PEER leads Global Ground Motion Prediction Equations development for GEM

PEER has been selected to lead the Global Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPE) Program for Global Earthquake Model (GEM) initiative. This two-year program will build on PEER’s expertise gained during the NGA West, NGA West 2 and NGA East programs.

For the Global GMPE program, PEER has gathered a distinguished international team of 27 experts who will use a unified, transparent and collaborative approach to select a harmonized suite of GMPEs that can be used at the global, regional and national levels. Based on a systematic and consistent set of evaluation criteria, existing GMPEs for each major tectonic environment will be screened and selected by various working groups. The selected GMPEs will provide a consistent platform for the ground motion component of the GEM hazard model(s).

PEER will disseminate its progress and results as they become available. For more information, visit the PEER Global GMPE program website.

What are GMPEs?

Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs), or “attenuation” relationships, provide a means of predicting the level of ground shaking and its associated uncertainty at any given site or location, based on an earthquake magnitude, source-to-site distance, local soil conditions, fault mechanism, and other parameters. GMPEs are used to estimate ground motions for use in both deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analyses.

The results of such hazard analyses are used for a wide range of applications such as: (1) site-specific seismic analysis and design of structures and facilities; (2) development of regional seismic hazard maps for use in building codes, financial estimation, etc.; and (3) social and financial loss estimation. Today, the most common Intensity Measures (IMs) used in GMPEs are peak ground motion values (e.g., peak ground acceleration, PGA; and peak ground velocity, PGV), and elastic response for various spectral ordinates.

What is GEM?

PEER has been funded to coordinate the Global GMPEs hazard component task as part of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) initiative. GEM aims “to develop a web-based platform for risk assessment, which is based on a state-of-the-art, dynamic and open model for the assessment of seismic risk worldwide, catering for probabilistic assessment of earthquake occurrence, the resulting ground motions, and the impact these have on structures and populations in terms of damage, social and economic loss. When completed, the platform will allow for hazard and risk assessment, will include tools for analysis of socio-economic impact and will be powered by open source software.” More information at the GEM website.