Near‐Field Ground Motion of the 2002 Denali Fault, Alaska, Earthquake Recorded at Pump Station 10

Abstract

A free‐field recording of the Denali fault earthquake was obtained by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company 3 km from the surface rupture of the Denali fault. The instrument, part of the monitoring and control system for the trans‐Alaska pipeline, was located at Pump Station 10, approximately 85 km east of the epicenter. After correction for the measured instrument response, we recover a seismogram that includes a permanent displacement of 3.0 m. The recorded ground motion has relatively low peak acceleration (0.36 g) and very high peak velocity (180 cm/s). Nonlinear soil response may have reduced the peak acceleration to this 0.36 g value. Accelerations in excess of 0.1 g lasted for 10 s, with the most intense motion occurring during a 1.5‐s interval when the rupture passed the site. The low acceleration and high velocity observed near the fault in this earthquake agree with observations from other recent large‐magnitude earthquakes.