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M_L measurements for northeastern United States earthquakes

WESTON OBSERVATORY DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS BOSTON COLLEGE, WESTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02193

Abstract

Local magnitudes (M_L) are reported for 56 northeastern United States and Canadian earthquakes using records from a pair of Wood-Anderson torsion instruments which have operated at Weston Observatory since 1967. Corrections to the Richter M_L formula are computed to take into account the difference in attenuation between southern California and the northeastern United States. The corrected M_L values for these events were compared to the previously reported magnitudes which had been calculated either from the Nuttli (1973) m_bLg formula applied to 5- to 10-Hz waves (called M_N) or from a coda magnitude formula (M_c). In general, the M_L determinations tend to underestimate the M_N and M_c values by about 0.4 magnitude units. This confirms the fact that the M_N scale is not appropriate when applied to high-frequency waves, as it is in the northeastern United States. The reason for this appears to be in the relation of the period of the wave used in the magnitude determination to the corner period of the earthquake and earth response.

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