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P.C. Thenhaus

Publications and source records attributed to P.C. Thenhaus.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1993

Pilot studies of seismic hazard and risk in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia

Earthquake ground motions in North Sulawesi on soft soil that have a 90% probability of not been exceeded in 560 years are estimated to be 0.63 g (63% of the acceleration of gravity) at Palu, 0.31 g at Gorontalo, and 0.27 g at Manado. Estimated ground motions for rock conditions for the same probability level and exposure time are 56% of those for soft soil. The hazard estimates are obtained from seismic sources that model the earthquake potential to a depth of 100 km beneath northern and central Sulawesi and include the Palu fault zone of western Sulawesi, the North Sulawesi subduction zone, and the southern most segment of the Sangihe subduction zone beneath the Molucca Sea. An attenuation relation based on Japanese strong-motion data and considered appropriate for subduction environments of the western Pacific was used in determination of ground motions. Following the 18 April 1990 North Sulawesi earthquake (Ms 7.3) a seismic hazard and risk assessment was carried out. -from Authors

Earthquake Spectra↗
USGS1993

The October 12, 1992, Dahshur, Egypt, Earthquake

Cairo and northeastern Egypt experienced a rare, damaging earthquake on October 12, 1992. The earthquake, which measured 5.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, was centered near the village of Dahshur, about 18 km south of Cairo. The computed hypocentral depth of the earthquake, about 25 km, is consistent with the fact that fault rupture associated with the earthquake did not reach the surface. Despite its relatively moderate size, the earthquake caused many casualties and heavy damage. These losses included more than 500 fatalities, more than 6,500 injuries, and about 8,300 damaged or destroyed buildings. The Foreign Broadcast Service estimated monetary losses directly attributable to the earthquake at $300 million. We were part of an international reconnaissance team that investigated the Dahsur earthquake. This article summarizes our findings and points out how even a relatively moderate sized earthquake can cause widespread damage and a large number of casualities.

Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS)↗
USGS1990

Probabilistic earthquake acceleration and velocity maps for the United States and Puerto Rico

The ground-motion maps presented here (maps A-D) show the expected seismic induced or earthquake caused maximum horizontal acceleration and velocity in rock in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. There is a 90 percent probability that the maximum horizontal acceleration and velocity shown on the maps will not be exceeded in the time periods of 50 and 250 years (average return period for the expected ground motion of 474 and 2,372 years). Rock is taken here to mean material having a shear-wave velocity of between 0.75 and 0.90 kilometers per second. (Algermissen and Perkins, 1976).

Miscellaneous Field Studies Map↗
USGS1990

Perspectives on earthquake hazards in the New Madrid seismic zone, Missouri

A sequence of three great earthquakes struck the Central United States during the winter of 1811-1812 in the area of New Madrid, Missouri. they are considered to be the greatest earthquakes in the conterminous U.S because they were felt and caused damage at far greater distances than any other earthquakes in U.S history. The large population currently living within the damage area of these earthquakes means that widespread destruction and loss of life is likely if the sequence were repeated. In contrast to California, where the earthquakes are felt frequently, the damaging earthquakes that have occurred in the Easter U.S-in 155 (Cape Ann, Mass.), 1811-12 (New Madrid, Mo.), 1886 (Charleston S.C) ,and 1897 (Giles County, Va.- are generally regarded as only historical phenomena (fig. 1). The social memory of these earthquakes no longer exists. A fundamental problem in the Eastern U.S, therefore, is that the earthquake hazard is not generally considered today in land-use and civic planning. This article offers perspectives on the earthquake hazard of the New Madrid seismic zone through discussions of the geology of the Mississippi Embayment, the historical earthquakes that have occurred there, the earthquake risk, and the "tools" that geoscientists have to study the region. The so-called earthquake hazard is defined by the characterization of the physical attributes of the geological structures that cause earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, the estimation of the recurrence times of the earthquakes, their potential size, and the expected ground motions. the term "earthquake risk," on the other hand, refers to aspects of the expected damage to manmade strctures and to lifelines as a result of the earthquake hazard.

New Madrid seismic zone↗
USGS1983

Summary of workshops concerning regional seismic source zones of parts of the conterminous United States, convened by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1979-1980, Golden, Colorado

Workshops were convened by the U.S. Geological Survey to obtain the latest information and concepts relative to defining seismic source zones for five regions of the United States. The zones, with some modifications, have been used in preparation of new national probabilistic ground motion hazard maps by the U.S. Geological Survey. The five regions addressed are the Great Basin, the Northern Rocky Mountains, the Southern Rocky Mountains, the Central Interior, and the northeastern United States. Discussions at the workshops focussed on possible temporal and spatial variations of seismicity within the regions, latest ages of surface-fault displacements, most recent uplift or subsidence, geologic structural provinces as they relate to seismicity, and speculation on earthquake causes. Within the Great Basin region, the zones conform to areas characterized by a predominance of faults that have certain ages of latest surface displacements. In the Northern and Southern Rocky Mountain regions, zones primarily conform to distinctive structural terrane. In the Central Interior, primary emphasis was placed on an interpretation of the areal distribution of historic seismicity, although geophysical studies in the Reelfoot rift area provided data for defining zones in the New Madrid earthquake area. An interpretation of the historic seismicity also provided the basis for drawing the zones of the New England region. Estimates of earthquake maximum magnitudes and of recurrence times for these earthquakes are given for most of the zones and are based on either geologic data or opinion.

Circular↗
USGS1982

Probabilistic estimates of maximum acceleration and velocity in rock in the contiguous United States

Maximum horizontal accelerations and velocities caused by earthquakes are mapped for exposure times of 10, 50 and 250 years at the 90-percent probability level of nonexceedance for the contiguous United States. In many areas these new maps differ significantly from the 1976 probabilistic acceleration map by Algermlssen and Perkins because of the increase in detail, resulting from greater emphasis on the geologic basis for seismic source zones. This new emphasis is possible because of extensive data recently acquired on Holocene and Quaternary faulting in the western United States and new interpretations of geologic structures controlling the seismicity pattern in the central and eastern United States.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1982

Distribution of intensity for the Westmorland, California, earthquake of April 26, 1981

The maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of the April 26, 1981 earthquake located 5 km northwest of Westmorland, California is VII. Twelve buildings in Westmorland were severely damaged with an additional 30 sustaining minor damage. Two brick parapets fell in Calipatria, 14 km northeast of Westmorland and 10 km from the earthquake epicenter. Significant damage in rural areas was restricted to unreinforced, concrete-lined irrigation canals. Liquefaction effects and ground slumping were widespread in rural areas and were the primary causes of road cracking. Preliminary local government estimates of property loss range from one to three million dollars (Imperial Valley Press, 1981). The earthquake was felt over an area of approximately 160,000 km2; about the same felt area of the October 15, 1979 (Reagor and others, 1980), and May 18, 1940 (Ulrich, 1941) Imperial Valley earthquakes.

Open-File Report↗