College of Charleston Seismologist and Professor Erin Beutel confirms the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Italy and says it is more common there, than in South Carolina.

“Unlike South Carolina, earthquakes of this magnitude are not uncommon in Italy and the central Appennine region has experienced several devastating earthquakes, including a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in 1997 that killed 11,” Beutel said. “A comparison of the number of earthquakes from 1973 to the present for South Carolina versus Italy clearly demonstrates the difference between an active plate tectonic margin like Italy, and an area of intraplate (away from the edges of plates) like South Carolina.”

Beutel notes that the Mediterranean region in general is prone to earthquakes due to the numerous complex plate boundaries in the region. Africa is currently moving approximately northward into Europe and parts of the middle east. However, because of the many smaller plates that originally existed between the two main plates as well the continental masses of Asia and Europe, several short subduction zones and mountain ranges formed rather than the long, continuous mountain chains seen in other locations such as South America. Below is a simplified tectonic map of the western Mediterranean region showing the major mountain ranges and thrust faults (where crust is coming together). The earthquake on April 6th took place in the central Apennines a mountain range created by thrusting faults, however, like many earthquakes in the region, it was a normal faulting earthquake (where the rocks are pulling apart) and was likely caused by the central extensional tectonic regime that dominates the region caused by the Tyrrhenian area to the west moving west faster than the Adriatic.

Erin Beutel is one of four College of Charleston professors who make up the South Carolina Earthquake Education and Preparedness Program (SCEEP). These professors dedicate their research to earthquakes in South Carolina including the cause and the likely effects.

For more information on earthquakes, go to
http://scearthquakes.cofc.edu/SCEQ/aboutSCEQ.html