maximum considered spectral response accelera-
tion maps used in design are based on USGS maps.
United States Geological Survey Probabilistic Maps
Whereas design under the UBC was based on a seismic zonation map in the code giv-
ing seismic coefficients for each zone, the current editions of the IBC and AASHTO
bridge design specifications give appropriate design values based on maps by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Mapping Program (Frankel and
others, 1996). USGS maps show peak horizontal ground accelerations and horizontal
spectral accelerations for 0.2-, 0.3-, and 1.0-second periods. Maps of these parameters
were made for three annual exceedance probabilities (10, 5, and 2 percent probability of
exceedance in 50 years, or about 500-, 1,000-, and 2,500-year average return periods,
respectively). The maps are updated periodically, and the most current maps can be
obtained from the USGS website (http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/eq/index.html) based on
zip code or latitude-longitude. The values are for a uniform rock site condition (consid-
ered to be site class B in the IBC) and must be adjusted for other geologic site condi-
tions to determine final accelerations. The USGS values for an appropriate annual
exceedance probability, corrected for site conditions, can also be used to determine
appropriate minimum ground motions in liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslide
analyses.

URS Corporation
map of the Salt
Lake Valley showing
0.2 sec. spectral
acceleration (%g)
with a 2% probabili-
ty of exceedance in
50 years.

URS Corporation Probabilistic and Scenario Maps

URS Corporation, in cooperation with the Utah Geological Survey, University of Utah
Seismograph Stations, and Pacific Engineering and Analysis, has completed a suite of 9
maps (printed at 1:75,000 scale; six probabilistic and three scenario) for the Salt Lake
Valley showing contours of peak horizontal accelerations and 0.2- and 1.0-second hori-
zontal spectral accelerations (Wong and others, 2002). The two sets of three probabilis-
tic maps are for the 10 and 2 percent probability of exceedance in 50 years (500- and
2,500-year average return periods, respectively), and the set of three scenario maps is
for a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault.
One major difference between these maps and the USGS maps is that the URS maps
account for generalized site response in the ground-motion contours and show actual
expected ground motions, whereas the USGS maps are for a uniform site class and
must be adjusted manually for site effects. Therefore, the URS maps illustrate the pre-
dicted effects of geologic site conditions on ground accelerations. Neither the URS or
USGS maps consider near-fault, topographic, or basin effects.

The URS maps should not be used in engineering design because they have not been
adopted in any codes or by any regulatory body. The maps are designed mainly for use
in emergency-response planning, HAZUS loss estimations, and earthquake scenario
development, with the understanding that accelerations are only a gross indication and
not the best measure of likely damage to existing buildings. However, because the URS
maps represent a state-of-the-art regional analysis, comparison of these maps with final
design ground motions is useful to understand code performance levels and identify
future research needs to explain differences. The maps and accompanying report are
available in the Natural Resources Bookstore (UGS Miscellaneous Publication MP-02-05).

Utah State University deterministic map of Utah showing peak horizontal ground acceleration
(%g) using mean magnitude and mean+one standard deviation ground motions using the Abra-
hamson and Silva attenuation relation.
Utah State University Deterministic Maps
For certain types of structures (critical buildings, bridges, dams) and for comparison to
probabilistic ground motions, a deterministic maximum expected ground-shaking level is
important. For design purposes, this ground-shaking level requires site-specific studies
to identify and characterize major nearby earthquake sources, usually faults, which yield
the highest accelerations at the site. To estimate maximum peak horizontal and vertical
ground accelerations from individual fault sources, Utah State University (USU) has
completed a set of GIS maps (scale 1:1,000,000) showing major fault sources and
deterministic ground motions predicted from the largest expected earthquake on each
source (Halling and others, 2002). These maximum magnitudes are estimated based
on length of fault rupture and slip type (generally normal, dip-slip motion in Utah)
expected in an earthquake. Three sets of maps are presented using three different
attenuation relations, one of which is specific to extensional tectonic regimes as found in
Utah, and two others for comparison.

As in the USGS probabilistic maps, the USU deterministic maps assume a uniform site
condition (rock/soft rock, depending on the site condition used in each attenuation rela-
tion) and therefore do not consider site effects. The maps are not intended for design,
but rather for use in comparing with results of probabilistic analyses or for initial screen-
ing of sites to identify significant earthquake sources for site-specific study. The maps

U.S. Geological Survey map of Utah (12/2002) showing 5,000-year “background” peak horizontal
ground acceleration (%g).
and report are available in the Natural Resources Bookstore as UGS Miscellaneous
Publication MP 02-11. A CD is provided for GIS users to produce custom maps for indi-
vidual or groups of fault sources for each attenuation relation using various statistical
parameters (mean and mean + 1 standard deviation values for both magnitude and
peak ground motions) for both vertical and horizontal ground motions.

Only mapped fault sources are considered in preparing these maps, that is, no “back-
ground earthquake” (generally less than or equal to M6.5) from a fault not on the Qua-
ternary Tectonics Map of Utah (Hecker, 1993) is modeled. In areas generally more than
several tens of miles from the nearest known fault, the maximum ground-shaking level
may be from the “background earthquake.” For dams, the Utah Division of Water Rights
Dam Safety Section requires determination of the maximum credible earthquake (MCE)
ground-shaking hazard at a dam site. To determine the “background earthquake”
ground-shaking level, a map specially prepared by the USGS showing the 5,000-year
return period peak horizontal ground acceleration from background source zones and
historical seismicity only (no faults) is used. Values from this map are available at the
Division of Water Rights website (http://waterrights.utah.gov/daminfo/default.htm) on the
Dam Inventory basic-data screen for each dam. To determine the design MCE ground
motion, the deterministic peak horizontal ground acceleration from nearby fault sources
is compared to that from the “background earthquake.” The higher of these two values
represents the MCE acceleration used as a design input to the stability/deformation
analysis of the dam.

References
Frankel, Arthur, Mueller, Charles, Barnhard, Theodore, Perkins, David, Leyendecker,
E.V., Dickman, Nancy, Hanson, Stanley, and Hopper, Margaret, 1996, National seis-
mic-hazard maps – documentation June 1996: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File
Report 96-532, 110 p., website: http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/eq/index.html.

Halling, M. W., Keaton, J.R., Anderson, L.R., and Kohler, Wayne, 2002, Deterministic
maximum peak bedrock acceleration maps for Utah: Utah Geological Survey Mis-
cellaneous Publication MP 02-11 (in cooperation with Utah Department of Trans-
portation, UDOT Report UT-99.07), 57 p.

Hecker, Suzanne, 1993, Quaternary tectonics of Utah with emphasis on earthquake-

hazard characterization: Utah Geological Survey Bulletin 127, 157 p.

Wong, Ivan, Silva, Walter, Olig, Susan, Thomas, Patricia, Wright, Douglas, Ashland,
Francis, Gregor, Nick, Pechmann, James, Dober, Mark, Christenson, Gary, and
Gerth, Robyn, 2002, Earthquake scenario and probabilistic ground shaking maps for
the Salt Lake City, Utah, metropolitan area: Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous
Publication MP 02-05, 50 p.

Cover photos: Damage to an unreinforced masonry building and older highway overpass in the
1994 M6.7 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, California.

Published by the Utah Seismic Safety Commission, 2003

Additional copies available from the Utah Geological Survey at the Natural
Resources Bookstore, 1594 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116.
U SS C