ML20136E110
| ML20136E110 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/19/1985 |
| From: | Alterman I NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| To: | Beratan L NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8601060432 | |
| Download: ML20136E110 (6) | |
Text
_-
I e
l DEC 191985
+
4 MEMORANDUM FOR:
L. Beratan, Chief l
ESB/DRPES/RES i
1
'THRU:
A. Murphy, Section Leader j
Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES' FROM:
Ina B. Alterman, Geologist 1
Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES i
SUBJECT:
TALK ON HISTORIC SEISMICITY RESEARCH IN ITALY BY DR. LEONELLO SERVO 0F THE ITALIAN NUCLEAR REGULATORY j
AGENCY (ENEA), DECEMBER 2, 1985 j
On Monday, December 2,1985, Dr. Leonello Serva, Geologist with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency of Italy (ENEA), gave~ a 3-hour presentation about the search for information on the seismic history of Italy.
Dr. Serva spent 4 months in 1982 with the Geosciences Branch of NRR learning our techniques and approaches to resolving geology / seismology issues in the siting and licensing of nuclear j
power plants.
I As Italy is in an active tectonic belt, Dr. Serva has been involved in the development of an extensive historic seismicity catalog of Italy. Because of j
the long history of Italy, it has been possible to obtain records from before i
the Christian era, thus providing information for the.last 2000 years, i
1 The difficulty in collecting the data arose from the scattered and i
heterogeneous nature of the sources. Documents from Church chronicles, libraries, legal records, reports from a wide range of sources and for different purposes contained information on seismic events.
i There were two basic. categories of documents:
(1) historical records of socio-political, religious or legal nature from about the lith century, and (2) seismological / scientific papers from the 15th century onward.
Because the i
language of these documents is ancient Latin, the ENEA hired as researchers j
historians who were familiar with the ancient usage rather than modern Church l
j latin.
t i
Among the historical sources were magazines, chronicles of monastaries and I
convents, letters, reports to the Vatican, and stone tablets on churches rebuilt after destruction in an earthquake.
Seismological sources began in 1456 when the first earthquake catalog appeared, i
called the Manetti Catalog. This Latin manuscript lists all seismic events in the Mediterranean region from Biblical time to the time of writing of the catalog, using the Bible, Church and secular sources. The first isoseismal map I
was produced in 1627.
It showed a section of Italy, with crude drawings of I
9601060432 851219
~
+
J 8601060432 PDR
=
l DEC 191985 Leon L. Beratan 2
mountains, rivers, and towns, and symbols for four levels of intensity of ground motion based on degree of damage and number of casualties.
Interestingly, the symbol used was a fountain in which four spouts represented the highest intensity, three, the next lower degree, to one spout for the lowest.
The map depicted the largest known historic earthquake in Italy, the Verona event of 1117, estimated to have been of MMI X-XI.
During this event many Romanesque churches and bell towers were damaged to varying degrees. These could be recognized today by the partial architectural changes, variations in stone work, and additions to the structures in other styles. Stone tablets at
~
the base of the churches often gave the dates of reconsecration, p oviding evidence for the dates of destruction which were correlated with otner information to determine seismic events. Thus, one church tablet told of earthquake damage in three separate events about 100 years apart, in the 12th,
)
13th, and 14th centuries.
1 In summarizing the distribution and value of the bibliographic sources, Dr.
Serva indicated the following:
Prior to 500 A.D.:
Data source is the classical Latin literature, especially the works of historians such as Titus Livius, Pliny Elder and Younger, etc. The information on seismicity is considered incomplete for this period.
500-1000:
Primary data source from the dawn of the Christian era in Italy is from Church documents including chronicles from monastaries and convents. The catalog of seismic events for this time period is considered complete for events of intensity IX and higher.
1000-1500:
Primary data sources are socio-political and legal documents, letters, and literary works of the individual small principalities that comprised Italy. The seismicity catalog is considered complete for this time period for events of intensity VIII and above.
1500-1800:
Primary data sources were early seismicity catalogs, reports, stories, and chronicles found mainly in the Vatican library. The catalog for this time period is considered complete for all events of intensity VII and above.
1800-present:
Newspaper accounts, Church reports and seismic bulletins which began in 1900 provided the data for the last 200 years of earthquake history.
The catalog for events of intensity VI and above is considered complete.
Leon L. Peratan 3
U U 1 0. ~. -mob Dr. Serva pointed out that it was important, in evaluating the information in the various documents, to take into account who was the author, when the document was written relative to the event, the social, economic and political conditions of the time, to compare the information of a single event from several sources, and other precautionary measures. Thir was done in order to minimize exaggerations in determining intensities, numbr of casualties, etc.
In the discussion period that followed the formal presentation, Dr. Leon Reiter of NRR suggested the possibility that during the time of the early settlements of America, there may have been Church reports sent to the Vatican chronicling seismic events in North America. He wondered whether such documents might be found in the Vatican library, where most of the monastery and convent chronicles were found.
Considering the very brief record of historic seismicit3 for the United States, he wondered if it were not worth pursuing that source for further seismic data for North America.
This research sponsored by ENEA is in conjunction with the siting of Italy's first nuclear power plant.
Ina B. Alterman, Geologist Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES cc:
R. McMullen E. Zurflueh E. O'Donnell i
M. Blackford, WMGT PFs n i.
~~
A. Ibrahim, WMGT f ' "'
~ g~
' ~
- Ji'll L. Reiter, NRR K. Anderson, NRR R. Bosnak, NRR
~
S. Brocoum, NRR 1
Distribution /R-2811:
f
~' ~ ~ ~ ~
Circ /Chron RMinogue EConti
' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ~
DCS/PDR Dross LBeratan ESB Sbj/Rd KGoller AMurphy IAlterman
,hf6kpf E
ESB: RET WESB:RES IAlterman AMurphy LBeratan F2-// //85
/J//9/85 //l9/85 l
Leon L. Beratan 3
S 1 b Bn Dr. Serva pointed out that it was important, in evaluating the information in the various documents, to take into account who was the author, when the document was' written relative to the event, the social, economic and political conditions of the time, to compare the information of a single event from several sources, and other precautionary measures.- This was done in order to minimize exaggerations in determining intensities, number of casualties, etc.
In the discussion period that followed the formal presentation, Dr. Leon Reiter of NRR suggested the possibility that during the time of the early settlements of America, there may have been Church reports sent to the Vatican chronicling seismic events in North America. He wondered whether such documents might be found in the Vatican library, where most of the monastery and convent chronicles were found. Considering the very brief record of historic seismicity for the United States, he wondered if it were not worth pursuing that source for further seismic data for North America.
This research sponsored by ENEA is in conjunction with the siting of Italy's first nuclear power plant.
Ina B. Alterman, Geologist Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES cc:
R. McMullen l
E. Zurflueh E. O'Donnell i
M. Blackford, WMGT A. Ibrahim, WMGT L. Reiter, NRR 4
K. Anderson, NRR i
R. Bosnak, NRR S. Brocoum, NRR Distribution /R-2811:
Circ /Chron RMinogue Econti DCS/lD,f Dross LBeratan ESB Sbj/Rd KGoller AMurphy IAlterman
?
1
[
E J[qf ESB:RE WESB:RES IAlterman AMurphy LBeratan IL//f/85
/A//f/85 //g/85 J
DEC 191985 Leon L. Beratan 2
mountains, rivers, and towns, and symbols for four levels of intensity of ground motion based on degree of damage and number of casualties.
Interestingli, the symbol used was a fountain in which four spouts represented the highest intensity, three, the next lower degree, to one spout for the lowest.
The map depicted the largest known historic earthquake in Italy, the Verona event of 1117, estimated to have been of MMI X-XI.
During this event many Romanesque churches and bell towers were damaged to varying degrees. These could be recognized today by the partial architectural changes, variations in stone work, and additions to the structures in other styles. Stone tablets at the base of the churches o.ften gave the dates of reconsecration, providing evidence.for the dates of. destruction which were correlated with other information to determine seismic events. Thus, one church tablet told of earthquake damage in three separate events about 100 years apart, in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries.
In summarizing the distribution and value of the bibliographic sources, Dr.
Serva indicated the following:
Prior to 500 A.D.:
Data source is the classical Latin literature, especially the works of historians such as Titus Livius, Pliny Elder and Younger, etc. The information on seismicity is considered incomplete for this period.
500-1000:
Primary oata source from the dar.a of the Christian era in Italy is from Church documents including chronicles from monastaries and convents. The catalog of seismic events for this time period is considered complete for events of intensity IX and higher.
1000-1500:
Primary data sources are socio-political and legal documents, letters, and literary works of the individual small principalities that comprised Italy. The seismicity catalog is considered complete for this time period for events of intensity VIII and above.
1500-1800:
Primary data sources were early seismicity catalogs, reports, stories, and chronicles found mainly in the Vatican library. The catalog for this time period is considered complete for all events of intensity VII and above.
1800-present:
Newspaper accounts, Church reports and seismic bulletins which began in 1900 provided the data for the last 200 years of earthquake history. The catalog for events of intensity VI and above is considered complete.
P 4
~
DEC 191985 MEMORANDUM FOR:
L. Beratan, Chief ESB/DRPES/RES THRU:
A. Murphy, Section Leader Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES FROM:
Ina B. Alterman, Geologist Seismology Section, ESB/DRPES/RES
SUBJECT:
TALK ON HISTORIC SEISMICITY RESEARCH IN ITALY BY DR. LEONELLO SERVO 0F THE ITALIAN NUCLEAR REGULATORY AGENCY (ENEA), DECEMBER 2, 1985 On Monday, December 2,1985, Dr. Leonello Serva, Geologist with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency of Italy (ENEA), gave a 3-hour presentation about the search for information on the seismic history of Italy.
Dr. Serva spent 4 months in 1982 with the Geosciences Branch of NRR learning our techniques and approaches to resolving geology / seismology issues in the-siting and licensing of nuclear power plants.
As Italy is in an active tectonic belt, Dr. Serva has been involved in the development of an extensive historic seismicity catalog of Italy. Because of the long history of Italy, it has been possible to obtain records from before the Christian era, thus providing information for the last 2000 years.
The difficulty in collecting the data arose from the scattered and heterogeneous nature of the sources. Documents from Church chronicles, libraries, legal records, reports from a wide range of sources and for different purposes contained information on seismic events.
There were two basic categories of documents:
(1) historical records of socio-political, religious or legal nature from about the lith century, and (2) seismological / scientific papers from the 15th century onward. Because the language of these documents is ancient Latin, the ENEA hired as researchers historians who were familiar with the ancient usage rather than modern Church Latin.
Among the historical sources were magazines, chronicles of monastaries and convents, letters, reports to the Vatican, and stone tablets on churches rebuilt after destruction in an earthquake.
i Seismological sources began in 1456 when the first earthquake catalog appeared, called the Manetti Catalog. This Latin manuscript lists all seismic events in the Mediterranean region from Biblical time to-the time of writing of the catalog, using the Bible, Church and secular sources. The first isoseismal map was produced in 1627.
It showed a section of Italy, with crude drawings of
..