Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Ides of March

In the ancient Roman calendar the 15th of the month was known as the Ides for a festive day dedicated to the god Mars.  It was also the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated plunging the Roman Republic into a civil war that resulted in the creation of the Roman Empire.  As historic seismology is at times noting events on a calendar, it is important to note that the calendar and its days and years has evolved over time.  A researcher must note the calendar system in which a historic account is recorded and reconcile it with the modern calendar to make sure the date the earthquake is accurate.  If this is not done contemporary accounts that use differing calendars can seem to note different earthquakes  when really they are  all recording the same event.  More will be said about this in later entries.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

March 2 Earthquake at East Prairie Missouri



On March 2, we had a small reminder from the New Madrid seismic zone that it is still active.  Near a town in Southeast Missouri called East Prairie an earthquake with the maginitude of 3.7 occurred that was felt in the immediate region. For more information click on this link: Info for Eq nm1937
Here you will find information on the quake and what we at CERI know about it.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Some Modern Earthquakes

While this blog covers the New Madrid historic quakes, sometimes modern events intrude.  The earthquake in Chile on Saturday  and the 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Southeast Missouri of yesterday come to mind.  I'm looking for an account of a historic Chilean earthquake to post and details of the Missouri quake to add also.  More to come.