Analysis of Sea-Floor Earthquake Data

Published

August 1, 1998

Author(s)

C E. Smith, D M. Boore

Abstract

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), in cooperation with several oil and gas companies, installed a seismometer network on the ocean floor in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of southern California. The program was called SEMS, for the Seafloor Earthquake Measurement System. The purpose of the program was to characterize the nature of the response of earthquake grour d motions for use in the design and reassessment of offshore platforms used in petroleum drilling and production. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was given a contract to provide seismological analysis of data obtained from the SEMS program and compared it to data from earthquakes measured onshore. This paper provides an overview of the work by the USGS on this initivative.

Proceedings Title

U.S./Japan Natural Resources Development Program (UJNR). Wind and Seismic Effects. Joint Meeting of the U.S./Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects, 30th.

Conference Dates

May 12-15, 1998

Conference Location

Gaithersburg, MD

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

earthquakes, offshore platforms

Citation

Smith, C. and Boore, D. (1998), Analysis of Sea-Floor Earthquake Data, U.S./Japan Natural Resources Development Program (UJNR). Wind and Seismic Effects. Joint Meeting of the U.S./Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects, 30th., Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=916656 (Accessed May 18, 2026)

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