Development of a United States Community Shear Wave Velocity Profile Database

Abstract

We present the details of a multi-institutional effort to develop an open-access shear-wave velocity (VS) profile database (PDB), which will include a public repository for VS profile data in the United States. VS profiles are an essential resource for ground motion modeling and other applications. The minimum requirements for a site to be included in the database are in situ geophysical VS measurements and location metadata (geodetic coordinates and elevation). Other information is included as available, including geotechnical logs, penetration resistance, laboratory test data, ground water elevation, and P-wave velocity profiles. The project is currently at the stage of data collection (over 4500 VS profiles) and prototype data model development. The database will be presented as an online map-based interface with downloadable VS profile and metadata information. This paper serves as a progress report to the geotechnical and earthquake engineering communities, as we seek community engagement and support.