The International Seismological Summary

Abstract

THE I.S.S., compiled at Oxford, is a work which increases in volume and range as it progresses. The volume for January, February and March 1933, which commences the sixteenth volume, has just appeared, and deals with 165 epicentres, 67 being new and 98 repetitions from old epicentres. Nine of the earthquakes mentioned have foci which are below normal. The epicentres have, in general, been determined from observations of P alone, instead of by the old method of using S—P differences. This is said to make very little difference in the case of well-observed earthquakes, but is greatly to be preferred on theoretical grounds. During the last five years, the range of numbers of earthquakes with determinable epicentres recorded in the I.S.S. has been from 569 in 1932 to 653 in 1930. It appears, therefore, that notwithstanding the greater number of stations sending readings, and the greatly improved registration, the numbers of such earthquakes have reached a probable limit. In this volume, stations which send additional readings to the usual P, S, L and M are thanked especially, and for the future all are requested to classify wherever possible their L readings into LQ and LR, and to state whether the initial P reading is compressional or dilatational.