A Contribution to the Documentation of the 1811-1812 Mississippi Valley Earthquake Sequence

Street, R.

doi:10.1785/gssrl.53.2.39

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, because different types of ground motion can produce the same modified Mercalli intensity (MMI), it is important to consider the original accounts rather than the interpreted MMI values. (Virtually all of the accounts of the New Madrid sequence discussed in this article are available in the compilation of Street [1982].) Several modern, instrumental studies of triggered earthquakes have shown that, in at least some cases, the earliest triggered events occur within seconds after the passage of the S/surface waves (e.g., Hill et al, 1993;Power et al, 2001;Hough and Kanamori, 2002 Taylor et al, 1991) and are reported only to the nearest hundredth degree.…”

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In Northern Kentuckymentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Ground motions from NM1 stopped pendulum clocks and caused suspended objects to swing (see compilation of Street [1982]). Shaking from the NM3 mainshock was stronger than that of the first two mainshocks.…”

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In South Carolina?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two reports from the compilation of Street (1982) are suggestive of local earthquakes. One is an account of NM3.…”

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In South Carolina?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to modern analyses, central and eastern North America has experienced five earthquakes with M W Ն7 over the historic record: the three principal 1811-1812 New Madrid mainshocks (Nuttli, 1973;Street, 1982Street, , 1984Johnston, 1996a,b;Johnston and Schweig, 1996;Hough et al, 2000); the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake (Dutton, 1889;Bollinger, 1977;Johnston, 1996b); and the 1929 Grand Banks event (Bent, 1995). An additional large earthquake, thought to have been upward of M W 7, occurred near Charlevoix, Canada, in 1663 (Smith, 1962), but accounts of this event are especially sparse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accounts from the New Madrid sequence have been published previously by Street (1982) and are being made available online as part of the New Madrid compendium (www.ceri.memphis.edu/compendium). Although the analysis of historic accounts raises issues regarding reliability and precision, the value of such work has been demonstrated by innumerable careful investigations of important historic earthquakes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Intraplate Triggered Earthquakes: Observations and Interpretation

Hough¹

2003

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present evidence that at least two of the three 1811-1812 New Madrid, central United States, mainshocks and the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake triggered earthquakes at regional distances. In addition to previously published evidence for triggered earthquakes in the northern Kentucky/southern Ohio region in 1812, we present evidence suggesting that triggered events might have occurred in the Wabash Valley, to the south of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and near Charleston, South Carolina. We also discuss evidence that earthquakes might have been triggered in northern Kentucky within seconds of the passage of surface waves from the 23 January 1812 New Madrid mainshock. After the 1886 Charleston earthquake, accounts suggest that triggered events occurred near Moodus, Connecticut, and in southern Indiana. Notwithstanding the uncertainty associated with analysis of historical accounts, there is evidence that at least three out of the four known M W 7 earthquakes in the central and eastern United States seem to have triggered earthquakes at distances beyond the typically assumed aftershock zone of 1-2 mainshock fault lengths. We explore the possibility that remotely triggered earthquakes might be common in low-strain-rate regions. We suggest that in a low-strain-rate environment, permanent, nonelastic deformation might play a more important role in stress accumulation than it does in interplate crust. Using a simple model incorporating elastic and anelastic strain release, we show that, for realistic parameter values, faults in intraplate crust remain close to their failure stress for a longer part of the earthquake cycle than do faults in high-strain-rate regions. Our results further suggest that remotely triggered earthquakes occur preferentially in regions of recent and/or future seismic activity, which suggests that faults are at a critical stress state in only some areas. Remotely triggered earthquakes may thus serve as beacons that identify regions of long-lived stress concentration.

show abstract

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In Northern Kentuckymentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In South Carolina?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two reports from the compilation of Street (1982) are suggestive of local earthquakes. One is an account of NM3.…”

Section: Triggered Earthquakes In South Carolina?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Intraplate Triggered Earthquakes: Observations and Interpretation

Hough¹

2003

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

On the Modified Mercalli intensities and magnitudes of the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes

Hough¹,

Armbruster²,

Seeber³

et al. 2000

J. Geophys. Res.

167

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.We reexamine original felt reports from the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes and determine revised isoseismal maps for the three principal mainshocks. In many cases we interpret lower values than those assigned by earlier studies. In some cases the revisions result from an interpretation of original felt reports with an appreciation for site response issues. Additionally, earlier studies had assigned modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) values of V-VII to a substantial number of reports that we conclude do not describe damage commensurate with intensities this high. We investigate several approaches to contouring the MMI values using both analytical and subjective methods. For the first mainshock on 02:15 LT December 16, 1811, our preferred contouring yields M0•7.2-7.3 using the area-moment regressions of Johnston [1996]. For the 08:00 LT on January 23, 1812, and 03:45 LT on February 7, 1812, mainshocks, we obtain M,•7.0 and M0•7.4-7.5, respectively. Our magnitude for the February mainshock is consistent with the established geometry of the Reelfoot fault, which all evidence suggests to have been the causative structure for this event. We note that the inference of lower magnitudes for the New Madrid events implies that site response plays a significant role in controlling seismic hazard at alluvial sites in the central and eastern United States. We also note that our results suggest that thrusting may have been the dominant mechanism of faulting associated with the 1811-1812 sequence.

show abstract

Toward a consistent model for strain accrual and release for the New Madrid Seismic Zone, central United States

Hough

Page

2011

J. Geophys. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

At the heart of the conundrum of seismogenesis in the New Madrid Seismic Zone is the apparently substantial discrepancy between low strain rate and high recent seismic moment release. In this study we revisit the magnitudes of the four principal 1811–1812 earthquakes using intensity values determined from individual assessments from four experts. Using these values and the grid search method of Bakun and Wentworth (1997), we estimate magnitudes around 7.0 for all four events, values that are significantly lower than previously published magnitude estimates based on macroseismic intensities. We further show that the strain rate predicted from postglacial rebound is sufficient to produce a sequence with the moment release of one Mmax6.8 every 500 years, a rate that is much lower than previous estimates of late Holocene moment release. However, Mw6.8 is at the low end of the uncertainty range inferred from analysis of intensities for the largest 1811–1812 event. We show that Mw6.8 is also a reasonable value for the largest main shock given a plausible rupture scenario. One can also construct a range of consistent models that permit a somewhat higher Mmax, with a longer average recurrence rate. It is thus possible to reconcile predicted strain and seismic moment release rates with alternative models: one in which 1811–1812 sequences occur every 500 years, with the largest events being Mmax∼6.8, or one in which sequences occur, on average, less frequently, with Mmax of ∼7.0. Both models predict that the late Holocene rate of activity will continue for the next few to 10 thousand years.

show abstract

A Contribution to the Documentation of the 1811-1812 Mississippi Valley Earthquake Sequence

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Intraplate Triggered Earthquakes: Observations and Interpretation

Intraplate Triggered Earthquakes: Observations and Interpretation

On the Modified Mercalli intensities and magnitudes of the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes

Toward a consistent model for strain accrual and release for the New Madrid Seismic Zone, central United States

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About