Directionality characteristics of horizontal response spectra from the 2022 Mw 6.9 Chihshang, Taiwan earthquake

Horizontal earthquake ground motion intensity, and specifically response spectral ordinates, vary with orientation. This phenomenon is usually referred to as ground motion directionality and can be separated into two aspects: the orientation where the maximum spectral response occurs and the variation of response spectral ordinates as the orientation moves away from the orientation of maximum spectral response. This work studies both aspects using the recent 2022 M w 6.9 Chihshang, Taiwan earthquake, which was recorded by a dense network of strong motion stations with various geological and topographical settings. The mean variation of response spectral ordinates with orientation is found to be slightly more significant than that of previous shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regimes. Moreover, the orientation of maximum spectral response is found to be close to the transverse orientation, which is perpendicular to the orientation at a given site that points to the earthquake epicenter, confirming prior observations made for strike-slip earthquakes. These results suggest that the location of a site relative to the seismic source could be used to modify the outputs of ground motion models to estimate spectral responses at specific horizontal orientations.