Rupture directivity effect on strong ground motion during the 12 May 2008 M_(W)7.9 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 MW7.9 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.