Impact of using updated seismic information on seismic hazard in western Canada

This study provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of new seismological information on the existing seismic hazard model, as implemented in the 2005 National building code of Canada (NBCC); this seismic hazard model was actually developed in the early 1990s, and thus there is significant new information available in the literature since then. A reassessment of seismic hazard is carried out by updating magnitude-recurrence relations based on the earthquake catalog up to the end of 2006, including conversion of all earthquake magnitudes to a homogenous moment magnitude scale. The recent ground-motion prediction equations, which update the knowledge base used in the 2005 NBCC, are also used. Focusing on Vancouver and Victoria, sensitivity analyses are carried out to investigate both individual and combined impacts of these updates on the uniform hazard spectra. The proposed model can be used as a guide to the direction in which future seismic hazard models for western Canada may move.