proposal information summarycrack.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/proposals/usgs/renoprop.pdf ·...

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PROPOSAL INFORMATION SUMMARY

1. Regional Panel Destinations: NIW2. Project Title: Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard

Mapping3. Principal Investigator(s): John N. Louie

Tel.: (775) 784-4219, Email: [email protected] of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557Fax: 775-784-1833

4. Authorized InstitutionalRepresentative:

Cindy KielDirector, Office of Sponsored Project Admin.University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557Tel.: (775)784-4040, Fax (775)784-6064Email: [email protected]

6. Element Designation I7. Key Words Site effects, Seismic zonation, Engineering seismology8. Amount Requested $175,3079. Proposed start date February 1, 200510 Proposed Duration 2 years

11 New Proposal Yes

12 Active Earthquake-relatedResearch: Grants, and Level ofSupport

Dept. of Energy/Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy:Assembly of a crustal seismic velocity database for thewestern Great Basin, $219,417, 4/1/2002–10/1/2004,Louie (1.5 summer months).

Dept. of Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: 3-Devaluation of ground-shaking potential in the Las Vegasbasin, $285,000, 5/1/2002–4/30/2004, Anderson, Louie(2.5 summer months).

Dept. of Energy/HRC/NVOO: Seismic monitoring of YuccaMountain: Evaluation of kappa effects subtask,$280,000, 10/1/2002–9/30/2004, Brune, Anderson, Su,Biasi, Smith, Louie (0.5 summer months/year).

13 Has this proposal beensubmitted to any other agencyfor funding?

No

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Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard Mapping

John Louie

Seismological Lab, University of Nevada, Reno

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form (SF) 424 ........................................1

Proposal Information Summary.....................................................................................2

Table of Contents .........................................................................................................3

Abstract........................................................................................................................4

Budget Summary .........................................................................................................5

Detail Budget ...............................................................................................................6

Project Description

Motivation.........................................................................................................9

Work Plan.........................................................................................................10

Figures .............................................................................................................11

References .......................................................................................................13

Final Report and Dissemination of Results....................................................................14

Project Personnel, Current and Pending Support ..........................................................14

Institutional Qualifications .............................................................................................16

Project Management Plan ............................................................................................16

Coordinating UNR ANSS Budget..................................................................................17

Letters of Support.........................................................................................................17

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Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard Mapping

John Louie


ABSTRACT

This two-year project will collect refraction microtremor Vs30 data in and near Reno,

Nevada’s 15-km-wide and 1.5-km-deep basin. A previously completed transect of 50

Vs30 measurements west-to-east across the basin, following the Truckee River,

suggested that neither geologic nor agricultural soil maps would have much predictive

value for the shallow shear velocities at any given site. Some of the highest velocities

measured were in the geologically youngest units. Vs30 reliably varies by a factor of two

across distances of less than 300 m, even without crossing any map boundaries. We

propose to make up to 200 additional Vs30 measurements over two years to extend the

River transect, and to better characterize the velocities and velocity variations of

geologic and soil units not well represented along the River. We hope to derive

improved Vs30 correlations against mapped units. We will also be able to assess

whether other parameters such as Vs100 (average shear velocity to 100 m depth)

correlate better with maps. A coordinating project, if funded, will measure shallow

velocities at ANSS stations and test refraction microtremor against other techniques.

Better correlations may allow the creation of a seismic shaking amplification map for the

Reno urban area, one of the top priorities for the NEHRP-NIW program.

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BUDGET SUMMARY

Project Title: Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard MappingPrincipal Investigators: John N. Louie

Proposed Start Date: Feb. 1, 2005 Proposed Completion Date: Jan. 31, 2007

COST CATEGORY FederalFirst Year

FederalSecond Year

TotalBoth Years

1. Salaries and Wages

Total Salaries and Wages

$ 25,900

$ 25,900

$ 25,900 $ 51,800

2. Fringe Benefits/Labor Overhead $ 2,248 $ 2,248 $ 4,496

3. Equipment $ 0 $ 0 $ 0

4. Supplies $ 1,200 $ 1,200 $ 2,400

5. Services or Consultants $ 0 $ 0 $ 0

6. Radiocarbon Dating Services $ 0 $ 0 $ 0

7. Travel $ 1,350 $ 1,350 $ 2,700

8. Publication Costs $ 0 $ 1,000 $ 1,000

9. Other Direct Costs $ 1,926 $ 1,926 $ 3,852

10. Total Direct Costs (items 1-9) $ 32,624 $ 33,624 $ 66,248

11. Indirect cost / General and

Administrative (G&A) cost

$ 13,814 $ 14,264 $ 28,078

12. Amount Proposed (items 10 & 11) $ 46,438 $ 47,888 $ 94,326

13. Total Project Cost (total of Federal and non-Federal amounts)

$ 46,438 $ 47,888 $ 94,326

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NEHRP-NIW Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard MappingUniversity of Nevada, Reno Budget, LouieProposed start date: 2/1/05 Budget Prepared: 4/25/04 J. Louie

UNR Year 1 Total: 46438

SALARIESEmployee Units Rate Number Subtotal Benefit Rate BenefitsJohn Louie Daily 500 5 2500 0.04 100Student-Academic Yr Monthly 1500 10 15000 0.1 1500Student-Summer Monthly 3000 2 6000 0.1 600Undergraduate labor hourly 12 200 2400 0.02 48Subtotals 25900 2248Total Salary and Fringe 28148

Equipment Total 0

Consultants Total 0

Expendables 1200Lab, Computer, & Field Supplies 500Telephone toll charges, postage, shipping 200Computer Services 500Publication Costs 0

Travel Dest Rate Number Subtotal Total: 1350AGU or SSA 600 1 600Field Vehicle 75 10 750

Additional Student Expenses NumberTuition and Fees per year (18 credits) 107 18 1926

Total Direct Cost 32624

Indirect Cost ComputationTotal Direct Cost 32624Subtract Tuition & Fees -1926Subtract Equipment 0Adjusted Total 30698Fraction 0.45Indirect Cost 13814

Year One Total 46438

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UNR Year 2 Total: 47888


Equipment Total 0

Consultants Total 0



Additional Student Expenses NumberTuition and Fees per year (18 credits) 107 18 1926



Year Two Total 47888

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UNR 2-Year Total: 94326


Equipment Total 0

Consultants Total 0



Additional Student Expenses NumberTuition and Fees 107 36 3852



Two-Year Total 94326

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Measuring Shallow Shear Velocities in Reno for Seismic Hazard MappingJohn Louie


MotivationThis proposal directly addresses one of the goals stated in the “Specific Priorities for

Urban Areas of Utah and Nevada” document, which is to: “Obtain shallow, basin, and basementvelocities below the Reno and Las Vegas areas. Investigate the relation of ground shaking togeologic attributes in Nevada urban areas; assess the sufficiency of the IBC VS30 criterion forpredicting ground shaking.” By improving our understanding of expected ground motions theexpected results of the proposed research will directly apply to reducing losses fromearthquakes in Reno. Reno is particularly important as a rapidly growing community, in alocation where the seismic hazard is known to be high.

The cities of Reno and Sparks, Nevada, are located in a fault-controlled basin. Our goal isto achieve the ability to anticipate ground motion from future earthquakes in this rapidly growingurban area, with sufficient realism for engineering application. An essential step toward this goalis a more complete understanding of shallow shear velocities, how they vary within the urbanarea, and how they may correlate with other data sets such as geologic and agricultural soil maps.

Under NEHRP-UBC provisions (BSSC, 1998) sites are categorized using Vs30, theaverage shear velocity between the surface and 30 meters depth. Due to the costs of borehole orpenetrometer Vs30 measurement methods (e.g., ASTM standards D4428 and D5778), siteclassification is presently based largely on geological maps with sparse downhole measurementsupport. Wills et al. (2000) have prepared a site-conditions map for California on this basis.Cashman and Fontaine (2000) describe the Reno basin and its surroundings as having geologicsimilarity to nearby California basins.

This two-year project will collect refraction microtremor Vs30 (and deeper) data in andnear this 15-km-wide and 1.5-km-deep basin. We will measure about 100 sites each project year.Fig. 1 shows the location of a previously completed (2001) transect of 50 shear-velocity profilesreported by Scott, et al. (2003 submitted). The transect was completed by an average of 3-1/2people in 9 days employing 45 Reftek RT-125 "Texan" portable recorders mated to 4.5 Hzvertical geophones. The records were analyzed using the refraction microtremor method of Louie(2001). Across most of the transect, velocities could be estimated to depths exceeding 100meters.

The result, plotted as a Vs30 transect across the basin, is shown in Fig. 2. A simplegeologic map-based classification of nearly all of this transect line, following Wills et al. (2000),would be NEHRP-D. Our measurements of Vs30 revealed that 82% of the transect is actuallyclassified NEHRP-C. As seen in fig. 2, the values of V30 east of the airport in the 1997floodplain are on the NEHRP C/D boundary, with a transition moving west to a NEHRP-Cclassification for downtown Reno.

Velocities rise to the west in fig. 2 toward outcropping Tertiary diatomite and getsurprisingly high near a point where the transect crosses West McCarran Blvd. In fact, one of thetransect segments having a Quaternary geologic map classification "Qto" had a Vs30 of 849 m/s,classifying it as NEHRP-B. This anomalous high-velocity measurement will be the subject offurther study.

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The correlation between adjacent measurements is good, as fig. 2 shows. Some of thehighest velocities measured were in the geologically youngest units.

In order to assess the relationship between the measured values of V30 and geologicformation or soil type, Scott, et al. consulted geologic maps (Bonham and Bingler, 1973; andBell and Bonham, 1987) and soil maps (NBMG 1973, USDA-SCS, 1978) along the transect.They assigned a geologic formation type and a soil type to each transect segment. The measuredvalues of V30 at each location are plotted for each geologic formation in fig. 3. The measuredvalues of V30 for each soil type at each location are plotted in fig. 4. Our result suggested thatsubdivisions of different kinds of Quaternary alluvium on geologic maps, and agricultural soilmaps, which have not been investigated before, might have some small predictive value for theshallow shear velocities at any given site, although the variation among sites of a singleclassification is larger than the variation in the mean between different site classifications.

A separate measurement of Vs30 on the University of Nevada, Reno campus (seelocation in fig. 1) was 360 m/s, in contrast to the transect value at the same transect distance of507 m/s. This difference was interpreted to be due to greater stiffness in the gravelly sedimentsadjacent to the Truckee river, compared with the long-weathered alluvium on campus, rich inclasts of andesitic composition weathering to smectite clays.

Work PlanWe propose to make up to 200 additional Vs30 measurements over two years with the

refraction microtremor method.1. We will extend the River transect, as it currently does not extend to bedrock on its

western end. This will provide more information on the rapidly varying velocities on thewestern side of the Reno basin. As well, a greater length for the transect will improve thespatial statistics being applied to the results.

2. We will better characterize the velocities and velocity variations of geologic and soilunits not well represented along the River. At least 30% of our new measurements will bewithin the andesitic rock units that ring the basin. Downhole velocity measurementsmade by NDOT (T. Beeston, BlackEagle Consultants, pers. Comm. 2001) suggest largevariability in shallow rock velocities over short distances, <0.5 km.

3. We hope to derive improved Vs30 correlations against mapped units.4. We will also be able to assess whether other parameters such as Vs100 (average shear

velocity to 100 m depth) correlate better with maps.5. All results, velocity profiles, and geo-referenced summary data such as Vs30 and Vs100

will be posted on our web site www.seismo.unr.edu/hazsurv .6. About half of each of the tasks above will be completed each project year.

• A coordinating project, if funded, will measure shallow velocities at ANSS stations andtest the refraction microtremor method against other techniques.

• Better correlations, coupled with correlations from ANSS stations where we willeventually have empirical site amplifications, may eventually allow the creation of aseismic shaking amplification map for the Reno urban area, one of the top priorities forthe NEHRP-NIW program.

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Fig. 1: Location of the midpoint of each 300-meter segment of the Reno transect. Geology from Bell andBonham (1987) and Bonham and Bingler (1973). Hatched areas represent “rock” formation boundaries.Approximate locations along the transect of strong motion monitoring sites RF05, UNRX and SWTP areshown in bold type.

Fig.2: Our measured values of V30 for points along the Reno transect. Points above 760 m/s are classifiedNEHRP B, between 760 and 360 m/s NEHRP C, and 360 to 150 m/s NEHRP D. Approximate locationsalong the transect of strong motion monitoring sites RF05, UNRX and SWTP are shown in bold type.

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Fig. 3: Measured values of V30 for each geologic formation type. The average and standard deviation foreach formation are indicated. No deviation is shown for the formation sampled only once.

Fig.4: Measured values of V30 vs. soil type. Most individual units have just one V30 measurement andthus no deviation. Averages and standard deviations are indicated.

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References:Abbott, R. E., and J. N. Louie, 2000, Depth to bedrock using gravimetry in the Reno and Carson

City, Nevada area basins: Geophysics, 65, 340-350.Borcherdt, R.D., Wentworth, C.M., Janssen, A., Fumal, T. and Gibbs, J., 1991. Methodology for

predictive GIS mapping of special study zones for strong ground motion in the SanFrancisco bay region, CA in Proc. Fourth Int. Cont on Seismic Zonation, EarthquakeEngineering Research institute, Oakland, California, 545-552.

ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials (2003). D4428: Standard test methods forcrosshole seismic testing, Annual Book of ASTM Standards Vol. 04.08 Soil and Rock (I).

ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials (2003). D5778: Standard test method forperforming electronic friction cone and piezocone penetration testing of soils, AnnualBook of ASTM Standards Vol. 04.08 Soil and Rock (I).

Bell, J.W. and Bonham, H.F. Jr. (1987). Vista quadrangle geologic map, Map 4Hg, NevadaBureau of Mines and Geology, 1:24000 scale, 1 sheet.

Building Seismic Safety Council– BSSC (1998). 1997 Edition NEHRP RecommendedProvisions for Seismic Regulation for New Buildings, FEMA 302/303, developed for theFederal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, D,C.

Bonham, H.F. Jr. and Bingler, E.C. (1973). Reno folio geologic map, Nevada Bureau of Minesand Geology, Environmental Series, 1:24000 scale, 1 sheet.

Cashman, P.H. and Fontaine, S.A. (2000). Strain partitioning in the northern Walker Lane,western Nevada and northeastern California, Tectonophysics, 326, 111-130.

CDMG: California Division of Mines and Geology (various dates 1958-63). Geologic Atlas ofCalifornia, 1:200,000 scale.

Field, E.H. and the SCEC Phase III Working Group (2000). Accounting for site effects inprobabilistic seismic hazard analyses of southern California: Overview of the SCECPhase III Report, Bull. Seis. Soc. Amer., 90, no. 6B, S1-S31.

International Conference of Building officials- IBC (1997). Uniform Building Code, Whittier,California, 1411 pp.

Louie, J.N. (2001). Faster, better: shear-wave velocity to 100 meters depth from refractionmicrotremor arrays, Bull. Seis. Soc. Amer., 91, no. 2, 347-364.

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology- NBMG (1973). Reno folio soil map, Nevada Bureau ofMines and Geology Environmental Series, 1:24,000 scale, 1 sheet.

Luco, J. E. and R. J. Aspel, On the Green's function for a layered half-space. Part I. Bull. Seism.Soc. Am., 85, 909-929, 1983.

Scott, J. B., Clark, M., Rennie, T., Pancha, A., Park, H. and Louie, J. N. , 2003, A shallow shearvelocity transect across the Reno, Nevada area basin: submitted to Bull. Seismol. Soc.Amer., Oct. 7. (Available on line at www.seismo.unr.edu/hazsurv)

U.S Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service-– USDA-SCS (1978). Soil Survey ofWashoe County, Nevada, South Part, Sheet No. 23, (Vista Quadrangle), 1:24,000 scale,32 sheets.

U.S. Geological Survey (1982). Topographic map of the Reno, Nevada 7.5 minute quadrangle,U.S. Geological Survey, 1:24,000 scale, 1 sheet.

U.S. Geological Survey (1982). Topographic map of the Vista, Nevada 7.5 minute quadrangle,U.S. Geological Survey, 1:24,000 scale, 1 sheet.

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Wills, C.J., Petersen, M., Bryant, W.A., Reichle, M., Saucedo, G.J., Tan, S., Taylor, G., andTreiman, J. (2000). A site-conditions map for California based on geology and shear-wave velocity, Bull. Seis. Soc. Amer., 90, no. 6B, S187-S208.

FINAL REPORT AND DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS

All reports requested and required by the USGS will be submitted in a prompt and timelymanner and the results of the research will be published in a professional journal.

PROJECT PERSONNELThis study will be conducted by principal investigator John Louie, Associate Professor of

Seismology, at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Biographical Sketch of John N. LouieSeismological Laboratory 174, Mackay School of Mines

The University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557-0141(775) 784-4219; fax (775) 784-1833; [email protected]

Professional ExperienceAssociate Professor of Seismology, Seismological Laboratory and Department of Geological Sciences,

The University of Nevada, Reno; since January 1992. Responsibilities include undergraduate andgraduate instruction, supervision of M.S. and Ph.D. degree candidates, and conducting a researchprogram in seismology.

Assistant Professor of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania;Sept. 1987 to Jan. 1992. Responsibilities included undergraduate and graduate instruction,supervision of M.S. and Ph.D. degree candidates, and research in high-resolution seismology.

Recent Graduate Theses DirectedPh.D. Thesis in Geophysics by Robert E. Abbott on ``Geophysical constraints on seismic hazard and

tectonics in the western Basin and Range'' defended on 23 Aug. 2001.Ph.D. Thesis in Geophysics by Abu M. Asad on ``Linearized and nonlinear travel time tomography for

upper crustal velocity structure of the western Great Basin'' defended on 23 Jan. 1998.M.S. Thesis in Hydrogeology by Ken Mela on ``Interpretation of stochastic hydrogeologic properties

from seismic data'' defended on 14 Nov. 1997.Ph.D. Thesis in Geophysics by Sergio Chavez-Perez on ``Enhanced imaging of fault zones in southern

California from seismic reflection studies'' defended on 4 Aug. 1997.M.S. Thesis in Geophysics by Zakir Kanbur on ``Seismic reflection study of Upheaval Dome,

Canyonlands National Park, Utah'' defended on 17 July 1997.Ph.D. Thesis in Geophysics by Sathish K. Pullammanappallil on ``Nonlinear optimization to estimate

velocities and image reflectors from multi-offset seismic data'' defended on 14 Nov. 1994.M.S. Thesis in Geophysics by William Honjas on ``Results of post- and pre-stack migrations imaging the

Hosgri Fault, offshore Santa Maria Basin, CA'' defended on 1 April 1993.Selected Recent Sponsored ResearchImproving southern California seismic hazard models with a 45-km shear-velocity profile along the San

Gabriel River, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey 2/15/2003 - 2/14/2004 for $52,000between 2 PIs.

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3-D Evaluation of Ground-Shaking Potential in the Las Vegas Basin, sponsored by the Dept. ofEnergy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 5/1/2002 - 4/30/2004 for $285,000 between 2PIs.

Assembly of a crustal seismic velocity database for the Western Great Basin, sponsored by the US Dept.of Energy/Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy 4/02-9/04 for $219,417.

Evolution of the Sierra Nevada - Basin and Range boundary — tephrochronologic and gravity constraintson the record in Neogene basin deposits, sponsored by the National Science Foundation 6/00-5/02for $55,182 between 3 PIs.

Geophysical test of low-angle dip on the seismogenic Dixie Valley fault, Nevada, sponsored by theNational Science Foundation 9/97-8/99 for $91,313 between 3 PIs.

Graduate EducationCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. Degrees: Ph.D. Geophysics, June, 1987; M.S.Geophysics, June, 1983.

Relevant PublicationsJ. B. Scott, M. Clark, T. Rennie, A. Pancha, H. Park and J. N. Louie, 2003, A shallow shear-velocity

transect across the Reno, Nevada area basin: submitted to Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., Oct. 7.(Available on line at www.seismo.unr.edu/hazsurv)

R. E. Abbott, J. N. Louie, S. J. Caskey, and S. Pullammanappallil, 2001, Geophysical confirmation oflow-angle normal slip on the historically active Dixie Valley fault, Nevada: Jour. Geophys. Res.,106, 4169-4181.

J. N. Louie, 2001, Faster, better: shear-wave velocity to 100 meters depth from refraction microtremorarrays: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 91, no. 2 (April), 347-364.

A. M. Asad, S. K. Pullammanappallil, A. Anooshehpoor, and J. N. Louie, 1999, Inversion of traveltimedata for earthquake locations and three-dimensional velocity structure in the Eureka Valley area,eastern California: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 89, 796-810.

Ken Mela and John N. Louie, 2001, Correlation length and fractal dimension interpretation from seismicdata using variograms and power spectra: Geophysics, 66, 1372-1378.

Other Important PublicationsJ. N. Louie, W. Thelen, S. B. Smith, J. B. Scott, M. Clark, 2004, The northern Walker Lane refraction

experiment: Pn arrivals and the northern Sierra Nevada root: submitted to Tectonophysics, July 22003, revised Dec. 14, 2003. (Available on line at www.seismo.unr.edu/geothermal/walker.pdf)

J. N. Louie, S. Chavez-Perez, S. Henrys, and S. Bannister, 2002, Multimode migration of scattered andconverted waves for the structure of the Hikurangi slab interface, New Zealand: Tectonophysics,355 (1-4), 227-246.

R. E. Abbott and J. N. Louie, 2000, Depth to bedrock using gravimetry in the Reno and Carson City,Nevada area basins: Geophysics, 65, 340-350.

S. Chavez-Perez and J. N. Louie, 1998, Crustal imaging in southern California using earthquakesequences: Tectonophysics, 286 (March 15), 223-236.

S. Chavez-Perez, J. N. Louie, and S. K. Pullammanappallil, 1998, Seismic depth imaging of normalfaulting in the southern Death Valley basin: Geophysics, 63, 223-230.

Current Support and Pending Applications — John N. LouieCurrent:Dept. of Energy/Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy: Assembly of a crustal seismic velocity

database for the western Great Basin, $219,417, 4/1/2002–9/30/2004, Louie (1.5 summermonths).

Dept. of Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: 3-D evaluation of ground-shaking potential inthe Las Vegas basin, $285,000, 5/1/2002–9/30/2004, Anderson, Louie (2.5 summer months).

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Dept. of Energy/HRC/NVOO: Seismic monitoring of Yucca Mountain: Evaluation of kappa effectssubtask, $280,000, 10/1/2002–9/30/2004, Brune, Anderson, Su, Biasi, Smith, Louie (0.5 summermonth/year).

Pending:SCEC/NSF: Anisotropy of TriNet microtremor in the Los Angeles basin, Green’s function estimation,

and deep-basin shear velocity, $35,155, 2/1/2004–1/31/2005, Louie (0.25 summer month),Anderson.

NSF-CMS: NEESR-II: Seismic stability investigation of rockery walls, $447,170, 7/1/2004–6/30/2007,Siddharthan, Elfass, Fricke, Louie (0.3 month total), Norris.

Institutional Qualifications– UNRAs one of the statewide research agencies of the University of Nevada, the Seismological Laboratory is

headed by a Director (J. Anderson) who reports to the Dean of Science. The Lab's current research staff consists often professional seismologists. Other professionals include a Research and Design Engineer. Technical staffmembers include two seismographic technicians, one record analyst, 2.0 FTE of computer support personnel, andfive graduate research assistants. The Seismological Laboratory operates the Western Great Basin Seismic Network(USGS and ANSS Funding; digital upgrades provided by the W.M. Keck Foundation), the Yucca Mountain DigitalSeismic Network (DOE-HRC Funding). These networks now include more than three dozen state-of-the-art high-dynamic-range real-time digital stations. Twenty-four ANSS strong-motion stations have been established in theReno, Carson, and Las Vegas urban areas. Earthquake data are now manipulated using the Antelope and CSSdatabase systems developed by BRTT, allowing us to interchange both real-time and archived catalog andseismogram data with the CISN, Oregon, Arizona, and Utah seismic network through data centers at Caltech, MenloPark, Berkeley, San Diego, and Salt Lake City. Much of the high-dynamic-range digital station data is archived inreal time at the IRIS Data Management Center.

Computer hardware consists of four Sun servers and twenty Sun workstations, ten Pentium II-IV and AMDAthlon UNIX workstations, and numerous PCs and Macintoshes. These processors are used mainly for researchapplications and provide a basis for analysis of the accumulating network data base. One of the servers hosts theLab's web site at www.seismo.unr.edu, which at 30,000-80,000 hits per week is one of the University's most popularpublic outreach programs. Seismic reflection data sets are processed both with John Louie's ``Resource Geology''UNIX system for research, and with the industry-standard Halliburton ProMAX system. In partnership with theNevada Applied Research Initiative, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and Optim LLC, the Seismo Labestablished the CCoG facility in 2002, a 30-CPU Beowulf parallel processor. CCoG is primarily dedicated toseismogram inversion and modeling.

Additional equipment is available for field work and special investigations. The Dept. of Energy funded anew crustal seismic surveying facility in the Lab, of 20 Reftek RT-125 "Texan" single-channel vertical recordersand auxiliary equipment. The W. M. Keck Foundation donated to the Mackay School of Mines (of which theSeismological Lab is a part) a 48-channel, Pentium-based Bison Galileo-21 reflection-refraction recording system,with 700 m cables for 8-Hz refraction geophones; and a high-resolution 210 m segmented roll-along cable with 48groups of six 100-Hz geophones each. The School maintains as well a Lacoste and Romberg Model G gravimeterwith 0.04 mGal demonstrated precision, a Trimble GeoXT handheld geodetic GPS, and three Trimble 4000SSi,geodetic GPS receivers. The School also uses field magnetometers and EM gear donated by the mining industry.

The University is wired for 100 Mbps full-duplex ethernet, with high-speed isolated connections availableto all servers. All buildings on campus connect via a 100 Mbps campus fiber network, which has a fiber connectionat 155 Mbps to the nearest CALREN/vBNS/Abilene gigaPoP at U.C. Davis, and a 655 Mbps connection to SaltLake City, Las Vegas, and CALREN at UCSD in southern California.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The project is projected to last two years. PI Dr. John Louie will be supervising ReMi data collection andreduction. The PI will be responsible for the completion of the project and submittal of required reports.

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Coordinating UNR ANSS Budget

The UNR portion of this collaborative project includes an equipment budget item thatwill improve UNR’s abilities to assess the site conditions below ANSS stations as sites areselected and installed. The UNR budget proposed here will cover most of the cost of the firstitem below. The Nevada Seismological Lab is also seeking funding for the following itemsdirectly through the ANSS program:

1) Upgrade 20 UNR Reftek RT-125 “Texans” to higher-capacity RT-125A design withfaster downloading ability. These instruments are used now for Vs30-Vs200 measurements withsurface waves (here proposed to NEHRP for all NV ANSS stations). With upgraded Texans, wecan measure more sites with the same effort. $25,000

2) Replace aged UNR 48-channel Bison Galileo-21 multichannel recorder with a modernsystem. This system is used for high-resolution shallow reflection profiling of active faults, andshallow P-velocity tomography to characterize soils near ANSS sites. Price range is a result ofability to use a new type of inexpensive recorder system in a configuration not yet well tested(two 24-channel DAQ-Links), or a more expensive system of proven design (one 48-channelGeometrics StrataView). The replacement will maintain UNR’s shallow reflection andrefraction capabilities. $25,000 - $50,000

Letter of Support from Bill Stephenson, USGS(This letter was solicited explicitly for another proposal to NEHRP-SC, but it applies to this proposal as well- JL)

Subject: paragraph for proposalTo: [email protected]: <OFC6C4102A.CF60247D-ON87256E89.00787AB5-87256E89.007AE9C5@cr.usgs.gov>From: "William J Stephenson" <[email protected]>Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 16:24:28 -0600

Hi John,Following up on our discussion at NEES/IRIS/USGS Workshop last week, I consider shear-wave velocityestimations to depths greater that 30 m as an important next-step in our fundamental understanding of site responseand earthquake ground motion. To this end, I think your proposed investigation to determine shear-velocities to100+m depth at TriNet stations would be of great value because of the critical knowledge potentially obtained in thishigh-hazard region. As we know, shear-velocity information is too expensive to obtain at many locations bydrilling, therefore surface methods such as yours are important for obtaining a large robust database of shearvelocity.

best regards,

Bill Stephenson

----------------------William StephensonResearch GeophysicistU.S. Geological SurveyBox 25046, MS 966Denver, CO 80225303-273-8573 phone303-273-8600 fax

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From [email protected] Tue May 4 18:56:19 2004Message-Id: <[email protected]>Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 18:53:55 -0700To: [email protected]: Craig dePolo <[email protected]>Subject: Proposal Endorsement

Dr. Louie,

I strongly endorse your proposal to develop shear-wave velocities for the Reno-Carson City urban corridor. Wecurrently use grouped units of geology to gain estimates for velocities, but too few measurements make this processhighly uncertain, both in the grouping of geologic units together and in the calibration of velocities for the differentgroups. Existing measurements and those your research group has generated make it clear that we need a localcalibration. This is especially true in local volcanic units where a handful of measurements indicate possible lowervelocities than those applied in California, but we have an insignificant database. New measurements will help usunderstand local shallow velocities better for scenario maps and the local community velocity database I sense weare moving towards. Please let me know if I can be of assistance, and keep us apprised of your progress.

Sincerely,

Craig M. dePoloResearch GeologistNevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

proposal information summarycrack.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/proposals/usgs/renoprop.pdf ·...

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