Elastic-rebound theory (Reid)
Teoría del rebote elástico (Reid)
- Date
- 1910 · confidence high
- Place
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Credited to
- Harry Fielding Reid
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Analysing the geodetic measurements before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Reid showed that the crust had shifted up to 6 m along the San Andreas Fault and proposed that earthquakes suddenly release elastic strain accumulated slowly. It is the basis of the earthquake cycle.
It was published in 1910 within the Lawson Commission's report on the earthquake. The idea of strain accumulation existed in vague form, but Reid supported it with geodetic data.
What it led to
- the earthquake cycle and recurrence intervals
- measurement of crustal deformation with geodesy
- seismic hazard assessment