The 2023 New Zealand Ground-Motion Database

Abstract

This article summarizes the development of the 2023 New Zealand ground-motion database (NZGMDB). A preceding version was formally used as the central ground-motion database in the ground-motion characterization modeling for the 2022 New Zealand (NZ) National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) revision. The database contains ground motions for events with a moment magnitude greater than ∼3.0 from the years 2000 to the end of 2022. Several challenges associated with NZ earthquake source metadata are explained, including determination of earthquake location, magnitude, tectonic classification, and finite-fault geometry, among others. The site table leverages the site database developed as a part of the 2022 NZ NSHM revision, and several definitions of source-to-site distance are computed for the propagation path table. The ground-motion quality classification was initially assessed using a neural network. Subsequent waveform quality verification was conducted and additional quality criteria were enforced to ensure a sufficiently high-quality database. Standard processing techniques were applied to the ground motions before intensity measure (IM) calculation. IMs in the database include peak ground acceleration, 5%-damped pseudoacceleration response spectra, smoothed Fourier amplitude spectra, and other cumulative and duration-related metrics. The NZGMDB is publicly available and routinely updated as new and higher quality data become available.