Magnitude-Area Relationships

Next Generation Attenuation for CENA (NGA-East)

Request for Proposals for

Magnitude-Area Relationships

RFP Issued: August 18, 2010
eadline to submit technical proposals: September 8, 2010
Simulations Working Group

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With the sponsorship of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), US Department of Energy (DOE) and US Geological Survey (USGS), the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) is coordinating a comprehensive multidisciplinary program to develop Next Generation Attenuation Relationships for the Central and Eastern North-America (NGA-East).

NGA-East is treated as a SSHAC (Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee) Level 3 program; see, e.g., NUREG/CR-6372 (1997) and USGS Open-File Report 2009-1093 for a description of the SSHAC process. This will ensure stability of the final products (by virtue of capturing the views of the broader technical community) and full transparency of the process.

The selected project team is required to attend and participate in the relevant SSHAC workshops and meetings (see “Required reporting and attendance to meetings” section).

Background and Objective of Project

This is a request for technical proposals to develop relationships between moment magnitude (M_W) and fault rupture area for the Central and Eastern North-America (CENA). These relationships will be used in the development of earthquake rupture models for use in the Ground Motion Simulation component of NGA-East. The relationships should be based on data from the stable continental region of eastern North America, including both rifted and no-rifted basement rock, and may also make use of data from other stable continental regions. Regional variability of M_W-rupture area relations should also be evaluated. The Principal Investigator (PI) should develop multiple models to capture uncertainty.

Detailed Scope of Project

The scope of work described below covers the development of pertinent Magnitude- Area relationships for the CENA. In responding to this RFP please provide a cost breakdown per task. The estimated duration of this effort is 3 months. The maximum budget allocated for this effort is $ 30,000.00 including the Principal Investigator’s (PI’s) indirect costs.

Required reporting and attendance to meetings

The SSHAC Level 3 process requires detailed documentation. The final report shall be fully transparent and provide the reader with a clear understanding of the inputs, processes and activities, technical basis and results. The PI shall prepare a final report documenting the data, relationships, assumptions, findings and conclusions. In addition to the written reports, the contractor will have to attend one day of the NGA-East public workshop during the week of June 6-10, 2011.

Process of Submitting Proposal

The process of proposal submission and selection is as follows:

1. Interested PIs should submit a proposal of maximum 5 pages consisting of the following items:
   1. A cover letter.
   2. A 2-page proposal clearly stating the technical approach and methodology for the proposed task.
   3. A budget sheet showing details of the proposed charges should also be attached.
   4. A one-page summary of the experience and qualifications of the PI and the key team members. The focus should be on the experience of the PI in estimating MW and fault rupture area, and in developing relationships between Mw and fault rupture area, both in general and in the CENA in particular.
2. The entire proposal document and the 1-page covering letter should be uploaded
   via this page.

Proposals submitted via any other means (e.g., email to PEER or other agencies; surface or express mail) will not be considered.

3. The deadline of the proposal submission is September 8, 2010.
4. Successful teams will be notified by September 30, 2010.
5. The selection criteria will include the technical soundness of the proposed methodology and the experience of the team.

Specific questions about the proposals should be submitted via email to: peer_center@berkeley.edu

RFP Issued: August 18, 2010
 The deadline to submit technical proposals has expired. 

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