Seismic Response of the San Francisco International Airport Airfield during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

Whereas seismic response analyses are commonly performed to evaluate the effects of deep soil sites on earthquake ground motions, relatively limited experience is available with the response of sites underlain by deep deposits of geologically young clays under strong earthquake shaking. This paper illustrates the use of nonlinear and equivalent-linear analysis techniques for evaluation of the seismic response of the San Francisco International Airport airfield, which is underlain by Young San Francisco Bay Mud and fill deposits. Site response analyses for rock motions representative of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake were able to simulate the recorded surface motions at the airport during the earthquake, and indicate that peak accelerations on the airfield were lower than at the recording station.