The Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) is a

seismological Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

and

geophysical Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

database of locations and source parameters for globally recorded

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s larger than

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

5.0. GCMT's primary goals are determination of

moment tensor Moment or Moments may refer to: Science * Moment (mathematics), a concept in probability theory and statistics * Moment (physics), a combination of a physical quantity and a distance ** Moment of force or torque Time * Present time * An instant * ...

s for major earthquakes globally and quick dissemination of results. The GCMT database contains more than 25,000 moment tensors for major earthquakes since 1976. GCMT is overseen by Göran Ekström and Meredith Nettles at the American

Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a research, research institution specializing in the Earth science and climate change. Though part of Columbia University, it is located on a separate closed campus in Palisades, New York. The obs ...

. GCMT was initially established under

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where it was called the Harvard CMT Project in 1982–2006. The GCMT database is considered a trusted source and staple for the geophysical community.

References

External links

Official website
{{seismology-stub Scientific databases Seismology measurement