Have the incidences of earthquakes, worldwide, increased this century? And if records go back any further have they increased in the last 200 years?

rocky Sarah Davies

Sarah,

Sorry for the delay. I was seeking help from a seismologists but they're taking too long. So you get an answer from a volcanologist.

I looked at the lists of "World's Most Dangerous Earthquakes and Selected Earthquakes in the United States" from The Citizen's Guide to Geologic Hazards. I thought it best to look just at the larger earthquakes to reduce the dependence on instruments and observers. There has been about 20 large earthquakes globally in the latter half of this century (so far) compared to about 15 for the first half of this century. There were only 7 large earthquakes recorded for the entire 19th century. Based on this quick look at one source of information, it does appear that the frequency of earthquakes is increasing. The big question is why. Perhaps this pattern reflects population growth.

Thanks for an interesting question.

Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota 

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