Integrated system for site-specific earthquake hazard assessment with geotechnical spatial grid information based on GIS

An integrated earthquake hazard assessment system with geotechnical spatial grid information was developed based on a geographic information system (GIS). The developed system, built, within the frame of GIS, consists of a database (DB) containing all available site information and processed data in the standard formats, and system software that performs various functions to manage and utilize the data in the DB. The system software is divided functionally into an input module, a geostatistical three-dimensional integration module, a real-time earthquake hazard assessment module, and an output or visualization module. A systematic framework for construction of a geotechnical spatial grid was developed to consider local site response characteristics for target areas. According to the framework, three interrelated assessment procedures were incorporated into the DB on a real-time basis: real-time seismic load determination, real-time liquefaction hazard estimation, and real-time structure fragility evaluation. The DB and these sub-modules of the system software were combined and integrated into a single system to provide a familiar and user-friendly working environment with a standard interface. In addition, the integrated system was imbedded into the Korea Integrated Seismic System server to be linked with real-time seismic accelerations, and a simulation of the system was specifically conducted at Incheon Port, Korea, using two actual earthquake events (the 2013 Baengnyeong and 2014 Taean earthquakes) and one virtual earthquake scenario. The simulation results were visualized as a geotechnical earthquake hazard map to verify the computer-aided real-time assessment framework at the times, when the three notable earthquake events occurred at the nearby Incheon Port.