"Did You Feel It?" Intensity Data: A Surprisingly Good Measure of Earthquake Ground Motion

Research Article| May 01, 2007 "Did You Feel It?" Intensity Data: A Surprisingly Good Measure of Earthquake Ground Motion Gail M. Atkinson; Gail M. Atkinson Dept. Earth Sciences University of Western Ontario London, ON N6A 5B7 Canada gmatkinson@aol.com (G. M. A.) Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David J. Wald David J. Wald U.S. Geological Survey Denver Federal Center MS966 PO Box 25046 Lakewood, CO 80225 USA wald@usgs.gov (D. J. W.) Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Seismological Research Letters (2007) 78 (3): 362–368. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.78.3.362 Article history first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Gail M. Atkinson, David J. Wald; "Did You Feel It?" Intensity Data: A Surprisingly Good Measure of Earthquake Ground Motion. Seismological Research Letters 2007;; 78 (3): 362–368. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.78.3.362 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey is tapping a vast new source of engineering seismology data through its "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) program, which collects online citizen responses to earthquakes. To date, more than 750,000 responses have been compiled in the United States alone. The DYFI data make up in quantity what they may lack in scientific quality and offer the potential to resolve longstanding issues in earthquake ground-motion science. Such issues have been difficult to address due to the paucity of instrumental ground-motion data in regions of low seismicity. In particular, DYFI data provide strong evidence that earthquake stress drops, which control the strength of high-frequency ground shaking, are higher in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) than in California. Higher earthquake stress drops, coupled with lower attenuation of shaking with distance, result in stronger overall shaking over a wider area and thus more potential damage for CEUS earthquakes in comparison to those of equal magnitude in California—a fact also definitively captured with these new DYFI data and maps. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.