Rupture directivity effect on strong ground motion during the 12 May 2008 M_W7.9 Wenchuan earthquake

We focus here on the rupture directivity effect on the spatial distribution and attenuation characteristics of near-field ground motions during the 2008 M_W7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. We examine the difference between the observed ground motions in and opposite the rupture directions and compare them with Next Generation Attenuation-West2 (NGA-West2) ground motion prediction models. The isochrone directivity predictor is used to quantify the band-limited nature of the rupture directivity effect on strong ground motion. Our results show that the observed peak ground velocity (PGV) and spectral accelerations of periods of 1.0 s and longer are significantly amplified in the rupture direction, but de-amplified in the opposite direction affected by rupture directivity effect of this event. In contrast, the effect of rupture directivity on the observed peak ground acceleration (PGA) and periods of shorter than 1.0 s are relatively weak. The rupture directivity of this event shows clear period dependent and band limited characteristics with the strongest effect occurring around the period of 7.5 s.