The scientific basis for NORSAR's digital zoning map is published

In an article published in the Journal of Seismology, NORSAR presents an updated earthquake catalogue and a new method for estimating earthquake hazard in Norway.
In the research article Earthquakes and seismic hazard for Norway and Svalbard published in the Journal of Seismology this week, Conrad Lindholm, Hilmar Bungum, Federica Ghione, Abdelghani Meslem, Chen Huang & Volker Oye, present an updated and more complete earthquake catalogue, as well as a new method for estimating earthquake hazard using improved statistical models.
The work is the scientific basis for the digital service the Zonation map, which simplifies seismic design for small and large construction projects according to the European standard Eurocode 8.
According to Head of Research, Volker Oye, one of the biggest challenges of this research was estimating seismic risk with limited data:
"Both historical and digital earthquake data for Norway are relatively sparse, making it difficult to develop robust models for the possibility of future earthquakes. In addition, Norwegian ground conditions are characterised by minimal sediment coverage near the surface, which requires some special assumptions in the analysis".
Oye points out that older studies of national earthquake risk, for example from 1998, are based on older datasets and inadequate methods:
"The 1998 map lacks the precision and completeness that the new model offers. The inclusion of Svalbard is also new. The model provides a comprehensive assessment of seismic hazard for both mainland Norway and Svalbard".
Article authors: Conrad Lindholm, Hilmar Bungum, Federica Ghione, Abdelghani Meslem, Chen Huang & Volker Oye.
NORSAR launched the Zonation map service in 2020 - a digital service that can generate point analyses for all locations in Norway and Svalbard. The tool provides detailed assessments of how seismic activity can affect different types of buildings.
NORSAR is continuously working to improve Soneringskart to make the solution even more user-friendly and adapted to customer needs.