Uncertainty Analysis of the Three Pagodas Fault-Source Geometry

Abstract:

Probabilistic seismic-hazard assessment generally relies on an earthquake catalog (to estimate future seismicity from the locations and rates of past earthquakes) and faults sources (to estimate future seismicity from the known paleoseismic history of surface rupture). The paleoseismic history of potentially active faults in Southeast Asia is addressed at few locations and spans only a few complete recurrence intervals; many faults remain unstudied. Even where the timing of a surface-rupturing earthquakes is known, the extent of rupture may not be well constrained. Therefore, subjective judgment of experts is often used to define the three-dimensional size of future ruptures; limited paleoseismic data can lead to large uncertainties in ground-motion hazard from fault sources due to the preferred models that underlie these judgments.

The 300-km-long, strike-slip Three Pagodas fault in western Thailand is possibly one of the most active faults in the country. The fault parallels the plate boundary and may be characterized by a slip rate high enough to result in measurable ground-motion at periods of interest for building design. The known paleoseismic history is limited and likely does not include the largest possible earthquake on the fault. This lack of knowledge begs the question what sizes of earthquakes are expected? Preferred rupture models constrain possible magnitude-frequency distributions, and alternative rupture models can result in different ground-motion hazard near the fault. This analysis includes alternative rupture models for the Three Pagodas fault, a first-level check against gross modeling assumptions to assure the source model is a reasonable reflection of observed data, and resulting ground-motion hazard for each alternative. Inadequate paleoseismic data is an important source of uncertainty that could be compensated for by considering alternative rupture models for poorly known seismic sources.