ABSTRACT It has recently been argued that the large mid-continental earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri, were mostly forgotten soon after they occurred in 1811–1812, in large part because the records available (historical narratives) were qualitative and taken to be unreliable. This obscurity is supposed to have lasted until the 1970s or later, when scientific study of the earthquakes resumed, and their significance for hazard became recognized. An examination of a wider range of sources suggests that while the memory of these earthquakes may have suffered the natural fate of most historical events, and faded in the broader population, the professional community of seismologists and engineers never lost sight of these earthquakes. Increased research in the 1970s on seismic hazards in mid-continental North America happened because of new opportunities created by funding and new technology, not a sudden remembering. Nor were these earthquakes neglected because seismology turned from description using desc...

中文翻译：

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忘记并记住新的马德里地震

摘要最近有人争辩说，密苏里州新马德里附近的中部大地震在1811年至1812年发生后不久就被遗忘了，这在很大程度上是因为可用的记录（历史性叙述）是定性的并且被认为是不可靠的。这种模糊性应该一直持续到1970年代或更晚，那时恢复了对地震的科学研究，并认识到其对灾害的重要性。对更广泛来源的检查表明，尽管对这些地震的记忆可能遭受了大多数历史事件的自然命运，并且在更广泛的人群中逐渐消失，但是地震学家和工程师的专业团体从未忘记过这些地震。1970年代对北美中部大陆地震灾害的研究有所增加，这是因为资金和新技术创造了新的机遇，而不是突然想起。这些地震也没有被忽略，因为地震学从描述转向使用描述。