Study of the Verny, 1887, Earthquake in Central Asia: Using Environmental Effects to Scale the Intensity
by
Ruben Tatevossian
Institute of Physics of the Earth, RAS, Russia, Moscow, 123995 ul. B.Gruzinskaya, 10

The goal is to get mutually consistent assessments of intensity of shaking based on environmental and macroseismic effects caused by earthquake. Simultaneously, database structure for storing information on ground effects is discussed. Although all macroseismic scales prior to EMS98 include environmental effects for intensity assessment as their integral part, we make difference between environmental and macroseismic effects. Environmental effects are all kind of consequences of an earthquake (faults, ground cracks, landslides, rockfalls, etc.) observed in nature. Macroseismic effects refer only to human and man-made structure reactions to an earthquake. To measure the first type of effects, the Earthquake Environmental Effect (EEE) based INQUA scale [Michetti et al., 2004] is used. To measure macroseismic effects we'll use EMS98 [European Macroseismic Scale, 1998]. The Verniy, May 28 (June 9), 1887, earthquake is a large seismic event in Central Asia. It practically completely destroyed the regional center Verniy (later on Alma-Ata) and caused death tolls. An expedition was sent in epicentral area of the earthquake soon after its occurrence. The expedition collected and published [Mushketov, 1890] materials on the earthquake effects both in localities and in natural environment. As the case study represent historical earthquake it enables to verify if also in this situation the EEE information could be fit to rigid database structure and format. The presentation proves perspectives of environmental effects as a tool to calibrate earthquakes, if INQUA scale is used properly.

Date received: June 17, 2005

Copyright © 2005 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # caqy-04.