More than 300 earthquakes recorded in UK this year, study finds | Earthquakes
More than 300 earthquakes have been recorded in the UK this year, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).
Among the most active regions experiencing earthquakes are Perthshire and the Western Highlands in Scotland, South Wales, and Yorkshire and Lancashire in England, according to BGS data.
Perth and Kinross experienced the two most powerful earthquakes on land, occurring within hours of each other on October 20 near Loch Lyon: a magnitude 3.7 temblor followed by a magnitude 3.6 event.
One person described it as “an underground subway under my house,” while another said “the house shook and all the windows shook.”
After the event, the BGS received 198 “felt reports” from people describing their experience of the earthquake, some more than 60 kilometers from the epicenter.
The BGS reported that 34 of the 309 recorded earthquakes occurred near Loch Lyon between October and December. The third largest recorded land quake was a magnitude 3.2 event in Silverdale, Lancashire, on December 3, with 700 people reporting the tremor.
The 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in the UK since records began, with a magnitude of 6.1.
Dr Brian Baptie, seismologist at BGS, said: “Data shows earthquakes have occurred in many parts of Britain over the past 12 months, with many events in Scotland, England and Wales, each large enough to be widely felt by many people nearby. »
Baptie added that although large earthquakes are rare, the UK has experienced them almost every day this year. “This reminds us that small earthquakes happen all the time and it remains critically important that they are studied to help us understand the possible impact of rare large earthquakes on large energy and infrastructure projects across the country,” he said.
The BGS uses a network of 80 monitoring stations across the UK to record seismic activity.
Baptie said it was no surprise Perth and Kinross topped the list. “The west of Scotland is one of the most active regions in the UK. Some of this activity can be attributed to well-known geological faults such as the Great Glen Fault and the Highland Boundary Fault.”
He added: “Earthquakes can occur in other areas of the UK where there are geological faults. The earth beneath our feet contains a lot of what we call geological faults, and these are caused by our turbulent geological history and because there is still ongoing deformation around the UK.
“Sometimes these faults are activated by current stresses, and when they are, you get these little earthquakes.”
The BGS has received 1,320 reports of people feeling earthquakes this year. The magnitude of many of these earthquakes was too small to be felt by humans, but larger earthquakes, which have occurred in the past in the UK with magnitudes of 5 to 6, can pose safety risks.
A magnitude 4 event in and around the UK is typically recorded every three to four years, a magnitude 5 every few decades and a magnitude 6 every few hundred years, the BGS said.
