ATLANTA – Researchers in a nationwide study of earthquakes soon will place instruments beneath the Georgia red clay and in other eastern states as they seek to learn what causes them and where they might strike.
Scientists say an August earthquake in Virginia, which cracked the Washington Monument, has led to a renewed emphasis on trying to understand more about what lies below the Earth’s surface in eastern states.
On Nov. 9, a 2.7 magnitude earthquake hit Dalton, Ga. Experts said the quake, reported by Whitfield and Catoosa county residents at 11:45 a.m., was centered a mile west-southwest of the city and about three miles underground. It was felt from Dayton, Tenn., to Atlanta and from Gainesville, Ga., into Alabama.
“It will help us to understand where the earthquakes are, where the faults are and generally get a clearer picture,” said Bob Woodward, director of USArray, a national project between multiple universities and government agencies to monitor and map the earth’s movements. “You bring the whole structure of the continent into much clearer focus.”
In Georgia, instruments will soon blanket the state, allowing researchers to see for the first time how seismic activity is connected to other regions.