Comment on "Revisiting the 1872 owens valley, California, earthquake" by Susan E. Hough and Kate Hutton

Bakun (2009) argues that the conclusions of Hough and Hutton (2008) are wrong because the study failed to take into account the Sierra Nevada attenuation model of Bakun (2006). In particular, Bakun (2009) argues that propagation effects can explain the relatively high intensities generated by the 1872 Owens Valley earthquake. Using an intensity attenuation model that attempts to account for attenuation through the Sierra Nevada, Bakun (2006) infers the magnitude estimate (M_w 7.4–7.5) that is currently accepted by National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC).