KGS Monitoring Seismic Activity Across Kentucky and Surrounding States
Earthquakes affecting Kentucky are in the news again, following an uptick in activity in November and December in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) and another event in southeast Ohio. The NMSZ is a zone of seismic activity on a fault system which extends into four states, including the western part of Kentucky. Normally, there are two to four magnitude 3.0 earthquakes per year in the NMSZ. However, between November 3 and December 9, there were three magnitude 3.0 and greater events. Just afterward, on December 16, a magnitude 3.4 earthquake occurred in southeastern Ohio, a region that rarely experiences events of this size. Each of these recent earthquakes was felt near the epicenters, including in Kentucky.
Seth Carpenter, a Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) seismologist, has participated in multiple media interviews over the last month related to the recent earthquakes. You can find the interviews here:
- KET (via PBS), 'Recent Earthquakes Raising Concern in KY,'
- WKYT, 'UK seismologist explains Monday's earthquake,'
- LEX18, 'Kentucky Geological Survey monitoring seismic activity around the state,'
KGS provides scientific information about seismic events that affect Kentucky. KGS operates the Kentucky Seismic and Strong Motion Network (KSSMN), which monitors earthquakes in and around the Commonwealth. The network consists of 24 permanent seismic and strong-motion stations. Real-time recordings from some of stations can be viewed online at www.uky.edu/KGS/earthquake/. KGS has studied and monitored seismic activity in the NMSZ and other regions of enhanced earthquake activity, including the Eastern Tennessee and Wabash Valley Seismic Zones, for more than 40 years. Dozens of small earthquakes are recorded by the KSSMN each year.
Seismologists can locate earthquakes and identify patterns in recurring seismic activity, measure how energy is transmitted through the Earth's layers, and assess the shaking that could occur in the event of a strong earthquake. Although future earthquakes cannot be precisely predicted, certain measures can be taken to mitigate the potential damage to homes and infrastructure. See KGS publication SP17_12.pdf for more information.