Ground motion characteristics of the November 1995 Aqaba earthquake

The paper documents the main characteristics of the seismic activity in Jordanʹs southern port city of Aqaba associated with the earthquake swarm in November 1995. A review is made of the seismicity of the Aqaba region. Damage due to the 22 November earthquake is reported and so are the measurements of this activity and its aftershocks. Durations and frequency contents are computed and analyzed. Power spectral densities are generated. The strong influence of magnitude on frequency content is noted and discussed. The amplification of soil to the rock motion is investigated both based on recorded data and using an analytical approach. The computer program SHAKE91 is used to study the soil response of the Aqaba profiles using a previous record on rock for a 1979 earthquake on the same fault. Correlation is found between recorded data and the theoretical model for soil amplification. Recommendations are made for designers including design response spectra for two soil profiles in Aqaba.