Earthquake catalogs compiled for the USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps, October 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) national seismic hazard models (NSHM) consider two kinds of earthquake sources. Specific faults are modeled where possible. Where faults cannot be identified or characterized, alternative sources can be developed from seismicity catalogs. In a paper submitted to Seismological Research Letters ("Related External Resources", below), we describe a methodology that has been developed at the USGS for making earthquake catalogs for seismic hazard analysis. In this data release we provide the catalogs for the conterminous U.S. that accompany the SRL article.

A new catalog is assembled from several preexisting catalogs. Moment magnitudes and related parameters for modeling seismicity rates are calculated. Duplicates, explosions, and mining-related earthquakes are deleted. The catalog is declustered and induced earthquakes are flagged. Here we present distinct catalogs for the central and eastern U.S. and the western U.S., corresponding to each processing step, and extending through 2016. The same basic methodology was used to make catalogs for the 2014 NSHM and the 2016, 2017, 2018 one-year seismic hazard models that included induced seismicity. The catalogs provided here are approximate supersets or subsets of those others, however there are some differences in the temporal coverages, catalog formats, and other details.