MECOS
(SED) Macroseismic Earthquake Catalogue of Switzerland

Attention: This is the old, outdated version of the MECOS catalog. It is presented only for reasons of documentation and backtracing. For most correct and actual earthquake info for Switzerland look for the newest earthquake catalog on http://www.seismo.ethz.ch

Catalogue of Historical Earthquakes
1021 - 1299 1300 - 1574 1575 - 1649 1650 - 1874 1875 - 1999
Explanation of Catalogue Parameters List of Source Data References Downloads Contacts

Introduction

The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) has prepared the earthquake catalogue of Switzerland for publication on the Internet. It is an extract of the computerised data bank of the SED and contains all events with intensity V and higher, for which macroseismic observations or other relevant historical documents are available.

The catalogue is based on the data collection prepared in 1977 for the first probabilistic seismic hazard map of Switzerland. Since 1977 the catalogue was used for scientific purposes, modified with respect to errors and updated for the period after 1977. The epicentral intensities and the associated uncertainties have been re-assessed for major events with intensity VII or larger. In this new form it was used for a second hazard assessment study (Ruettener, 1995), for the uniform seismic hazard map of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH - Gruenthal, Mayer-Rosa & Lenhardt, 1998) and within the framework of the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Project (GSHAP).

The completeness of the MECOS varies through time for different levels of intensity.
The catalogue is estimated to be complete for the following time periods and intensities:

    Intensity V: 1875 - today
    Intensity VI: 1650 - today
    Intensity VII: 1575 - today
    Intensity VIII and IX: 1300 - today

The period 1021 - 1300 is incomplete for all intensity levels and uncertain with respect to the given parameters.

For the period after 1975 also events without macroseismic observations but with instrumentally determined magnitudes of 3.0 and larger have to be taken into account. These earthquakes are contained in the second part of the ECOS, the Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue of Switzerland (IECOS). This catalogue will be published in the same web page later.

The root classification system developed for the European BEECD catalogue is used in the MECOS to qualify the supporting data that are used for the determination of earthquake parameters.

As a general principle of the MECOS only macroseismic determinations of earthquake parameters are used. No attempt was made to convert epicentral intensities into magnitudes. Whenever magnitudes are preferred, a simplified conversion formula M = 0.5 * Io + 1.5 is recommended, assuming a typical focal depth between 5 and 15 km. This assumption is supported by the fact that the majority of all instrumentally recorded earthquakes in Switzerland between 1975 and 1999 is located within this depth range.

In the catalogue a two-digit format is used for the intensity information. The second digit reflects merely the uncertainty in the determination of the intensity. A value of 65 e.g. indicates that the epicentral intensity could only be determined between the values 6 and 7, with no preference for one of the values.

This catalogue represents the knowledge on earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding areas by 1999. It is intended to upgrade this catalogue whenever a significant amount of new or improved information becomes available.


Last Update: 07Oct1999