Compilation of Strong-Motion Records Recovered from the Santa Barbara Earthquake of 13 August 1978

PR 22

by L.D. Porter

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Introduction

A moderate earthquake (M_L 5.1, Caltech Seismological Laboratory) occurred 6 km south of Santa Barbara, California, on 13 August 1978. The earthquake had a focal depth of 12.5 ± 3 km and was located at lat 34° 22.2' N and long 119° 43.0' W (± 2 km) with an origin time of 22:54:52.4 (± 0.1 sec) (Lee, et al, 1978).

The Santa Barbara area is relatively densely instrumented: 23 accelerographs lie within 70 km of the epicenter (figs 1, 2). Within 50 km of the epicenter there are 13 stations, 10 of which are operated by the California Division of Mines and Geology. Of the eleven stations triggered by the earthquake (fig 3, table I), eight belong to the state program; the Southern California Edison Company, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey each operate one of the remaining three stations.