More than 300 earthquakes recorded in UK this year, study finds
The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded a total of 309 earthquakes in the UK this year.
The most seismically active regions were Perthshire and the western Highlands in Scotland, southern Wales, and Yorkshire and Lancashire in England.
The two largest onshore earthquakes occurred near Loch Lyon, Perth and Kinross, on 20 October, measuring magnitudes 3.7 and 3.6. Following the Loch Lyon events, the BGS received 198 felt reports from the public, with some reports coming from as far as 37 miles from the epicentre.
The third-largest onshore earthquake was recorded at Silverdale, Lancashire, on 3 December, with a magnitude of 3.2. About 700 people reported feeling this quake.
The strongest earthquake on record in the UK remains the Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1.
Dr Brian Baptie of the BGS noted that earthquakes occur across Great Britain, with fault zones such as the Great Glen and Highland Boundary faults contributing to activity especially in the west.
The BGS emphasized that significant earthquakes remain rare in the UK, which experienced roughly one earthquake per day this year as recorded by approximately 80 monitoring stations throughout the country.
In terms of magnitude-frequency context, magnitude-4 events occur about every 3 to 4 years, magnitude-5 events happen every few decades, and magnitude-6 events are expected every few hundred years in the UK.
