Seismic design criteria are constantly being updated and improved upon by earth scientists, academics, and regulatory agencies. Ninyo & Moore’s participation in various international, federal, state, and regional agencies, as well as professional organizations, keeps our personnel informed regarding recent changes and updates in the area of seismic design.

We routinely evaluate seismic considerations for both new construction and seismic retrofit projects, including the evaluation and/or performance of the following:

• Fault Rupture
• Strong Ground Motion
• Liquefaction, including seismic settlement and lateral spreading
• Seismic-induced landsliding
• Tsunamis
• Seismic loading of retaining structures
• Peak horizontal ground accelerations
• Peak vertical ground accelerations
• Deterministic seismic hazard analysis (DSHA)
• Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA)
• Site-specific acceleration response spectra (ARS)
• Time-domain spectral matching of time histories

Our evaluation of site-specific seismic design parameters for new construction and seismic retrofit projects typically involves the generation of a general mapped design response spectrum in accordance with ASCE 7-16. Where site conditions or project requirements dictate, our evaluation includes the performance of both probabilistic ground motion analyses and deterministic ground motion analyses to evaluate the appropriate peak ground acceleration at that particular location, and to develop the appropriate site-specific design response spectrum for structures at the site.