Recent experience demonstrates that waterfront structures are vulnerable to earthquake damage. The poor seismic performance of these facilities has been primarily due to liquefaction of backfill and/or foundation soils and the lack of seismic design standards for waterfront structures. The seismic performance of waterfront structures is a key issue in the evaluation of the unimpeded operations of the port system and affiliated facilities following earthquakes. The widespread economic consequences of earthquake-induced damage to waterfront structures and required serviceability of port components after earthquakes highlight the need for improved performance-based design methods. The weak foundation soils and high water tables that are common at ports result in a high vulnerability to seismically-induced ground failures and corresponding damage to adjacent structures. Liquefaction of backfill and foundation soils next to waterfront structures contributes to an increase in active lateral earth pressures against walls, loss of stability of rock dike, excessive ground settlements, and lateral soil movements. Current pseudostatic methods are not well suited to account for the influence of excess pore pressure generation as well as amplification of acceleration. In order to limit earthquake-induced deformations of waterfront structures, various ground treatment strategies have been used to mitigate liquefaction hazards at numerous ports. However, very few guidelines exist for specifying the extent of remedial soil treatment required to insure the serviceability of the waterfront components after a design-level earthquake. This research has investigated the seismic response of waterfront structures, specifically concrete caissons and pile-supported wharves, during past earthquakes. A numerical model was validated by comparing the computed response to field performance. A series of parametric studies were conducted for waterfront structures in improved soils. The effectiveness of soil improvement in controlling permanent seismically-induced deformations of the waterfront structures is evaluated as functions of wall geometry, the density of backfill soils, the stiffness of piles, the extent of the improved soil, and the characteristics of the strong ground motions. The results were synthesized into simplified, practice-oriented design charts for deformation-based analysis, and preliminary guidelines for estimating the extent of ground treatment that is required given allowable deformation limits for the caissons and pile-supported systems. / Graduation date: 1999

Graduation date: 2001

Earthquake faults interact with each other in many different ways and hence earthquakes cannot be treated as individual independent events. Although earthquake interactions generally lead to a complex evolution of the crustal stress field, it does not necessarily mean that the earthquake occurrence becomes random and completely unpredictable. In particular, the interplay between earthquakes can rather explain the occurrence of pronounced characteristics such as periods of accelerated and depressed seismicity (seismic quiescence) as well as spatiotemporal earthquake clustering (swarms and aftershock sequences). Ignoring the time-dependence of the process by looking at time-averaged values – as largely done in standard procedures of seismic hazard assessment – can thus lead to erroneous estimations not only of the activity level of future earthquakes but also of their spatial distribution. Therefore, it exists an urgent need for applicable time-dependent models. In my work, I aimed at better understanding and characterization of the earthquake interactions in order to improve seismic hazard estimations. For this purpose, I studied seismicity patterns on spatial scales ranging from hydraulic fracture experiments (meter to kilometer) to fault system size (hundreds of kilometers), while the temporal scale of interest varied from the immediate aftershock activity (minutes to months) to seismic cycles (tens to thousands of years). My studies revealed a number of new characteristics of fluid-induced and stress-triggered earthquake clustering as well as precursory phenomena in earthquake cycles. Data analysis of earthquake and deformation data were accompanied by statistical and physics-based model simulations which allow a better understanding of the role of structural heterogeneities, stress changes, afterslip and fluid flow. Finally, new strategies and methods have been developed and tested which help to improve seismic hazard estimations by taking the time-dependence of the earthquake process appropriately into account. / Erdbeben interagieren in vielfältiger Weise miteinander, weshalb sie nicht als einzelne, unabhängige Ereignisse behandelt werden können. Obwohl diese Erdbebenwechselwirkungen in der Regel zu einer komplexen Entwicklung des Spannungsfelds führen, bedeutet dies nicht zwangsläufig, dass Erdbeben rein zufällig und völlig unberechenbar auftreten. Insbesondere kann das Zusammenspiel zwischen Erdbeben zu ausgeprägten Charakteristiken wie Phasen beschleunigter Aktivität, seismischer Ruhe sowie raumzeitlichen Erdbebenanhäufungen (Schwärme und Nachbebensequenzen) führen. Die Vernachlässigung der Zeitabhängigkeit des Erdbebenprozesses kann somit zu fehlerhaften Einschätzungen nicht nur des zukünftigen Aktivitätsniveaus, sondern auch der räumlichen Verteilung führen. Daher besteht ein dringender Bedarf an geeigneten zeitabhängigen Seismizitätsmodellen. Meine Arbeit zielt auf ein verbessertes Verständnis und Charakterisierung der Interaktionen von Erdbeben ab, um Abschätzungen der Erdbebengefährdung zu verbessern. Zu diesem Zweck untersuche ich Seismizitätsmuster auf den räumlichen Skalen von hydraulisch induzierten Öffnungsbrüchen (Meter bis Kilometer) bis zu Verwerfungssystemen (Hunderte von Kilometern), während die zeitlichen Skalen von Nachbebenaktivität (Minuten bis Monate) bis zu seismischen Zyklen (bis zu mehrere tausendend Jahre) reichen. Meine Studien ergeben eine Reihe neuer Merkmale von Fluid- und Spannungs-induzierten Erdbeben. Ergänzend zur reinen Datenanalyse der Erdbeben- und Deformationsdaten liefern statistische und Physik-basierte Modellsimulationen ein besseres Verständnis der Rolle von strukturellen Heterogenitäten, Spannungsänderungen und postseismischen Prozessen. Schließlich konnten neue Strategien und Methoden entwickelt und getestet werden, mit denen die Erdbebengefährdung besser eingeschätzt werden kann, indem die Zeitabhängigkeit des Erdbebens Prozess angemessen berücksichtigt wird.

Jishin (earthquake) is a musical composition written for full orchestra, based on a twelve-tone row. The twelve-tone row is structured such that it contains only two musical intervals (perfect 5 th , major 3 rd ). Due to the nature of the row, various transpositions of the row can be used to form what seems to be a never ending cycle of pitches. Throughout the composition the material of the row is fragmented and used motivically to develop larger structures within the whole of the piece. Like an earthquake, Jishin strives to create an enormous amount of tension and aggressive energy. At the end, the moment of strongest tension, the original row is set against itself in retrograde, metaphorically representing the friction caused by plate tectonics.

Background: In 2010, a massive earthquake left the capitol Port-au-Prince in ruins and destroyed infrastructure providing electricity, piped clean water, and waste removal to the region. Water, sanitation, and hygiene intervention programs attempt to reduce the burden of water-related disease in earthquake-affected regions. However, there are few evaluations of these programs, especially following natural disasters. Methods: Data provided by Samaritan’s Purse Canada’s WASH program were examined. The data set included a household (N=1198) and a latrine (N=167) survey that recorded household use of laundry pads, bath houses, hand-pumped drilled wells, health and hygiene education sessions, and latrines as well as demographic data. Data analysis was conducted in IBM SPSS Version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were computed, and statistical relationships were analyzed for 1.) Health and hygiene education session attendance and program outcomes and 2.) Household diarrheal disease and program interventions Results:This study found that households attending any of four health and hygiene sessions were significantly more likely to use program-provided bath houses and hand-pumped wells (p Discussion: This study concluded that health and hygiene session attendance is positively associated with the utilization of program interventions. However, further improvements in data collection methodology are needed to fully understand the effects of this multi-intervention WASH program on target communities.

A strategy for relocating earthquakes in a catalog is presented. The strategy is based on the argument that the distribution of the earthquake events in a catalog is reasonable a priori information for earthquake relocation in that region. This argument can be implemented using the method of maximum likelihood for arrival time data inversion, where the a priori probability distribution of the event locations is defined as the sum of the probability densities of all events in the catalog. This a priori distribution is then added to the standard misfit criterion in earthquake location to form the likelihood function. The probability density of an event in the catalog is described by a Gaussian probability density. The a priori probability distribution is, therefore, defined as the normalized sum of the Gaussian probability densities of all events in the catalog, excluding the event being relocated. For a linear problem, the likelihood function can be approximated by the joint probability density of the a priori distribution and the distribution of an unconstrained location due to the misfit alone. After relocating the events according to the maximum of the likelihood function, a modified distribution of events is generated. This distribution should be more densely clustered than before in general since the events are moved towards the maximum of the posterior distribution. The a priori distribution is updated and the process is iterated. The strategy is applied to the aftershock sequence in southwest Iceland after a pair of earthquakes on 29th May 2008. The relocated events reveal the fault systems in that area. Three synthetic data sets are used to test the general behaviour of the strategy. It is observed that the synthetic data give significantly different behaviour from the real data.

This paper quantifies and analyzes the economic impact of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami on the Japanese electricity industry using alternative event study methodology. The data set includes daily stock prices of 11 publicly traded electricity companies. This paper investigates the changes in systematic risk, abnormal returns (ARs), and cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) before and after the natural disaster. In addition, I compare the movement of the stock price in the electricity industry with other indices in Japan to investigate the aggregate level impact on the Japanese economy. By examining the economic impact of the earthquake, this paper provides a visual and a numerical representation of the change in investors’ views on the electricity industry. The results showed no statistically significant changes in ARs in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. On the other hand, statistically significant changes in CARs were found for all 11 electricity companies over an extended period following the disaster. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase in systematic risk, especially in the nuclear-committed firms. Although the electricity industry was negatively affected, daily stock prices and CARs show that other industries were not as severely affected. These results provide insight to the global economic and the political implication of the disaster.

Background: In 2010, a massive earthquake left the capitol Port-au-Prince in ruins and destroyed infrastructure providing electricity, piped clean water, and waste removal to the region. Water, sanitation, and hygiene intervention programs attempt to reduce the burden of water-related disease in earthquake-affected regions. However, there are few evaluations of these programs, especially following natural disasters. Methods: Data provided by Samaritan’s Purse Canada’s WASH program were examined. The data set included a household (N=1198) and a latrine (N=167) survey that recorded household use of laundry pads, bath houses, hand-pumped drilled wells, health and hygiene education sessions, and latrines as well as demographic data. Data analysis was conducted in IBM SPSS Version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were computed, and statistical relationships were analyzed for 1.) Health and hygiene education session attendance and program outcomes and 2.) Household diarrheal disease and program interventions Results: This study found that households attending any of four health and hygiene sessions were significantly more likely to use program-provided bath houses and hand-pumped wells (p<0.05). Attendance was also significantly associated with increased knowledge of diarrheal disease prevention and hand washing technique. Households using the program-provided hand pump reported lower rates of diarrhea in children under five years old. Discussion: This study concluded that health and hygiene session attendance is positively associated with the utilization of program interventions. However, further improvements in data collection methodology are needed to fully understand the effects of this multi-intervention WASH program on target communities.

No description available.

One of mankind’s most important needs is the need for shelter. All around the world people live in lack of this basic need. Colombia is a South American country heavily burdened by civil war for many years. This has led to that many people have moved to the larger cities with large slum areas and bad living conditions. This thesis is aiming to give a solution to the problem with bad housing and it is performed in cooperation with Ankarstiftelsen. Ankarstiftelsen is a Swedish charity organisation that works with the suffering people in various places in Colombia. This thesis examines the possibility to build a house in a sandwich technique with a core of rigid plastic foam and a skin material of fibre reinforced plastic. The construction should be as easy as possible to manufacture, and the construction is also intended to be self carrying. The final proposition is to build the house using polyurethane rigid foam as the core, and a glass fibre reinforced polyester as the skin. This combination combines good mechanical behaviour with a relatively low price. Tests have been performed to evaluate the constructions ability to withstand some basic loads, with the help of computer aided engineering. The program that has been used to create a model is ProEngineer, and the application ProMechanica has been used to perform the analysis. The loads that have been tested are: gravity loads, wind loads, maintenance loads and earthquake loads.  Colombia is located in the so called Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes are a bitter reality.  The Colombian building code is, as a result of this, much focused on the issue of earthquake safety. The Colombian building code has been used in order to create reliable earthquake testing models. The authors come to the conclusion that the house is possible to build with the given data. However, further investigations regarding manufacturing techniques and practical tests have to be made before the house can be built in reality.