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almost a third of the U.S. population reported feel the earthquake that struck Virginia last class , probably more than any other earthquake in U.S. history , researchers say .
The magnitude 5.8 quake that struck near Mineral , Va. , well-nigh a class ago on Aug. 23 , 2011 , was felt from Maine to Florida , from Cape Cod to Chicago , and was among the largest ever enter on the Eastern Seaboard . Damage fromthe earthquakewas relatively unclouded , but effects were nevertheless seen at two landmark in Washington : the Washington Monumentand the National Cathedral .
Did you feel it? A map shows the wide reach of the 2011 Virginia earthquake.
Although the temblor did not wreak significant harm , scientist nevertheless wanted to investigate what effects it had . Such oeuvre can slough igniter on what damage pattern the United States might anticipate if another quake as large or large bump again in this area .
Key info on the earthquake came from the U.S. Geological Survey ’s website , " Did you feel it ? " which lets people report when and where they felt a temblor and its intensity . About 148,000 people from more than 3,400 ZIP codes gave responses regarding the Virginia quake , breaking the site disk by more than 70,000 responses since it went online in 2000 .
Broad reach
Did you feel it? A map shows the wide reach of the 2011 Virginia earthquake.
All told , scientists determined that the earthquake was felt as far west as the Mississippi River , as far to the south as northerly Florida and as far northwards as southeastern Canada . The geologic properties of the rock east of the Rocky Mountains cause seismic wave from temblor in the easterly United States to pass around more strongly to greater distance from the epicentre than seismal wafture in the westerly part of the country , researchers aver .
Sincethe Virginia earthquake shook several cities , including Baltimore , Philadelphia , New York and Washington , tens of millions of city denizen credibly palpate the quake , the scientist estimated . Overall , they say , some 100 million people may have felt the earthquake — nearly a third of the U.S. population — meaning it was plausibly feel by more people than any other seism in U.S. account .
Within daylight of the quake , the quake enquiry community complete seismograph and other monitoring equipment near the quake ’s rootage , collecting data on the aftershocks . " This eventually produced the best register aftershock successiveness in the easterly U.S. , " researcher Wright Horton , a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Center in Reston , Va. , enjoin OurAmazingPlanet .
What ’s next ?
A dubiousness researchers now would wish to resolve is whether this earthquake was " central Virginia ’s ' heavy One , ' or if there is evidence ofeven larger earthquake in the yesteryear , " Horton said . " Analysis of the aftershock sequence should reveal more about the fracture that caused the quake as well as basis motions and aftershock to be expected from future earthquakes along the Eastern Seaboard . "
Scientistscontinue to look into the quakewith fieldwork at the site , depth psychology of old fracture and past quake , airborne lidar ( optical maser scans ) and magnetic , soberness and radiometric measurements to figure the Earth from the surface to the earthquake origin 3.7 miles ( 6 kilometers ) underground . All this " will help in assess the likelihood of next earthquakes as large or larger than order of magnitude 5.8 in the Central Virginia seismic zone , " Horton enunciate .
The scientist detailed their findings in the Aug. 14 exit of the journal Eos .
