Analysis of Near-Surface Shear Wave Velocity Data for Site Response Applications in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Region of California

ABSTRACT Sites located in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta region of California typically have peaty organic soils near the ground surface. These soils are characteristically soft with shear wave velocities (VS) as low as 20 m/s and thicknesses as great as 12 m. These unusually soft site conditions produce significant site response effects that are not reliably predicted using existing ergodic site amplification models. To develop a region-specific site response model that captures the uni