Reviving mB. Issue 3 (30th November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kanamori, Hiroo; Ross, Zachary E
• Is Part Of: Geophysical journal international. Volume 216:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 1798
• Page End: 1816
• Publication Date: 2018-11-30
• Subjects: Body waves -- Earthquake dynamics -- Earthquake hazards -- Earthquake source observations -- Wave propagation -- Subduction zone processes; Geophysics -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggy510
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-540X

Abstract

SUMMARY: We determine m B, the original body wave magnitude developed by Gutenberg and Richter over the period 1942–1956, for about 3300 M w ≥ 6 earthquakes for the period 1988–present using modern broad-band seismograms. The main objective is to extend the database of energy-related parameters by combining m B databases for recent and old events. The radiated energy E R_B (in erg) computed from m B using the Gutenberg & Richter relation $\log {E_{\mathrm{ R}\_\mathrm{ B}}} = 2.4{m_\mathrm{ B}} + 5.8$ agrees very well with E R estimated with modern techniques, especially for large deep earthquakes. Thus, E R_B is useful as a proxy for E R to investigate the global diversity of earthquake characteristics and physics over an extended period of time.