Sur les dernières décennies, progresse sur la compréhension de la sismicité de clustering dans le temps, taille et l'espace ont été chassés par deux approches parallèles. De l'on étudie la main sur la mécanique des failles dans un milieu élastique soutiennent pour la contrainte statique de déclenchement à dominent dans le champ proche, c'est à dire à une distance de moins de 10 longueur de faute. De l'autre part, les propriétés de champ moyen du déclenchement sont reproduits en utilisant des effets en cascade dans modèles de processus point. Dans cette étude, nous essayons de concilier ces approches en soulignant l'importance de la faille de style sur les propriétés moyennes de la sismicité. En commençant par l'étude du taux de sismicité déclenchée par la Ville Muzaffarabad, au Cachemire, 2005 Mw = 7.6, Ms = 7,7 tremblement de terre, qui apparaît comme supérieure à la moyenne dans l'analyse des séquences répliques dans la ceinture de collision Inde-Asie, nous décidons de la productivité évènement grève de glissement sont en moyenne 4 fois plus petit que la poussée des failles de productivité. En utilisant le catalogue sismique global, nous étendre ce résultat comme tous les paramètres de la loi d'Omori (P, K, α, N (t)) étant dépendant failles styles. Dans le K ETAS modèle solide, N et de faibles valeurs de α sont entraînés par branchement ratio élevé (n). Comme conséquences de la relative n haute - La valeur la poussée des événements, il prédit aussi une faible p - La valeur pour l'événement de la poussée que comparer à bordereau de grève et des manifestations normales de la PN> PS S> PT que nous observons. Dans l'état de taux et cadre de la friction cela implique un changement dans les habitudes hétérogénéité stress. Nous ne résolvent pas tout changement dans le taux robustes foreshocks, p ' - La valeur, alors que notre analyse nous permettra d'étendre B ˚ droit aths dans le temps, d'espace et mécanisme focal. Pour des failles inverses, l'ampleur différence et la distance entre le choc principal de la plus grande réplique sont un peu moins que pour les défauts de glissement de grève. La distribution des intervalles de temps entre mainshocks et leurs le plus grand répliques est conforme au droit d'Omori, mais avec un taux un peu plus rapide de la carie que pour les répliques en général. Ceci implique que la plus grande réplique est plus susceptible de survient plus tôt que plus tard dans une séquence donnée de répliques. Par ailleurs, cette constatation plaide en faveur allant au-delà du modèle de point de branchement, avec des implications pour les prévisions à court terme. Aussi nous résoudre la dépendance univoque de p - La valeur du droit à l'ampleur Omori choc principal pour la réplique dans les 10 jours après la survenance choc principal, cette dépendance étant perdus lors de l'utilisation des séquences en cascade complète. Nous trouvons ce seuil correspond également le temps à un changement dans les schémas de diffusion, tous ces changements se synchroniser avec l'apparition de la plus grande réplique. En conséquence, nos résultats convergent vers le rôle clé du secondaire répliques sur la mécanique de la taille, le temps et l'espace modèle de processus en cascade. / On the last decades, progresses on the understanding of clustering seismicity in time, size and space have been driven by two parallel approaches. From the one hand studies on the mechanics of faulting in an elastic medium argue for the static stress triggering to dominate in the near field, i.e within distance less than 10 fault length. From the other hand, mean field properties of the triggering are reproduced using cascading effects in point process models. In this study we try to reconcile these approaches by emphasizing the importance of faulting style on average properties of seismicity. Starting with the study of the seismicity rate triggered by the Muzaffarabad, Kashmir, 2005 Mw = 7.6, Ms = 7.7 earthquake, which appears as above the average when analysing the aftershocks sequences in the India-Asia collision belt, we resolve the strike slip event productivity to be on average 4 times smaller than the thrust faulting productivity. Using global earthquake catalog, we further extend this result as all the parameters of the Omori law (p, K, α, N (t)) being dependent on faulting styles. Within the ETAS model strong K, N and low α values are driven by high branching ratio (n). As consequences of the relative high n − value of the thrust events, it also predicts a lower p − value for thrust event as compare to strike slip and normal events as the pN > pS S > pT we observe. Within rate and state friction framework it implies a change in stress heterogeneity patterns. We do not resolve any robust changes in foreshocks rate, p′ − value, whereas our analysis allow us to extend B˚aths law in time, space and focal mechanism. For reverse faults, both the magnitude difference and the distance from the mainshock to the largest aftershock are somewhat less than for strike slip faults. The distribution of time intervals between mainshocks and their largest aftershocks is consistent with Omori's law but with a somewhat faster rate of decay than for aftershocks in general. This implies that the largest aftershock is more likely to occurs earlier than later in a given sequence of aftershocks. Moreover, this finding argues for going beyond the branching point model, with implications for short term forecasts. Also we resolve unambiguous dependency of p − value of Omori law to mainshock magnitude for the aftershock within 10 days after the mainshock occurrence, this dependency being lost when using complete cascade sequences. We find this time threshold also corresponds to a change in diffusion patterns, all these changes synchronize with the occurrence of the largest aftershock. Accordingly, our results converge toward the key role of the secondary aftershocks on the mechanics of size, time and space pattern of cascading processes.

The ability to predict the reduction in capacity of a structure after an earthquake is vital in the process of assessing a structure after a main-shock or an after-shock. Main-shocks are normally followed by a few aftershocks in a short period of time. Researchers in the past have focused for the most part on the effects of main-shocks on buildings. Very little research has been performed on the ability to predict the reduction in capacity of bridges in aftershocks. This thesis focuses on providing a way of assessing the reduction in capacity for main-shocks as compared to aftershocks and the effects and importance of both in a bridge. The reduction in capacity was defined using three different ratios: ultimate force, stiffness, and strain energy ratio. The ratios were computed relative to an undamaged state following both the main-shock scenario and the main-shock combined with aftershock scenario. The force, stiffness, and strain energy quantities were obtained from lateral pushover analyses along the two lateral bridge axes. Probabilistic demand models describing the loss in capacity were formulated by pairing intensity measures, based on real ground motions obtained from previous earthquakes, for the main-shock and aftershock with the capacity ratios, obtained from nonlinear dynamic time history analysis. Additionally, the reduction in capacity was conditioned on residual displacement and intensity measure in an attempt to discover the reduction in capacity ratio due to the contribution of residual displacement and therefore separate contributions from geometrical and material nonlinearities. This thesis demonstrates that the usage of strain energy ratio provides a definition of capacity that ultimately provides the best correlation between capacity and intensity measure.

Travel times from a refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic survey across the Coast Plutonic Complex and Stikine terrane of British Columbia were inverted to derive two dimensional P and S-wave seismic velocity models of the crust and uppermost mantle. A felsic upper crust and a felsic to intermediate middle crust are observed in both the batholith complex and the accreted Stikine island arc terrane. The P and S wave models demonstrate a high-velocity (P 7.0 km/s, S 3.8 km/s) layer in the lower crust beneath the youngest (late Cretaceous to Eocene) portion of the continental arc complex. In contrast, the lower crust under the Stikine terrane has lower velocities consistent with amphibolite or other hydrated mafic rocks. The Moho is at ~35 km depth under the Stikine terrane, deepens to ~38 km beneath the youngest portion of the arc, then shallows towards the coast. The high velocity zone under the younger portion of the Coast Plutonic Complex has a 1.81 Vp/Vs ratio and is interpreted to have a bulk composition of mafic garnet granulite. This garnet granulite and large volumes of granodiorite-dominated melt were created by arc dehydration melting of amphibolite (or hydrated gabbro) in the pre-existing lower crust Reverse time migration method was applied to image aftershocks recorded by a dense array deployed after the 2011 Virginia earthquake. Events as tiny as magnitude -2 were successfully imaged as point sources. The propagation of energy release as a function of time and space was observed for events larger than magnitude 2.5. Spatial resolution of the images was ~200 m, which synthetic data tests show was primarily limited by the temporal sampling rate. Improved temporal and spatial sampling could produce images with sharper resolution. / Ph. D.

During 2010 and 2011, major earthquakes caused widespread damage and the deaths of 185 people in the city of Christchurch. Damaged school buildings resulted in state intervention which required amendment of the Education Act of 1989, and the development of ‘site sharing agreements’ in undamaged schools to cater for the needs of students whose schools had closed. An effective plan was also developed for student assessment through establishing an earthquake impaired derived grade process. Previous research into traditional explanations of educational inequalities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and New Zealand were reviewed through various processes within three educational inputs: the student, the school and the state. Research into the impacts of urban natural disasters on education and education inequalities found literature on post disaster education systems but nothing could be found that included performance data. The impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes on educational inequalities and achievement were analysed over 2009-2012. The baseline year was 2009, the year before the first earthquake, while 2012 is seen as the recovery year as no schools closed due to seismic events and there was no state intervention into the education of the region. National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results levels 1-3 from thirty-four secondary schools in the greater Christchurch region were graphed and analysed. Regression analysis indicates; in 2009, educational inequalities existed with a strong positive relationship between a school’s decile rating and NCEA achievement. When schools were grouped into decile rankings (1-10) and their 2010 NCEA levels 1-3 results were compared with the previous year, the percentage of change indicates an overall lower NCEA achievement in 2010 across all deciles, but particularly in lower decile schools. By contrast, when 2011 NCEA results were compared with those of 2009, as a percentage of change, lower decile schools fared better. Non site sharing schools also achieved higher results than site sharing schools. State interventions, had however contributed towards student’s achieving national examinations and entry to university in 2011. When NCEA results for 2012 were compared to 2009 educational inequalities still exist, however in 2012 the positive relationship between decile rating and achievement is marginally weaker than in 2009. Human ethics approval was required to survey one Christchurch secondary school community of students (aged between 12 and 18), teachers and staff, parents and caregivers during October 2011. Participation was voluntary and without incentives, 154 completed questionnaires were received. The Canterbury earthquakes and aftershocks changed the lives of the research participants. This school community was displaced to another school due to the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011. Research results are grouped under four geographical perspectives; spatial impacts, socio-economic impacts, displacement, and health and wellbeing. Further research possibilities include researching the lag effects from the Canterbury earthquakes on school age children.

This thesis presents validation and application of advanced soil constitutive models in cases of seismic loading conditions. Firstly, results of three advanced soil constitutive models are compared with examples of shear stack experimental data for free field response in dry sand for shear and compression wave propagation. Higher harmonic generation in acceleration records, observed in experimental works, is shown to be possibly the result of soil nonlinearity and fast elastic unloading waves. This finding is shown to have high importance on structural response, real earthquake records and reliability of conventionally employed numerical tools. Finally, short study of free field response in saturated soil reveals similar findings on higher harmonic generation. Secondly, two advanced soil constitutive models are used, and their performance is assessed based on examples of experimental data on piles in dry sand in order to validate the ability of the constitutive models to simulate seismic soil-structure interaction. The validation includes various experimental configurations and input motions. The discussion on the results focuses on constitutive and numerical modelling aspects. Some improvements in the formulations of the models are suggested based on the detailed investigation. Finally, the application of one of the advanced soil constitutive models is shown in regard to temporary natural frequency wandering observed in structures subjected to earthquakes. Results show that pore pressure generated during seismic events causes changes in soil stiffness, thus affecting the natural frequency of the structure during and just after the seismic event. Parametric studies present how soil permeability, soil density, input motion or a type of structure may affect the structural natural frequency and time for its return to the initial value. In addition, a time history with an aftershock is analysed to investigate the difference in structural response during the earthquake and the aftershock.