Ground motion prediction equation for NW Himalaya and its surrounding region

An attenuation relationship, also known as a Ground Motion Prediction Equation (GMPE), has been developed for the Northwest Himalaya and its surrounding region. This GMPE utilizes strong motion data recorded by two networks: the National Center for Seismology Network and the strong motion network installed by Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee named PESMOS. For the development of this GMPE, 309 strong motion records from 86 earthquakes that occurred between 2005 and 2021 were considered. The selected earthquakes have magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 6.9. In this study, the average of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of two horizontal components was used to develop the new attenuation relationship. A multi-regression model was chosen for the analysis. The proposed attenuation relationship is. Log10 PGA = 1.889 + 0.3996 × M - 0.95736 log10 (HD + exp (0.4114 × M)) ± 0.3646 Where, PGA is peak horizontal acceleration in gal of strong ground motion, M is the magnitude, and HD is the hypocentral distance from the source. The standard error of the proposed relationship is 0.3646. This newly developed attenuation relationship holds significance for various applications, including site-specific studies, seismic hazard estimation, ground motion simulation, earthquake early warning (EEW), and engineering applications. It provides valuable insights into the behavior of ground motion in the Northwest Himalayan region, allowing for better preparedness and mitigation strategies against seismic hazards in the area. •A GMPE is developed for the NW Himalayas and surrounding regions by using the strong motion data from NCS and PESMOS network.•The usage of data in this paper is innovative as the data from the NCS network is included for the first time in GMPE analysis.•The developed GMPE will be useful for site-specific studies, seismic hazard estimation, and other engineering applications.