Earthquakes in the Arctic Area

Abstract

There are two types of sources for information on earthquakes. The first consists of reports on the intensity and the extent of the shaken area of felt earthquakes; the second, of data from instrumental records. For the Arctic area the first gives relatively little information. The intensity of an earthquake is estimated from the observed damage and from changes found at the surface of the earth. Even in those instances where earthquakes have been felt in the Arctic area and have been reported by the observers, the information is rather scanty and, except for some regions in Alaska and on Iceland, is not sufficient for an accurate determination of the maximum intensity.