Reviving mB

We determine m(B), the original body wave magnitude developed by Gutenberg and Richter over the period 1942-1956, for about 3300 M-w >= 6 earthquakes for the period 1988-present using modern broad-band seismograms. The main objective is to extend the database of energy-related parameters by combining mB databases for recent and old events. The radiated energy E-R_B (in erg) computed from m(B) using the Gutenberg & Richter relation log E-R_B = 2.4m(B) + 5.8 agrees very well with E-R estimated with modern techniques, especially for large deep earthquakes. Thus, E-R_B is useful as a proxy for E-R to investigate the global diversity of earthquake characteristics and physics over an extended period of time.