Jordskalven vid Hallandsåsen I Februari 1966

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Abstract
Last winter Swedish newspapers reported an event of violent shaking of the ground accompanied by cracking sounds in cultivated areas on the Swedish west coast. Because of the proximity to the Hallandsås, a horst bounded by distinct fault lines, the event was at first considered to be a real earthquake. However, as the records from the seismologic stations of South Sweden show no registrations of seismic activity at that time, and as, furthermore, the thin fissures that appeared in the ground do not form a tectonic pattern, the seismic interpretation must be dismissed. The fissure pattern rather indicates the release of horizontal tensions in the ground surface. The study of meteorological data proves that the shaking and fissuring of the ground occurred after a heavy decrease of temperature. The event is therefore considered to be a frost phenomenon arisen from cracking of the ground due to rapid and intense cooling of the ground. In order to investigate the possibility of their being the same kind as the phenomenon here in question earlier earthquakes are examined. The phenomenon of the winter of 1966 is also discussed as being a recent illustration of the old frost phenomena that frequently occur in the area as fossil ice-wedge polygons.

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