Recent work using EC funding in collaboration with Patras University published a new earthquake catalogue for Greece embracing the 20th century, and we used this to prepare new hazard maps of strong ground shaking and earthquake perceptibility. These rely on extreme value statistics. The catalogue is available on request. The research into Greek seismic hazard is now being extended using Monte Carlo modelling of seismicity. The unexpected 7 September 1999 Athens earthquake was marked by Burton with Padapoulos (National Observatory of Athens) editing a Special Volume on Natural Hazards. We are also looking into time-varying hazard and we have published some results on this in a Special Issue of Tectonophysics on "Spatiotemporal Models of Seismicity" with Stan Lasocki (Geophysics and Environmental Protection, University Science and Technology, Krakow) and Sebastian Hainzl (Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam).

In the UK we have recently created a hazard and risk scenario in GIS for the 1884 Colchester earthquake, Britain's most intensive to date (Weston's Ph.D. studies). For areas elsewhere in Europe, Davenport in collaboration with ETHZ Zurich have provided a bench-mark for largest earthquakes in Europe through their palaeoseismological and rockfall studies of the 1356 Basle earthquake. Outside Europe, we are looking into high seismicity zones in central China and having benefitted from UK-China Science and Technology funding are investigating earthquake risk and building vulnerability in Shanghai, collaboration with Shanghai Seismological Bureau. Monte Carlo modelling of seismicity is also being attempted for parts of China and also for Sumatra.

Following the 8 October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, we joined with EEFIT (Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team) of the Institution of Structural Engineers, supported by EPSRC, to visit the meizoseismal area. This has provided very direct experience of earthquake impact and all that sadly entails (report is on the http://www.eefit.org.uk site). The earthquake impacted area in South Java following the 26 May 2006 Bantul earthquake has also been visited. We intend to start detailed modelling of seismicity in Pakistan.

We recently put together an overview of several natural hazards with colleagues from UCL in The World Atlas of Natural Hazards (McGuire, Burton, Kilburn and Willetts, 2004, Arnold, London).

Reports and Articles

Burton, P.W. & Cole, S. 2006. Earthquakes and a brave new China. Issues in Risk Science, Vol. 6, Benfield Hazard Research Centre, 26pp.

Cole, S., Xu, Y. & Burton, P.W. 2006. Seismic hazard of the north-south seismic zone, China. 1st European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Geneva, 3-8 September 2006, paper no. 582, 10pp.

Burton, P.W., Xu, Y., Tselentis, G-A., Solos, E. & Aspinall, E. 2003. Strong ground acceleration seismic hazard in Greece and neighboring regions. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 23, 159-181. doi:10.1016/S0267-7261(02)00155-0  

Burton, P.W., Qin, C., Tselentis, G-A. & Sokos, E. 2004. Extreme earthquake and earthquake perceptibility study in Greece and its surrounding area. Natural Hazards 32, 277-312. doi:10.1023/B:NHAZ.0000035545.89097.0d

Burton, P.W., Xu, Y., Qin, C., Tselentis, G-A. & Sokos, E. 2004. A catalogue of seismicity in Greece and the adjacent areas for the twentieth century. Tectonophysics 390, 117-127. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2004.03.020

Sargeant, S.L., Burton, P.W., Douglas, A. & Evans, J.R. 2002. The source mechanism of the Athens earthquake, September 7, 1999, estimated from P seismograms recorded at long range. Natural Hazards 27: 35-45. doi:10.1023/A:1019924508035

Weatherill, G.A. & Burton, P.W. 2006. The application of multiple random earthquake simulations to probabilistic seismic hazard assessment in the Aegean region. 1st European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Geneva, 3-8 September 2006, paper no. 582, 10pp.

Xu, Y. & Burton, P.W. 2006. Time varying seismicity in Greece: Hurst's analysis and Monte Carlo simulation applied to a new earthquake catalogue for Greece. Tectonophysics 423, 125-136. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2006.03.006

Xu, T. Burton, P.W. & Tselentis, G-A. 2003. Regional seismic hazard for Revithoussa, Greece: an earthquake early warning Shield and selection of alert signals. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 3, 757-776. http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/3/757/2003/

Peiris, N., Rossetto, T., Burton, P. & Mahmood, S. 2006. EEFIT mission: October 8, 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Preliminary report, 31pp.


Please contact:

Dr Paul Burton
Seismic Risk Group
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ

Tel. 01603 593109
Fax. 01603 591327

Email. p.burton@uea.ac.uk
r.cullington@uea.ac.uk
y.b.xu@uea.ac.uk