Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Modified Mercalli Intensity contours for the earthquakes from December 16, 1811 at 815 GMT through June 10, 1987 at 2348 GMT

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Modified Mercalli Intensity contours for the earthquakes from December 16, 1811 at 815 GMT through June 10, 1987 at 2348 GMT
Abstract:
Isoseismals of historic Central U.S. earthquakes are contained in 26 separate coverages.
Margaret Hopper provided these isoseismals after reexamining the intensity data and re-calculating the isoseismal contours. She generated isoseismal contours for each earthquake using computer contouring software, but adjusted positions of contours where, in her expert opinion, computer software had erroneously located them. Some isoseismals were unchanged from original authors and are referenced in her unpublished manuscript. Most isoseismals were changed to incorporate new information and to conform to common, modern, standards.
The values for intensity reported in these data are consistent with the Modified Mercali Intensity (MMI) scale. This scale is useful for describing damage from earthquakes. For historical earthquakes, these values are gathered in the 4 - 10 range. In the central U.S., historical earthquakes have caused damage in the 4 - 8 range only. Intensity data are usually reported in Roman numerals, however Arabic numerals are used for computer accessibility.
Each cover contains data for one or more earthquakes as follows: 
 Coverage   Event Date            Time     Magnitude
 i181112a   December 16, 1811  at 0815 GMT; mag 8.1
 i181112b   December 16, 1811  at 1415 GMT; mag 7.2
 i181201    January 23, 1812   at 1500 GMT; mag 7.8
 i181202    February 7, 1812   at 0945 GMT; mag 8.0
 i182707    July 5, 1827       at 1130 GMT; mag 4.8
 i183806    June 9, 1838       at 1445 GMT; mag 5.1
 i184301    January 5, 1843    at 0245 GMT; mag 6.5
 i185710    October 8, 1857    at 1000 GMT; mag 5.1
 i187609    September 25, 1876 at 0600 GMT; mag 4.5
                              and 0615 GMT; mag 4.8
 i188301    January 11, 1883   at 0712 GMT; mag 4.6
 i188702    February 6, 1887   at 2215 GMT; mag 4.6
 i188708    August 2, 1887     at 1836 GMT; mag 4.9
 i189107    July 27, 1891      at 0228 GMT; mag 8.1
 i189109    September 27, 1891 at 0455 GMT; mag 5.5
 i189510    October 31, 1895   at 1008 GMT; mag 6.8
 i189904    April 30, 1899     at 0205 GMT; mag 4.9
 i190302    February 9, 1903   at 0021 GMT; mag 4.9
 i192211    November 27, 1922  at 0331 GMT; mag 4.4
 i192504    April 27, 1925     at 0405 GMT; mag 4.9
 i192509    September 2, 1925  at 1156 GMT; mag 4.6
 i193408    August 20, 1934    at 0047 GMT; mag 4.7
 i195811    November 8, 1958   at 0241 GMT; mag 4.4
 i196811    November 9, 1968   at 1701 GMT; mag 5.4
 i197404    April 3, 1974      at 2305 GMT; mag 4.3
 i198406    June 29, 1984      at 0758 GMT; mag 4.1
 i198706    June 10, 1987      at 2348 GMT; mag 5.0
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Rhea, Susan, 1997, Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Modified Mercalli Intensity contours for the earthquakes from December 16, 1811 at 815 GMT through June 10, 1987 at 2348 GMT: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-0681, US Geological Survey, Denver.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -92.77226257
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.65071106
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.45173264
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.72721672
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date:
    Ending_Date: 10-Jun-1987
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (7)
      • String (47)
      • GT-polygon composed of chains (8)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees. The horizontal datum used is Unknown.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.4.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.98.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    coverage.PAT
    values for modified mercali intensity contours (Source: Margaret Hopper pers. commun., 1995)
    INTENSITY
    average of intensity values from felt reports (Source: Margaret Hopper, person. commun., 1995)
    Range of values
    Minimum:4
    Maximum:8
    Units:modified mercali intensity
    Resolution:1

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Rhea, Susan
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    MS966, Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: email is the best way to make contact

Why was the data set created?

The data were generated to help in understanding the seismotectonic hazards in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley. These data complement similar data collected in the vicinity of New Madrid, MO US Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-0574, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1995/0574/

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    (source 1 of 1)
    Hopper, Margaret, in prep 1996, Atlas of Earthquake Damage in the Central US: U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

    Other_Citation_Details: written communication 1995, hopper@usgs.gov
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 10000000
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 16-Jul-1997 (process 1 of 2)
    Images of the isoseismals were created by Hopper using FileMakerPro on a Macintosh computer. She provided hard-copy output on 8" x 10" paper. Contours were then digitized on an Altek digitizer table using Arc/Info. Arcs were edited and smoothed using grain, spline, and generalize.
    Date: 06-May-1998 (process 2 of 2)
    Creation of original metadata record Person who carried out this activity:
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    MS966, Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: email is the best way to make contact
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Rhea, Susan, Wheeler, R.L., and Hopper, M.G., 1996, Map showing earthquake intensities in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-Map 2583-B, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

    Other_Citation_Details: pamphlet accompanies map

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    See Entity_Attribute_Information
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Point features present.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints:
The original source figure was prepared at page-size scale, or roughly at 1:10,000,000. The user should exercise caution in assuming too high a quality in location of contours. The contours are best considered approximate.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    USGS Mail Stop 966
    Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: Email is the best way to make contact.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? USGS Open-File Report 97-0681
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the USGS.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    ARC/INFO version 7.0.3 or later or ArcView 3.0 or later

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 10-Jun-2016
Metadata author:
Peter N Schweitzer
USGS Midwest Area
Collection manager, USGS Geoscience Data Clearinghouse, http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/
Mail Stop 954
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA
USA

703-648-6533 (voice)
703-648-6252 (FAX)
pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:
This page is <https://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/metadata/open-file/97-681/isoseis.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.48 on Tue Jul 03 20:06:57 2018