Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by BOLLINGER, G. A. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Seismicity of the southeastern United States

VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES, BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA 24061

Abstract

Review and analysis of the existing data base for southeastern United States earthquakes indicate that the spatial pattern of energy release can be interpreted to occur in zones both parallel (southern Appalachian seismic zone) and transverse (central Virginia and South Carolina-Georgia seismic zones) to the regional Appalachian structural trend. The temporal pattern, for events V I_o VIII, can be expressed by the recursion relationship, log N = 3.01 – 0.59 I_o.

Felt areas are, in general, one order of magnitude greater than for similar west coast events. Their configuration is elliptical and aligned with regional structure, except in central Virginia and Alabama and in coastal South Carolina. These latter areas have circular or lobate felt areas that may be caused by differences in focal depths and/or focal mechanisms.

A tentative local magnitude formula is developed that employs the vertical component of the short-period Lg phase. It appears that the regional attenuation characteristics of this phase are similar to those found by Nuttli (1973a) in the central United States.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W.-Y. Kim and M. Chapman The 9 December 2003 Central Virginia Earthquake Sequence: A Compound Earthquake in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 2005; 95(6): 2428 - 2445. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. C. Chapman, C. A. Powell, G. Vlahovic, and M. S. Sibol A statistical analysis of earthquake focal mechanisms and epicenter locations in the eastern Tennessee seismic zone Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1997; 87(6): 1522 - 1536. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. A. POWELL Seismic noise in northcentral North Carolina Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1992; 82(4): 1889 - 1909. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. C. YAO and J. DORMAN Short-period surface-wave dispersion and shallow crustal structure of central and eastern Tennessee Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, April 1, 1992; 82(2): 962 - 979. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Amick, D. AMICK, and R. GELINAS The Search for Evidence of Large Prehistoric Earthquakes Along the Atlantic Seaboard Science, February 8, 1991; 251(4994): 655 - 658. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. G. ANDERSON Seismic strain rates in the Central and Eastern United States Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1986; 76(1): 273 - 290. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. W. MUNSEY and G. A. BOLLINGER Focal mechanism analyses for Virginia earthquakes (1978-1984) Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1985; 75(6): 1613 - 1636. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. C. JOHNSTON, D. J. REINBOLD, and S. I. BREWER Seismotectonics of the southern Appalachians Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1985; 75(1): 291 - 312. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. VIRET, G. A. BOLLINGER, J. A. SNOKE, and J. W. DEWEY Joint hypocenter relocation studies with sparse data sets--A case history: Virginia earthquakes Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1984; 74(6): 2297 - 2311. [Abstract] [PDF]

				U. CHANDRA Attenuation of intensities in the United States Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1979; 69(6): 2003 - 2024. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. A. CHINNERY A comparison of the seismicity of three regions of the Eastern U.S. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1979; 69(3): 757 - 772. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. A. BOLLINGER Attenuation of the Lg phase and the determination of mb in the southeastern United States Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1979; 69(1): 45 - 63. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. S. SODBINOW and G. A. BOLLINGER Seismic studies in central and eastern Tennessee Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1978; 68(4): 1081 - 1094. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. G. ANDERSON On the attenuation of Modified Mercalli Intensity with distance in the United States Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1978; 68(4): 1147 - 1179. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. L. STREET and F. T. TURCOTTE A study of northeastern North American spectral moments, magnitudes, and intensities Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1977; 67(3): 599 - 614. [Abstract] [PDF]

				O. W. NUTTLI Magnitude-recurrence relation for central Mississippi Valley earthquakes Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, August 1, 1974; 64(4): 1189 - 1207. [Abstract] [PDF]

				O. W. NUTTLI and J. E. ZOLLWEG The relation between felt area and magnitude for central United States earthquakes Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, February 1, 1974; 64(1): 73 - 85. [Abstract] [PDF]