BBP FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the SCEC Broadband Platform:

* What it the most recent version of the Broadband Platform?"

• • The most recent version of the Broadband Platform software is posted on a SCEC Broadband Platform wiki page. A new release of the platform is expected to be released before the 2013 SCEC annual meeting, scheduled for 9 September 2013.

* Which version of the Broadband Platform should I use?"

• • Several previous versions of the broadband platform have been released by SCEC. New versions of the platform incorporate software updates, improvements, and bug fixes. For this reason, we recommend all new users should use the most recent version of the platform, as posted on the Broadband Platform wiki page. We recommend users migrate their work to the most recent version of the broadband platform at the first opportunity. Previous versions of the platform are still available primarily to support reproducibility of earlier results.

* How can I simulate earthquakes in California and Japan?"

• • The newest Broadband Platform distribution supports simulations for several 1D velocity models. These 1D velocity models were defined to represent structure in parts of California including Los Angeles Basin, Mojave Desert, Central California Coast, and Western Japan. Broadband Platform users can select a region, and simulate earthquakes in that region for one or more of the ground motion modeling software installed in the platform.

* How can I simulate earthquakes outside California?

• • If users want to simulate an earthquake outside of California or Japan, they must select a velocity profile for their region of interest. In future releases of the broadband platform, it may be possible for the user to define a 1D velocity profile, generate Greens Functions for that profile, and then simulate earthquakes using those Greens Functions. Currently, the only platform does not include software to generate new Greens functions, for most simulation methods (EXSIM is an exception to this rule). So, to use most methods, users should examine the 1D velocity profiles for each of the supported 1D models currently supported, and select the velocity model most like their region of interest. Then, then can run simulations using existing Greens functions. Given a 1D velocity model, simulations can be run with faults can be embedded within this 1D region, and stations can be distributed around the fault, and the ground motion simulations results can be representative of other regions.