Arben Pitarka

Verified @llnl.gov

Seismologist, Atmospheric, Earth, and Energy Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

84

Scopus Publications

6387

Scholar Citations

35

Scholar h-index

65

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Regional Earthquake Ground Motion Simulations for Southern California With EQSIM: Insights From the 2008 Chino Hills, 2024 Highland Park, and 2021 Carson Earthquakes
    Chu‐Han (Clifford) Yen, Arben Pitarka, Houjun Tang, Rie Nakata, David McCallen, et al.
    Earthquake Spectra, 2026
    This study presents physics‐based, 3D simulations using the EQSIM framework for several earthquakes in the Los Angeles region. The primary objective was to assess the ability of deterministic physics‐based ground motion simulations to reproduce the observed motions from historical events. The selected events included the 5.4 2008 Chino Hills, the 4.4 2024 Highland Park, and the 4.3 2021 Carson events. The simulated motions were evaluated by comparing the recorded and simulated seismograms, as well as the Fourier amplitude spectra, across multiple seismic stations. The SCEC 3D velocity model, CVM‐S4.26.M01, was used to represent the regional geology, and ground motion simulations were carried out with a resolution of up to 5 Hz. The results indicate that the simulated motions captured the recorded motions up to approximately 4 Hz. While careful iterations regarding source parameters and corner frequencies were required, and, for the case of the Highland Park event, some of the near‐source stations had relatively low accuracy, the present study established a positive step toward the utilization of physics‐based simulations in practical applications. The computational efficiencies exhibited by EQSIM, especially on GPU clusters, further supported this assertion, as wall‐clock times of simulations involving more than 10 billion grid points were as low as minutes. This permits ensemble simulations for a considered scenario event so that modeling uncertainties (e.g., source and geology) can be bracketed.
  • Simulating broadband (0–3 Hz) ground motion for the 2020 Mw 5.7 Magna, Utah, earthquake using the Wasatch Front Community Velocity Model with stochastic velocity perturbations and topography
    Sean J Hutchings, Arben Pitarka, Keith D Koper
    Geophysical Journal International, 2026
    SUMMARY The Wasatch Front Community Velocity Model (WFCVM) is the most complete and detailed Earth model for the Wasatch Front region in north-central Utah (USA). Until recently, it had not been well evaluated with strong ground motion observations due to a lack of local earthquakes with magnitude M5+. The 2020 March 18 Mw 5.7 Magna, Utah, earthquake generated excellent strong ground motion data at dozens of stations along the Wasatch Front, with peak ground accelerations up to 0.54 g. Here, we use the forward finite-difference code SW4 to simulate waveforms of the 2020 Magna mainshock in the WFCVM up to 3 Hz and compare its predictions to observations from 35 nearby stations at epicentral distances of 4–46 km. We use a finite fault source model with a semistochastic slip distribution and overlay stochastic velocity perturbations (S) and surface topography (T) on the WFCVM, which we refer to as the 3D+S+T model. Observed-predicted amplitude ratios and Goodness-of-Fit (GOF) scores for peak ground acceleration, velocity, displacement, Arias intensity and duration, cumulative energy and duration are calculated. Our 3D+S+T model performed fairly, matching the general character of the observations with an average GOF score of 5.20 (out of a maximum of 10), slightly better than the unaltered WFCVM score (GOF = 4.97). Stochastic velocity perturbations mostly affect peak ground motions at the closest sites (<20 km), while surface topography improves durations for basin sites and generates more realistic signals at higher frequencies. Neither addition resolves underprediction of basin amplification in the eastern Salt Lake Basin and overprediction of ground motion at basin-edge sites, which likely reflect inaccurate representations of basin structure in the WFCVM. Based on these results, we recommend including stochastic velocity perturbations and topography in future simulations but conclude that updating deterministic models of basin structure will lead to the biggest improvement in forecasting ground motion for future large (M6.75+) earthquakes in the Wasatch Front region.
  • Real-time reconstruction of ground motion during small magnitude earthquakes: A pilot study
    Youngkyu Kim, Qingkai Kong, Youngsoo Choi, Arben Pitarka, Byounghyun Yoo
    Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 2025
  • Rapid wavefield forecasting for earthquake early warning via deep sequence to sequence learning
    Dongwei Lyu, Rie Nakata, Pu Ren, Michael W. Mahoney, Arben Pitarka, et al.
    Nature Communications, 2025
    We propose a deep learning model, WaveCastNet, to forecast high-dimensional wavefields. WaveCastNet integrates a convolutional long expressive memory architecture into a sequence-to-sequence forecasting framework, enabling it to model long-term dependencies and multiscale patterns in both space and time. By sharing weights across spatial and temporal dimensions, WaveCastNet requires significantly fewer parameters than more resource-intensive models such as transformers, resulting in faster inference times. Crucially, WaveCastNet also generalizes better than transformers to rare and critical seismic scenarios, such as high-magnitude earthquakes. Here, we show the ability of the model to predict the intensity and timing of destructive ground motions in real time, using simulated data from the San Francisco Bay Area. Furthermore, we demonstrate its zero-shot capabilities by evaluating WaveCastNet on real earthquake data. Our approach does not require estimating earthquake magnitudes and epicenters, steps that are prone to error in conventional methods, nor does it rely on empirical ground-motion models, which often fail to capture strongly heterogeneous wave propagation effects.
  • Simulating High-Frequency Seismograms in Realistic Earth Models to Better Understand Source Discrimination Based on Differential Magnitudes (ML−Mc)
    Sean J. Hutchings, Arben Pitarka, Keith D. Koper, Relu Burlacu, Jonathan R. Voyles
    Seismological Research Letters, 2025
    Discriminating low-yield underground nuclear explosions from small earthquakes is a key task in monitoring nuclear test ban treaties. P/S amplitude ratios have been an effective discriminant for moderate-sized events recorded at regional distances, but it is unclear if they are as effective in discriminating small seismic events recorded at local distances (&amp;lt;150 km). The difference between local magnitude (ML) and coda duration magnitude (Mc) has been proposed as a new discriminant that may complement P/S amplitude ratios at local distances. Here, we calculate high-frequency (up to ∼4 Hz) synthetic seismograms at epicentral distances of 0–30 km in realistic models of the Salt Lake basin (Utah, United States) to better understand how variations in source type and depth affect ML−Mc values. The Earth models incorporate simplified 1D and deterministic 3D structures, small-wavelength stochastic velocity perturbations, and surface topography. Coda waves are enhanced for the more complicated models compared to the base 1D model, but still underpredict observed durations by about a factor of two, which results in overprediction of amplitude to duration ratios (i.e., ML−Mc values) for a near-surface explosion and a 7 km deep earthquake. For both source types, the predicted ML and Mc values decrease as source depth increases, and ML−Mc shows only minor variation with depth; however, ML−Mc is on average ∼0.5 units smaller for explosions than earthquakes. This finding may imply that ML−Mc has sensitivity to source type, in addition to being a depth discriminant, but more modeling is needed given the limitations of the current study. Future modeling should incorporate higher-frequency (≳5 Hz) simulations over a larger distance range (0–150 km), where ML and Mc are commonly measured, while honoring low shear velocities (&amp;lt;300 m/s) near the surface and sampling a wider range of earthquake and explosion source mechanisms.
  • An open-access simulated earthquake ground-motion database for an M7 Hayward Fault earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Region
    David McCallen, Arben Pitarka, Houjun Tang, Rie Nakata, Khalid M Mosalam, et al.
    Earthquake Spectra, 2025
    Comprehensive understanding of earthquake ground motions, particularly in the near-fault region of large-magnitude events, is limited by gaps in strong-motion data. This challenge is prominent in areas with high seismic hazard but infrequent large earthquakes where data is sparse and difficult to interpret. These data limitations lead to uncertainties in the development of site-specific ground motions, which are crucial for engineering risk assessments. To address these challenges, physics-based regional-scale ground-motion simulations have been developed. With the emergence of exaflop-scale computing ecosystems, it is now possible to simulate regional earthquake processes at unprecedented fidelity and generate the large number of fault rupture realizations necessary to characterize both intra- and inter-event ground-motion variability. This article introduces a new database of simulated earthquake ground motions, created for applications in earthquake engineering, earthquake planning, and emergency response. The inaugural version of the database features simulated ground motions for a magnitude 7 Hayward Fault earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Region (SFBR), using the EarthQuake SIMulation (EQSIM) simulation framework and the Graves–Pitarka kinematic rupture model. The aim is to provide high-fidelity, spatially dense, three-component motions generated on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) newest generation of graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated supercomputers. These motions are being made openly available to the engineering, scientific, and disaster planning communities. In addition, this work develops protocols for the efficient dissemination of these large data sets and emphasizes community engagement to build confidence in their application. This article discusses the methodology behind the data, underlying software verification and validation, scalable data management, and a user interface for data access. The goal is to facilitate widespread use and elicit expert feedback to maximize the utility and exploitation of simulated motions. While the initial focus is on the San Francisco Region, simulations for additional regions will be added as the DOE program progresses.
  • Insights into Slip-Rate Time Functions, Rupture Parameter Correlations, and Ground Motions from Validated Multicycle Earthquake Ruptures
    Anatoly Petukhin, Percy Galvez, Paul Somerville, Jean-Paul Ampuero, P. Martin Mai, et al.
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2025
    Earthquake strong-motion predictions using kinematic source modeling require knowledge of the slip-rate functions (SRFs) along the rupture and their distinct characteristics in asperities, background (off-asperity) areas and near the surface. Here, we analyzed SRFs from well-validated, self-consistent, and fully dynamic rupture models from earthquake cycles obeying a rate-and-state friction law, from our companion study (Galvez et al., 2021). The shapes of SRFs in asperities are well described by the regularized Yoffe function (RYF), which has only two parameters: rise time Tr and smoothing time Ts, which control the generation of long- and short-period ground motions, respectively. In background areas, we demonstrate that, in addition to the primary rupture, multiple secondary ruptures may also nucleate from rupture heterogeneities related to asperities, resulting in SRFs with multiple peaks. Because it is impossible to fit a multiple-peak SRF by the single-peak RYF, we describe SRFs in background areas in an effective way by fitting their amplitude spectra with the RYF spectra. Such spectrally effective RYFs capture salient aspects of seismic-wave generation and can be used in rupture generators for strong motion prediction. We found that small Ts values correlate with small characteristic weakening distances, large peak slip rates (PSRs), and large rupture velocities. Tr values are larger in background areas and smaller in asperities. Within the shallow aseismic zone, Ts values approximately quadruple whereas Tr values approximately double. Because of this dominant Ts increase, PSR values decrease in the near-surface zone. These features indicate that the generation of strong motions by the near-surface portions of the rupture is negligible in the studied scenarios.
  • Performance assessment of near-fault buildings subjected to physics-based simulated earthquake ground motions with fling step
    Maha Kenawy, Arben Pitarka
    Earthquake Spectra, 2025
    The effects of the co-seismic static offset (known as fling step) and associated velocity pulses on civil structures have been difficult to study because the static offset is typically removed during the processing of earthquake ground motion records. Simulated ground motions contain fling features and require no processing; therefore, they create new opportunities for representing fling features in seismic hazard analysis and assessing their influence on the seismic demands on near-fault structures. We use physics-based fault rupture simulations to study the characteristics of ground motions with fling step and the sensitivity of the near-fault structural demands to strong fling features. We uncover that simulated ground motions with a large fling step tend to have higher spectral intensity than those without a fling step at the same rupture distance, especially at periods longer than 2 s. As a result, the structural demands on flexible buildings tend to be the most sensitive to the fling features. Statistical analysis suggests that the ground motion spectral shape (represented by spectral accelerations at multiple periods) is—in most cases—a sufficient predictor of the structural demands on near-fault low-rise and mid-rise buildings at locations that are susceptible to strong fling effects. Finally, ground motion record selection experiments reveal that representing the spectral shape features at periods that are most relevant to a given structure may be an effective strategy to reduce the bias in the estimated demands on near-fault long-period structures when the available database of records is considered deficient in fling features.
  • Performance evaluation of the USGS velocity model for the San Francisco Bay Area
    Camilo Pinilla-Ramos, Arben Pitarka, David McCallen M. EERI, Rie Nakata
    Earthquake Spectra, 2025
    In this study, we evaluated the performance of the United States Geological Survey velocity model developed for the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA), version 21.1. The evaluation was performed through high-resolution three-dimensional physics-based ground motion simulations of seven small-magnitude earthquakes (ranging from magnitude 3.8 to 4.4) that occurred on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. The simulations were performed in the frequency range from 0 to 5 Hz with a minimum shear-wave velocity of 250 m/s, which allowed the capture of wave propagation effects of the near-surface soft materials that characterize local basins. Based on the direct comparison of Fourier amplitude spectra between recorded and simulated ground motions for more than 250 stations, we found that the velocity model generally performs well in the frequency range of 0.2–5 Hz. The median value of the Fourier amplitude residuals was found to be near zero for all seven earthquakes. The slight over-prediction of 0.2 log-natural units at frequencies above 3 Hz in our simulations was attributed to the potentially inaccurate representation of the source radiation pattern by a double-couple point source model, and simple representation of shallow small-scale underground structural complexity in the velocity model. Maps of spectral amplitude differences between the simulated and recorded data were used to identify areas responsible for systematic ground motion over-predictions or under-predictions. For example, while some sub-domains over soft sediments show over-prediction patterns, the block east of the Hayward fault is prone to exhibit patterns of under-prediction. These maps can be used to guide future refinements of the SFBA velocity model. Since our simulation methodology allows for the decoupling of the source and wave propagation effects, the ground motion data generated by our simulations can also be used to quantify the epistemic uncertainty due to the velocity model, in empirically based ground motion estimates for the SFBA.
  • Impact of the Earthquake Rupture on Ground-Motion Variability of the 24 August 2016 Mw 6.2 Amatrice, Italy, Earthquake
    Aybige Akinci, Arben Pitarka, Pietro Artale Harris, Pasquale De Gori, Mauro Buttinelli
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2024
    The devastating 24 August 2016 Mw 6.2 earthquake that struck Amatrice, Italy, marked the beginning of a prolonged seismic sequence dominated by three subsequent Mw ≥6.0 events in the central Apennines region. The earthquake destroyed Amatrice’s historic center, claiming the lives of 299 individuals and causing widespread damage in the neighboring villages. The severity of the ground shaking, with a recorded maximum acceleration of 850 cm/s2 on the east–west component at the Amatrice station, was far greater than the predicted acceleration based on the Italian ground-motion model (GMM). As pointed out by several investigations, the observed ground-motion amplitude and its spatial variability during the earthquake can be linked to specific rupture characteristics, including slip distribution and rupture directivity effects revealed by the observed data (Tinti et al., 2016; Pischiutta et al., 2021). In this study, we conducted physics-based 3D numerical simulations of ground motion for the Amatrice earthquake for frequencies up to 3 Hz. We employed a series of kinematic rupture models and a well-constrained local 3D velocity model incorporating surface topography. The kinematic rupture realizations were generated using multiscale hybrid and fully stochastic models, following the technique proposed by Graves and Pitarka (2016). We focused on assessing the sensitivity of near-fault ground-motion amplitudes to earthquake rupture characteristics, in particular, the spatial slip pattern. To evaluate the quality of our simulations, we employed goodness-of-fit measurements performed in comparisons of simulated and recorded ground motions. The simulated ground motions compare well with the recorded data and predictions from GMMs for Italy, ITA18 (Lanzano et al., 2019). However, we found that the simulated interevent ground-motion variability (randomness in the source process) of peak ground velocity, σ (PGV) is higher than the constant σ (PGV) predicted by conventional GMMs. Our simulations using several rupture scenarios demonstrate that the near-fault ground-motion amplification pattern is directly related to the slip distribution pattern.
  • Ground-motions site and event specificity: Insights from assessing a suite of simulated ground motions in the San Francisco Bay Area
    Floriana Petrone, Arsam Taslimi, Majid Mohammadi Nia, David McCallen, Arben Pitarka
    Earthquake Spectra, 2024
  • Regional-scale fault-to-structure earthquake simulations with the EQSIM framework: Workflow maturation and computational performance on GPU-accelerated exascale platforms
    David McCallen, Arben Pitarka, Houjun Tang, Ramesh Pankajakshan, N Anders Petersson, et al.
    Earthquake Spectra, 2024
  • Characteristics of Vertical Ground Motions and Their Effect on the Seismic Response of Bridges in the Near-Field: A State-of-The-Art Review
    Arsam Taslimi, Floriana Petrone, Arben Pitarka
    Journal of Bridge Engineering, 2024
  • USE OF PHYSICS-BASED SIMULATED EARTHQUAKE GROUND MOTIONS FOR ANALYSIS OF NEAR-FAULT BUILDINGS
    World Conference on Earthquake Engineering Proceedings, 2024
  • COMPARING 1D/3D GROUND MOTION SIMULATIONS FOR EARTHQUAKES IN CENTRAL ITALY
    World Conference on Earthquake Engineering Proceedings, 2024
  • Simulation-based characterization of the variability of earthquake risk to buildings in the near-field
    Mamun Miah, David McCallen, Arben Pitarka, Floriana Petrone
    Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 2024
  • Transformational Regional-Scale Earthquake Simulations with the DOE EarthQuake SIMulation Exascale Framework
    D. McCallen, A. Pitarka, H. Tang, R. Pankajakshan, N.A. Petersson, et al.
    Computing in Science and Engineering, 2024
  • Characteristics and selection of near-fault simulated earthquake ground motions for nonlinear analysis of buildings
    Maha Kenawy, David McCallen, Arben Pitarka
    Earthquake Spectra, 2023
  • Deterministic 3D Ground-Motion Simulations (0–5 Hz) and Surface Topography Effects of the 30 October 2016 Mw 6.5 Norcia, Italy, Earthquake
    Arben Pitarka, Aybige Akinci, Pasquale De Gori, Mauro Buttinelli
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2022
  • Refinements to the Graves–Pitarka Kinematic Rupture Generator, Including a Dynamically Consistent Slip-Rate Function, Applied to the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest Earthquake
    Arben Pitarka, Robert Graves, Kojiro Irikura, Ken Miyakoshi, Changjiang Wu, et al.
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2022
  • Seismic Risk to Buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area Predicted by Broadband Physics-based M7.0 Hayward Fault Rupture Simulations
    12th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering Ncee 2022, 2022
  • Modeling Subsurface Explosions Recorded on a Distributed Fiber Optic Sensor
    Robert J. Mellors, Robert Abbott, David Steedman, David Podrasky, Arben Pitarka
    Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth, 2021
  • Engineering evaluation of the EQSIM simulated ground-motion database: The San Francisco Bay Area region
    Floriana Petrone, Norman Abrahamson, David McCallen, Arben Pitarka, Arthur Rodgers
    Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 2021
  • Using dense array waveform correlations to build a velocity model with stochastic variability
    Arben Pitarka, Robert Mellors
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2021
  • Variability of near-fault seismic risk to reinforced concrete buildings based on high-resolution physics-based ground motion simulations
    Maha Kenawy, David McCallen, Arben Pitarka
    Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 2021

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Simulating Broadband (0 - 3 Hz) Ground Motion for the 2020 M w 5.7 Magna, Utah, Earthquake using the Wasatch Front Community Velocity Model with Stochastic …
    SJ Hutchings, A Pitarka, KD Koper
    Geophysical Journal International, ggag189 , 2026
    2026
  • Simulating Locally Recorded Earthquakes to Evaluate the Rock Valley Geologic Framework Model
    ME Scalise, JA Gochenour, E Eckert, A Pitarka, R Modrak, C Larmat
    NNSS/MSTS (NNSS-MSTS) , 2026
    2026
  • Analysis of Rupture Directivity and Wave Propagation Effects on Simulated Ground Motion for 7 Earthquakes on the Hayward Fault
    R Nakata, A Pitarka, D McCallen, H Tang, C Pinilla‐Ramos
    Seismological Research Letters , 2026
    2026
  • From Waves to Yields: AI-Powered Insights into Explosion Source Parameters
    B Moyer, V Lekic, NC Schmerr, A Pitarka, K Kim, SM Ezzedine
    AGU25 , 2025
    2025
  • Physics-Based Broadband Ground Motion Simulations of the April 2025 Istanbul, Turkiye earthquake, by using a 1D Frequency-Wavenumber Approach
    A Cuius, A Akinci, PA Harris, A Pitarka, A Askan, S Karimzadeh, ...
    AGU25 , 2025
    2025
  • 10Hz GROUND MOTION SIMULATION OF THE M~ 7.0 1886 CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA EARTHQUAKE
    A Pitarka, V Graizer, MC Chapman, TL Pratt
    AGU25 , 2025
    2025
  • Physics-Based 3D Ground Motion Simulations of the 1915 Fucino Earthquake, Italy: Investigating Source and Site Effects for an Historical Seismic Event
    PA Harris, A Akinci, A Pitarka, P De Gori, A Cuius, R Fonzetti
    AGU25 , 2025
    2025
  • Real-time reconstruction of ground motion during small magnitude earthquakes: A pilot study
    Y Kim, Q Kong, Y Choi, A Pitarka, B Yoo
    Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 199, 109707 , 2025
    2025
  • Rapid wavefield forecasting for earthquake early warning via deep sequence to sequence learning
    D Lyu, R Nakata, P Ren, MW Mahoney, A Pitarka, N Nakata, NB Erichson
    Nature Communications , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 2
  • Broadband Near‐Fault Ground‐Motion Simulations Using a Modified f ‐ k Method in Central Italy
    P Artale Harris, A Pitarka, A Akinci, A Cuius
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 2
  • Simulation of Physics-Based 0-10Hz Strong Motion Using High Performance Computing Supporting Refinements to Regional Ground Motion Models for the Central Eastern US
    A Pitarka, V Graizer, A Aguiar Moya, A Rodgers
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States) , 2025
    2025
  • Simulating High‐Frequency Seismograms in Realistic Earth Models to Better Understand Source Discrimination Based on Differential Magnitudes ( M L − M c )
    SJ Hutchings, A Pitarka, KD Koper, R Burlacu, JR Voyles
    Seismological Research Letters 96 (5), 2979-2994 , 2025
    2025
  • An open-access simulated earthquake ground-motion database for an M7 Hayward Fault earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Region
    D McCallen, A Pitarka, H Tang, R Nakata, KM Mosalam, F Petrone, ...
    Earthquake Spectra 41 (3), 2560-2597 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 9
  • Insights into Slip‐Rate Time Functions, Rupture Parameter Correlations, and Ground Motions from Validated Multicycle Earthquake Ruptures
    A Petukhin, P Galvez, P Somerville, JP Ampuero, PM Mai, A Pitarka, ...
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 115 (4), 1591-1610 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 3
  • Ground Motion Variability During the February 6, 2023 M7. 8 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake, Türkiye
    P Artale Harris, A Pitarka, A Akinci, K Tsuda, RW Graves
    EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, EGU25-6323 , 2025
    2025
  • Performance of Physics-based Deterministic Ground Motion Simulations: Building Confidence in Using Broad-Band Synthetic Ground Motion in Engineering Applications
    A Akinci, A Pitarka
    EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, EGU25-7343 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Broad-band Modeling of Earthquakes in the Rock Valley, Nevada: Implication of Wave Propagation Effects on the P/S Source Discriminant
    A Pitarka, W Walter, M Pyle
    EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, EGU25-12763 , 2025
    2025
  • 2024 California Community Earth Models for Seismic Hazard Assessments Workshop Report
    BT Aagaard, S Marshall, S Minson, D Boyd, M Denolle, E Fielding, ...
    arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.11545 , 2025
    2025
  • Performance assessment of near-fault buildings subjected to physics-based simulated earthquake ground motions with fling step
    M Kenawy, A Pitarka
    Earthquake Spectra 41 (1), 381-411 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 4
  • Performance evaluation of the USGS velocity model for the San Francisco Bay Area
    C Pinilla-Ramos, A Pitarka, D McCallen M. EERI, R Nakata
    Earthquake Spectra 41 (1), 457-494 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 10

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Broadband ground-motion simulation using a hybrid approach
    RW Graves, A Pitarka
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 100 (5A), 2095-2123 , 2010
    2010
    Citations: 835
  • 3D elastic finite-difference modeling of seismic motion using staggered grids with nonuniform spacing
    A Pitarka
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 89 (1), 54-68 , 1999
    1999
    Citations: 540
  • Three-dimensional simulation of the near-fault ground motion for the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe), Japan, earthquake
    A Pitarka, K Irikura, T Iwata, H Sekiguchi
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 88 (2), 428-440 , 1998
    1998
    Citations: 413
  • Ground-motion amplification in the Santa Monica area: Effects of shallow basin-edge structure
    RW Graves, A Pitarka, PG Somerville
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 88 (5), 1224-1242 , 1998
    1998
    Citations: 404
  • The SCEC/USGS dynamic earthquake rupture code verification exercise
    RA Harris, M Barall, R Archuleta, E Dunham, B Aagaard, JP Ampuero, ...
    Seismological Research Letters 80 (1), 119-126 , 2009
    2009
    Citations: 360
  • A technique for simulating strong ground motion using hybrid Green's function
    K Kamae, K Irikura, A Pitarka
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 88 (2), 357-367 , 1998
    1998
    Citations: 310
  • Refinements to the Graves and Pitarka (2010) broadband ground‐motion simulation method
    R Graves, A Pitarka
    Seismological Research Letters 86 (1), 75-80 , 2015
    2015
    Citations: 304
  • Kinematic ground‐motion simulations on rough faults including effects of 3D stochastic velocity perturbations
    R Graves, A Pitarka
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 106 (5), 2136-2153 , 2016
    2016
    Citations: 277
  • Model for basin effects on long-period response spectra in southern California
    SM Day, R Graves, J Bielak, D Dreger, S Larsen, KB Olsen, A Pitarka, ...
    Earthquake Spectra 24 (1), 257-277 , 2008
    2008
    Citations: 209
  • Simulation of near-fault strong-ground motion using hybrid Green's functions
    A Pitarka, P Somerville, Y Fukushima, T Uetake, K Irikura
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 90 (3), 566-586 , 2000
    2000
    Citations: 179
  • Broadband time history simulation using a hybrid approach
    RW Graves, A Pitarka
    2004
    Citations: 164
  • EQSIM—A multidisciplinary framework for fault-to-structure earthquake simulations on exascale computers part I: Computational models and workflow
    D McCallen, A Petersson, A Rodgers, A Pitarka, M Miah, F Petrone, ...
    Earthquake Spectra 37 (2), 707-735 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 141
  • Broadband (0–5 Hz) fully deterministic 3D ground‐motion simulations of a magnitude 7.0 Hayward fault earthquake: Comparison with empirical ground‐motion models and 3D path and …
    AJ Rodgers, N Anders Petersson, A Pitarka, DB McCallen, B Sjogreen, ...
    Seismological Research Letters 90 (3), 1268-1284 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 108
  • Modeling 3D surface topography by finite‐difference method: Kobe‐JMA station site, Japan, case study
    A Pitarka, K Irikura
    Geophysical Research Letters 23 (20), 2729-2732 , 1996
    1996
    Citations: 90
  • Kinematic Rupture Modeling of Ground Motion from the M7 Kumamoto, Japan Earthquake.
    A Pitarka, R Graves, K Irikura, K Miyakoshi, A Rodgers
    Pure & Applied Geophysics 177 (5), 2199 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 89
  • Broadband (0–4 Hz) ground motions for a magnitude 7.0 Hayward fault earthquake with three‐dimensional structure and topography
    AJ Rodgers, A Pitarka, NA Petersson, B Sjögreen, DB McCallen
    Geophysical Research Letters 45 (2), 739-747 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 89
  • Basin structure effects on long-period strong motions in the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin from the 1994 Northridge earthquake and an aftershock
    A Pitarka, K Irikura
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 86 (1B), S126-S137 , 1996
    1996
    Citations: 87
  • Regional‐Scale 3D Ground‐Motion Simulations of 7 Earthquakes on the Hayward Fault, Northern California Resolving Frequencies 0–10 Hz and Including Site …
    AJ Rodgers, A Pitarka, R Pankajakshan, B Sjögreen, NA Petersson
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 110 (6), 2862-2881 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 85
  • Basin structure effects in the Kobe area inferred from the modeling of ground motions from two aftershocks of the January 17, 1995, Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake
    A Pitarka, K Irikura, T Iwata, T Kagawa
    Journal of Physics of the Earth 44 (5), 563-576 , 1996
    1996
    Citations: 85
  • EQSIM—A multidisciplinary framework for fault-to-structure earthquake simulations on exascale computers, part II: Regional simulations of building response
    D McCallen, F Petrone, M Miah, A Pitarka, A Rodgers, N Abrahamson
    Earthquake Spectra 37 (2), 736-761 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 79