Response spectral ratios

At many sites on soft ground, spectral ratios (ratios of smoothed Fourier amplitude spectral ordinates at the site to those at a station on firm ground) for distant earthquakes are little sensitive to focal mechanism and coordinates and to magnitude. Spectral ratios furnish directly expected Fourier amplitude spectral ordinates at the site of interest. The corresponding response spectra can be estimated through the use of random vibration theory. This step is obviated by resorting directly to ratios of response spectral ordinates. Through comparisons for several sites on the Valley of Mexico we find that these ratios are as stable as those of Fourier amplitude spectral ordinates.