Earthquakes and tsunamis in the past : a guide to techniques in historical seismology / Emanuela Guidoboni, John E. Ebel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Guidoboni, Emanuela.

Contributor:

Ebel, J. E. (John E.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleoseismology.

Earthquakes--History.

Earthquakes.

Tsunamis--History.

Tsunamis.

Earthquakes--History--Sources.

Tsunamis--History--Sources.

History.

Genre:

Sources.

Physical Description:

xi, 590 pages : illustrations, maps, plans ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Summary:

This handbook defines the discipline of historical seismology by comprehensively detailing the latest research methodologies for studying historical earthquakes and tsunamis. It describes the many historical sources that contain references to seismic phenomena, discusses the critical problems of interpreting such sources, and presents a summary of the various theories proposed (from ancient Greek to modern times) to explain the causes of earthquakes - indispensable factors for understanding historical earthquake descriptions.

The text presents numerous examples of interpretations and misinterpretations of historical earthquakes and tsunamis in order to illustrate the key techniques, with a chapter devoted to an explanation of the date and time systems used throughout history in Mediterranean Europe and the Near-East. The authors also tie historical seismology research to archaeological investigations and demonstrate how new scientific databases and catalogues can be compiled from information derived from the methodologies described.

This is an important new reference for scientists, engineers, historians and archaeologists on the methodologies for analysing earthquakes and tsunamis of the past. Illustrated with examples from a broad geographic region (including Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and the Americas), the book provides a valuable foundation for understanding the Earth's seismic past and potential future seismic hazard.

Contents:

Part I Defining historical seismology

1 What is historical seismology? 3

1.1 The interest in historical earthquakes and tsunamis 3

1.2 The historical approach to seismology 6

1.3 Some key ideas in historical seismology 8

2 The importance of historical earthquake and tsunami data 11

2.1 The scientific understanding of earthquakes and tsunamis 11

2.2 Earthquake catalogues and their history 26

Part II Issues concerning the interpretation of historical earthquakes and tsunami data

3 Written historical sources and their use 39

3.1 A definition of historical sources 39

3.2 Types of written historical sources 41

4 Types of scientific sources: historical interpretations of earthquakes (an excursus from the ancient world up to the twentieth century) 147

4.1 Theories and treatises of the past 147

4.2 Scientific studies and services 186

5 Other types of sources 195

5.1 Historical earthquake cartography 195

5.2 Iconographic sources (drawings, frescoes, etc.) 204

5.3 Sources written with light 206

5.4 Unwritten sources 217

6 Potential problems in historical records 221

6.1 Problems inherent in the historical sources 221

6.2 Problems inherent in the use of historical sources 228

6.3 False and lost earthquakes 247

7 Determination of historical earthquakes: dates and times 263

7.1 The need for a common time base for earthquake catalogues 263

7.2 Dating styles and practice in ancient Mediterranean cultures 265

7.3 Years, months and days 265

7.4 The measurement of the hours from the ancient world to the modern era 284

7.5 Earthquake duration 294

Part III Practical guidelines for the analysis of historical earthquake data

8 Planning the goals of analysis of historical earthquake data 299

8.1 Reviewing existing earthquake and tsunami catalogues 299

8.2 The search for fresh historical data 302

8.3 Different research strategies for large and small earthquakes 304

8.4 Seismic crises, sequences and multiple earthquakes: picking them out from among the sources 314

8.5 Foreshocks and aftershocks: why targeted research is useful 320

8.6 Epicentres at sea or on land? 322

8.7 The completeness of an earthquake catalogue: some general considerations from the historical point of view 325

9 Processing historical records 329

9.1 The validation of historical data 329

9.2 Classifying a list of references 332

10 From interpretation of historical records to historical seismic scenarios 336

10.1 Constructing seismic scenarios: a painstaking montage of different elements 336

10.2 Terminology and modes of expression 337

10.3 Place-names, administrative boundaries, frontiers and their changes 341

10.4 Territorial factors in seismic scenarios 345

10.5 Human impact 352

10.6 The effects of earthquakes on construction practices 366

10.7 Effects in towns: constructing an urban seismic scenario of the past 378

10.8 Effects on the natural environment 380

10.9 Identifying faulting and liquefaction features in historical accounts 394

10.10 Tsunamis: loss of data and descriptive uniformity 401

10.11 Earthquake effects on a regional scale: outlining a complex seismic scenario 413

11 Traces of earthquakes in archaeological sites and in monuments 418

11.1 Historical seismology and archaeology 418

11.2 Traces of earthquakes in historical construction and monuments 437

12 Deriving earthquake source and shaking parameters and tsunami parameters from historical data 473

12.1 On the dates and times of earthquakes and tsunamis from historical records 475

12.2 Macroseismic intensity and historical reports 480

12.3 Comparing historical and modern earthquakes to estimate earthquake location, size and strength of ground-shaking 488

12.4 Estimating tsunami parameters from historical data 504

13 Cooperation in historical seismology research 514

13.1 The accuracy of historical earthquake and tsunami data 515

13.2 Improving earthquake catalogues 517

13.3 Improving seismic hazard estimations 520

13.4 Bringing seismologists, historians and archaeologists together 521.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 531-583) and index.

ISBN:

9780521837958

0521837952

OCLC:

149490792