This special issue of Earthquake Spectra showcases new developments in earthquake hazard and risk assessments relevant to Central and Eastern North America (CENA). This unique collection of papers marks a significant advancement in the documentation and understanding of hazard and risk of this stable continental region with rare but significant seismicity.
A substantial portion of the special issue features a selection of papers from the multi-year and multi-disciplinary research project Next Generation Attenuation Relationships for Central & Eastern North-America (NGA-East) Project, coordinated by PEER. These papers describe different aspects and products of the NGA-East Project and summarize the new ground motion characterization model for the CENA region. The products of this research will influence the design and construction of countless facilities, from transportation and nuclear power infrastructure to commercial and residential buildings, for the next several decades as the models are adopted into building codes and design provisions.
Several CENA-relevant research projects and activities have taken place in addition to NGA-East. Thus, this special issue also contains papers related to analysis, modeling and implementation of seismic ground motions and hazard in CENA.
This collection of papers is intended for scientists and researchers in the hazard and risk modeling sector, as well as engineers and other professionals involved in the seismic design of buildings and infrastructure or in seismic risk studies in the CENA region or other similar stable continental regions around the globe. Access this special issue.