By Sheldon Spackman

U of C researchers seeking reports from Monday’s earthquake

Mar 7, 2019 | 1:01 PM

Researchers at the University of Calgary are encouraging central Albertans to report what they may have experienced during Monday’s earthquake.

Dr. David Eaton, professor of geophysics in the department of geoscience at U of C, says what researchers would like to do is collect information that would allow them to make an intensity map from Monday’s earthquake.

“Monday’s earthquake is not unlike previous earthquakes that have taken place elsewhere in Alberta,” he says. “So areas like Fox Creek for example, except for the fact that it occurred close to a populated area. That presents a tremendous research opportunity for us to really understand the intensity distribution from the earthquake.”

Eaton says when scientists measure earthquakes, two different scales are used.

“One is called the Magnitude Scale and often times people read about earthquake magnitudes in the media and that’s a measure of the size of an earthquake which does not depend on how close you are to the event,” says Eaton. “Another scale is called the intensity scale and in North America, scientists use something called the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. Intensity measures the actual effects of an earthquake at a given location and for that reason it does depend on how far you are from the epicenter of the earthquake.”

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With access to hundreds of reports from Monday’s earthquake so far, Eaton says the information will be used towards further research and understanding of these earthquakes.

“The more we know about the effects of these earthquakes and again because this event was so close to a more densely populated area, we can really get that information that has not been possible previously,” he explains. ”The more that can contribute to designing mitigation and response strategies for these events, it’s really important for academic research. It’s also important for regulatory bodies and for industry to get this information as well.”

Eaton says it’s important to fill out an online report whether they felt anything or not from Monday’s earthquake.

“It’s also important to do this before too much time has elapsed because everyone’s memory slowly fades,” he explains. “This form relies on a detailed recollection of things that occurred and what happened during the event. It’s also important to know where people did not feel it, because that too can be really instructive in kind of reconstructing what took place during the earthquake.”

Monday’s 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck 19 kilometres west of Red Deer, south of Sylvan Lake, at 5:55 a.m., about one kilometer below the surface of the earth.

The quake knocked out power to the town of Sylvan Lake and surrounding areas for about an hour and a half. No one was hurt.