Search USGS⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70045104

GEM Basic Building Taxonomy (Version 1.0)

S. Brzev·C. Scawthorn·A.W. Charleson·K. Jaiswal
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

This report documents the development of Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Basic Building Taxonomy and it also provides version 1.0 of this Taxonomy for its immediate application within GEM Physical Risk projects. Criteria for development of the GEM Building Taxonomy required that the Taxonomy be relevant to seismic performance of different construction types; be comprehensive yet simple; be collapsible; be adhering to principles that are familiar to the range of users; and ultimately be extensible to non-buildings and other hazards. The taxonomy is organized as a series of expandable tables, which contain information pertaining to various building attributes. Each attribute describes a specific characteristic that could potentially affect the seismic performance of a building. This report describes the structure and the content of the Basic Building Taxonomy, which consists of eight basic attributes, in detail. These attributes were selected after a series of interactions/discussions with all the GEM Physical Risk Global Component project teams. In addition, we also tried to gather feedback from a number of participants outside the GEM Risk Consortium group. The Basic Taxonomy attributes discussed in this report are: material; lateral load-resisting system; roof; floor; building height; date of construction; structural irregularity, and occupancy. A future Detailed Building Taxonomy will provide more details related to certain aforementioned attributes in the Basic Building Taxonomy. As well, it will also include additional attributes that are necessary for assessing building vulnerability using analytical procedures. The report also illustrates the practical use of the proposed GEM Basic Building Taxonomy by discussing example case studies, wherein the building-specific characteristics are mapped directly using GEM Taxonomic attributes and a simple taxonomic string is constructed for that building. The building taxonomy data model is highly flexible and it can be easily incorporated within the relational database architecture. Due to its ability to represent building typologies using a shorthand form, it is also possible to use this taxonomy for non-database applications. Key terms in the taxonomy are explained in an online glossary, which provides both text and graphic descriptions for the attributes and their details.

Explore related subjects

Report

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S. Brzev, C. Scawthorn, A.W. Charleson, K. Jaiswal. 2012. GEM Basic Building Taxonomy (Version 1.0). https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70045104

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Factors affecting benthic macroinvertebrate health in the City of Roanoke, Virginia, 2020–2023

Major waterways in the City of Roanoke (City) have failed to meet Virginia’s aquatic life designated use since 1996. Segments of the upper Roanoke River lack healthy benthic macroinvertebrate communities which prompted a total maximum daily load (TMDL) study by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) to identify the most probable stressor(s) causing the impairment. Excess fine sediment was identified as the most probable stressor impairing benthic macroinvertebrates on portions of the Roanoke River in 2006, and a watershed implementation plan published in 2016 required communities within the impaired watershed to implement projects that would reduce the load of fine sediment entering the Roanoke River. Additional benthic macroinvertebrate sampling and stream habitat assessments along the Roanoke River and Tinker Creek (a tributary to the Roanoke River that flows through the City) revealed continued impaired conditions, and subsequent stressor identification analysis was completed in 2023. Samples collected downstream of the City on the Roanoke River and Tinker Creek generally showed more impaired conditions relative to samples collected at locations upstream of the City. Based on this evaluation, sediment and sediment-bound polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were identified as probable stressors while specific conductance, total nitrogen, and sediment metals were possible stressors in Tinker Creek; however, only a sediment TMDL target was identified to address impaired benthic macroinvertebrate communities. In the Roanoke River upstream of the Niagara Dam, sediment and total phosphorus were identified as probable stressors, sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sediment PCB were considered possible stressors; however, the TMDL target was only for total phosphorus. The City partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2016 to continuously monitor water quality and streamflow conditions on a major tributary of Tinker Creek, Lick Run, and by 2020, four similar monitoring stations were installed on the Roanoke River and Tinker Creek near the locations of benthic macroinvertebrate sampling. Monitored parameters included streamflow and/or gage height (water level), water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and turbidity. Turbidity is a measure of the relative clarity of the water and was previously used to model suspended-sediment concentrations at the monitoring stations. The City also contracted Kirk Environmental, LLP (KE) to collect benthic macroinvertebrate samples and stream habitat assessments near the locations of the water-quality monitoring stations. Identified benthic macroinvertebrates were used to calculate the Virginia Stream Condition Index (SCI), a multi-metric index composed of eight biological attributes that represent elements of the structure and function of the benthic macroinvertebrate community that measure diversity, composition, and tolerance to pollution. Study objective: In this report, benthic macroinvertebrate samples and stream habitat assessment scores collected at four locations on the Roanoke River and Tinker Creek by KE and the VDEQ between 2020 and 2023 were compared to measured water-quality and streamflow conditions prior to sampling to evaluate patterns between benthic macroinvertebrate health, water quality, and hydrology.

Virginia↗