Historical Seismograms - Evidence from the AD 2000 Izu Islands ...

PrefaceA symposium on Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes was held August27-28, 1985, during the General Assembly of the International Association ofSeismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI) in Tokyo, Japan.Sixty papers were presented, of which 51 papers are included in this Proceedingsvolume. The papers are grouped in eight sections according to thesubject matter: I. Introduction, 11. Analysis of Historical Seismograms, 111.Earthquake Catalogs and Databases, IV. Individual Historical Earthquakes,V. Earthquake History, VI. Seismicity and Tectonics, VII. Filming and Processingof Historical Seismograms, and VIII . Historical Seismograms fromVarious Observatories. However, such grouping is rather subjective, and somepapers could have been grouped differently,Ever since civilization began, earthquakes have caused much suffering tomankind. In the past two decades, more than half a million people were killedby earthquakes. In order to mitigate earthquake hazards, it is important tolearn from past earthquakes. Because seismograms comprise the basic observationaIdata for earthquake study, a summary of available seismograms andcompleted analyses is essential. Because post-1 963 seismograms are moreuniform and accessible, we concentrate on pre-1963 “historical”seismograms. The purpose of this volume is to provide a summary of historicalseismograms and earthquakes of the world. It is intended for seismologists,geologists, geophysicists, and engineers who wish to learn more about pastearthquakes, how to study them, and what materials are available.This volume is published under the auspices of the IASPEIAJNESCOWorking Group on Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes. The WorkingGroup is indebted to the following agencies for financial support: IASPEI,Pan American Institute for Geography and History (PAIGH), Tokyo KaijoKagami Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and U.S. NationalGeophysical Data Center of NOAA. We thank R. D. Adams (IASPEI),E. R. Engdahl (USCS), A. Giesecke (PAIGH), M. Hashizume (UNESCO),R. M. Hamilton (USGS), K. Kitazawa (UNESCO), and J. F. Lander (NOAA)for their encouragement and support.This volume is dedicated to James F. Lander, who recently retired from theU.S. Federal Government. He was instrumental in formulating the originalrecommendations for preserving historical seismograms. At the onset, Lander...Xlll