Effects of the probability of pulse-like ground motions on landslide susceptibility assessment in near-fault areas

Earthquake-induced strong near-fault ground motion is typically accompanied by large-velocity pulse-like component, which causes serious damage to slopes and buildings. Although not all near-fault ground motions contain a pulse-like component, it is important to consider this factor in regional earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility assessment. In the present study, we considered the probability of the observed pulse-like ground motion at each site (PP) in the region of an earthquake as one of the conditioning factors for landslide susceptibility assessment. A subset of the area affected by the 1994 Mw6.7 Northridge earthquake in California was examined. To explore and verify the effects of PP on landslide susceptibility assessment, seven models were established, consisting of six identical influencing factors (elevation, slope gradient, aspect, distance to drainage, distance to roads, and geology) and one or two factors characterizing the intensity of the earthquake (distance to fault, peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and PP) in logistic regression analysis. The results showed that the model considering PP performed better in susceptibility assessment, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.956. Based on the results of relative importance analysis, the contribution of the PP value to earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility was ranked fourth after the slope gradient, elevation, and lithology. The prediction performance of the model considering the pulse-like effect was better than that reported previously. A logistic regression model that considers the pulse-like effect can be applied in disaster prevention, mitigation, and construction planning in near-fault areas.