Ground-motion simulation for the 2017 Mw7.3 Ezgeleh earthquake in Iran by using the Empirical Green's Function Method

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the strong ground motion generation of destructive earthquake in Kermanshah with the moment magnitude of 7.3 using Empirical Green’s function (EGF) method. To simulate the ground-motion can be helpful for understanding seismic hazard and reduce fatalities due to lack of real ground motion. We collected the seismograms recorded at seven strong motion stations with good quality to estimate the source parameters at frequencies between 0.1 and 10.0 Hz. By minimizing the root-mean-square (rms) errors to obtain the best source parameters for the earthquake. The earthquake fault was divided into seven sub-faults along the strike and seven sub-faults along the slope. The asperity of 21×10.5 km was obtained. The rupture starting point has been located in the northern part of the strong motion seismic area. The coordinates of the rupture starting point indicate that the rupture propagation on the fault plan was unilateral from north to south. The simulated ground motions have a good correlation with observed records in both frequency and time domain. The results are in well agreement with the Iranian code of practice for seismic resistant design of buildings, however, the calculated design spectrum of Sarpol-e Zahab station is higher than the design spectrum of the Iranian code which suggest that the Iranian code may need to be re-evaluated for this area.