Moment Magnitude (Mw) Conversion Relations for Use in Hazard Assessment in Eastern Canada

Other| November 01, 2011 Moment Magnitude (Mw) Conversion Relations for Use in Hazard Assessment in Eastern Canada Allison L. Bent Allison L. Bent Canadian Hazards Information Service Geological Survey of Canada 7 Observatory Crescent Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y3 Canada bent@seismo.nrcan.gc.ca Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Allison L. Bent Canadian Hazards Information Service Geological Survey of Canada 7 Observatory Crescent Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y3 Canada bent@seismo.nrcan.gc.ca Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-2057 Print ISSN: 0895-0695 © 2011 by the Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2011) 82 (6): 984–990. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.82.6.984 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Allison L. Bent; Moment Magnitude (Mw) Conversion Relations for Use in Hazard Assessment in Eastern Canada. Seismological Research Letters 2011;; 82 (6): 984–990. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.82.6.984 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search Abstract To be unbiased and uniform across a wide geographical area, seismic hazard assessments based primarily on earthquake recurrence rates require that the same magnitude scale be used for all earthquakes evaluated. Increasingly, moment magnitude, MW, is seen as the magnitude of preference. Moment magnitude, however, was not routinely calculated in the past for earthquakes in Canada, necessitating the conversion from other magnitude types in common use. This step is complicated by the fact that several magnitude scales are routinely reported for Canadian earthquakes with the choice being influenced primarily by geography and to a lesser extent by the size of the earthquake. This paper focuses on eastern Canada, where mN is the most commonly used magnitude scale. Conversions to MW are established and evaluated. The simple conversion of applying a constant is sufficient. However, the conversion is time dependent with the constant changing from 0.41 to 0.53 in the mid-1990s. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.