LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A stretch of seismic activity felt in and around the Commonwealth drew some extra interest from seismologists around the state.
Dr. Seth Carpenter, a seismologist with the Kentucky Geological Survey, shared why these tremors drew attention.
“There was a period of time that stretched from earlier in November into mid-December or so where we saw three magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes,” said Carpenter.
Earthquakes at magnitude 3.0 are strong enough to be felt near the epicenter, and these quakes were recorded by seismographs in the western part of the state.
Kentucky sits adjacent to three seismic zones, and the New Madrid Seismic Zone is the most active. The zone, which includes parts of western Kentucky, averages two to four of these types of tremors spread throughout the year. The zone produced three of them between Nov. 3 and Dec. 9.
“Earthquakes in the areas where these larger events have happened are not unusual,” Carpenter added. “It’s a little more unusual to see earthquakes so, of such a stronger magnitude and clustered in time like we see here.”
After a series of major earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, New Madrid averages 200 measured events each year, according to the Missouri Department of Public Safety. With this history in mind, Dr. Carpenter shared that there is some discourse about what these seismic patterns mean.
“Some people believe New Madrid is showing us just aftershock activity, a very prolonged period of aftershocks since that original strong sequence,” he said. “Others believe that New Madrid is continuing to accumulate energy which could produce large earthquakes sometime into the future.”
While the cluster of quakes drew some attention, seismic activity – at least in that part of the state – has returned to more normal patterns and shouldn’t be a major cause for concern.
That uptick was enough to raise many of our attentions,” said Carpenter. “It’s dropping off again like we would expect. But if it were to pick up again, if we were to see another one or several magnitude 3.0 or larger earthquakes, then it would be worthwhile to investigate this a little more intensely."
The shaking isn’t limited to western Kentucky. Some in northern Kentucky felt the southern Ohio quake Dec. 16. The Kentucky Geological Survey also recorded another seismic event in western Livingston County, but they determined that tremor was caused by a quarry collapse.
“We don’t get into the business of trying to predict earthquakes,” Carpenter said of the various seismic events to cap off 2024. “What we do know is that they happened, and so we would like to help people prepare for such large events were they to happen again in the future.”
The Kentucky Geological Survey has more information available on their website if you would like to learn more about seismic activity and its relation to the Commonwealth.
