Magnitude Assessment for the Historical Earthquake Based on Strong‐Motion Simulation and Liquefaction Analysis: Case of the 1894 Atalanti Earthquake, Greece

Abstract

Abstract The historical earthquake of the 1894 in Atalanti, Greece, produced widespread liquefaction effects on the broader coastal area. Although this earthquake has been extensively studied in the past, its magnitude still remains controversial. In the present study, we propose an indirect method for assessing its magnitude by simulating the ground motion and liquefaction effects, caused by a scenario earthquake with the characteristics of the 1894 event, at several sites located at the coastal zone of Atalanti Bay. For this purpose, we utilize information about the near‐surface soil conditions obtained by geophysical tools, data of recent seismic events, and results of stochastic simulation of strong ground motion for the scenario earthquake of the 1894 event. We confirm the high liquefaction potential of the investigated sites and establish that the low limit of magnitude ( M w ) for the 1894 earthquake is equal to 7.0. Electronic Supplement: Results of liquefaction analysis.