Perspectives on earthquake hazards in the New Madrid seismic zone, Missouri

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA)

OSTI ID:5667647

Thenhaus, P C ^[1]

---

1. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)

A sequence of three great earthquakes struck the Central United States during the winter of 1811-12 in the area of New Madrid, Missouri. They are considered to be the greatest earthquakes in the conterminous U.S. because they were felt and caused damage at far greater distances than any other earthquakes in US history. In contrast to California, where earthquakes are felt frequently, the damaging earthquakes that have occurred in the Eastern US are generally regarded as only historical phenomena. A fundamental problem in the Eastern US, therefore, is that the earthquake hazard is not generally considered today in land-use and civic planning. This article offers perspectives on the earthquake hazard of the New Madrid seismic zone through discussions of the geology of the Mississippi Embayment, the historical earthquakes that have occurred there, the earthquake risk, and the tools that geoscientists have to study the region. The so-called earthquake hazard is defined by the characterization of the physical attributes of the geological structures that cause earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, their potential size, and the expected ground motions. The term earthquake risk, on the other hand, refers to aspects of the expected damage to manmade structures and to lifelines as a result of the earthquake hazard.

• OSTI ID: 5667647
• Journal Information: Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA), Journal Name: Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA) Vol. 22:1; ISSN EAVAE; ISSN 0894-7163
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
CALIFORNIA
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DAMAGE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE
EARTHQUAKES
FEDERAL REGION IX
FEDERAL REGION VII
FORECASTING
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GROUND MOTION
HAZARDS
LAND USE
MISSOURI
MOTION
NORTH AMERICA
PLANNING
RISK ASSESSMENT
SEISMIC EVENTS
USA