Spatial distribution of high frequency spectral decay factor kappa (κ) for Delhi, India

The recorded strong motion data in the Delhi region provide an excellent opportunity to study high-frequency decay parameter, kappa (κ) for the National Capital (Delhi) region and to further understand its implications to study the site effects characterized by different stations within the vicinity of the study region. The kappa values are estimated at 30 locations from 99 accelerograms of 19 earthquakes recorded in the Delhi region and are found to vary from place to place depending upon the controlling parameters, primarily the site characterization. The estimated average values of ‘κ’ lie in the range 0.0118–0.0537 s for the various locations of the region depending upon the source, path, and site characteristics of earthquakes considered in the present study. The distance dependence is found insignificant, while there is a scatter in the variation of κ values with that of magnitude which indicates that κ is more related to the site characteristic for the entire Delhi region which in turn reveals the fact of the basic criterion of the κ parameter. To affirm the total attenuation on the instruments, the site effects demonstrate the behavior of amplification to the geological exposure. It has been found that the various sites under consideration for the study area amplify between 0.6 and 7.0 Hz predominant frequency ( fpeak) and agree with the geological arrangements of the region. Based on the present study, the most vulnerable areas are the northeastern region of Delhi which lies in proximity to the food plains of Yamuna river and alluvial deposits of younger origins of the foreland basin along with the southwestern part of Delhi capital which is comprised of the water-saturated alluvial deposits. The estimated ‘κ’ values are found to be correlated with those of the estimated site amplification and are useful in strong ground motions simulation for the proper evaluation of seismic hazard to build a seismic risk resilient society.