Earthquakes

[Turtle]

mmmm...got us a little quake series going then in....Oklahoma!!?!?!?! :eek:

 

in fact, this would not be a shock/aftershock series because larger quakes followed the initial quake. the proper term slips my mind at the moment. my fault. :doh: :hihi: :hihi:

 

last post i gave the 3.8: >> Magnitude 3.3 - OKLAHOMA

 

then we a 4.0 this morning: >> Magnitude 4.0 - OKLAHOMA

 

followed by a 3.8: >> Magnitude 3.8 - OKLAHOMA

 

edit: heard about this on my local news last night. i'm within spitting distance of portland oregon. (high hill; strong wind :))

 

OSU geologist forecast enormous destruction of Haiti quake | News and Communication Services | Oregon State University

1-13-10

 

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An international earthquake expert at Oregon State University suggested one week ago that one of the world’s most at-risk locations for a major, destructive earthquake is the fault that runs through Haiti and near Port-au-Prince.

 

That comment, made during an interview with a reporter for Scientific American, was by geologist Robert Yeats, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, who said the death toll would be tremendous “if they have an earthquake on this fault that runs through Port-au-Prince” – an observation that is now playing out in the aftermath of the hugely destructive earthquake Tuesday that appears to have killed tens of thousands of people

...

Yeats was also one of the first scientists in the world to begin warning in the mid-1980s that the Pacific Northwest faced major risks from a subduction zone earthquake, very similar to the one that in 2004 caused massive damage and a major tsunami in East Asia that killed nearly 230,000 people. Such an earthquake in the Pacific Northwest was thought to be improbable at that time, but later research by OSU geophysicist Chris Goldfinger and others has demonstrated such events have happened repeatedly in the past several thousand years on the Cascadia Subduction Zone that runs from northern California to British Columbia. The last one occurred Jan. 26, 1700, and the next one could occur almost any time. ...

[Turtle]

swarm!

 

the swarm?

 

no!! earthquake swarm! that's the term i couldn't recall. :hihi:

 

i went to google earth to have a look at the terrain and found that this swarm started last august. all quakes at 5km depth. :hihi:

 

08/28/09 3.5 depth 5km

11/29/09 3.0

12/07/09 3.5

12/12/09 3.1

12/13/09 3.4

12/20/09 3.0

01/11/10 2.8

01/14/10 3.3

01/15/09 3.8

01/15/10 4.0

 

the local reports are very enlightning. :eek:

 

Oklahoma Earthquake Registers 4.0 - Oklahoma City News Story - KOCO Oklahoma City

...Robyn of Choctaw posted to our Live Wire: "I live on NE 57 in Choctaw but in Jones school district. I have felt several of the earthquakes over the past few months but this is the only one that has scared me. It was much harder and lasted longer. It scared my 21 month old and my dog."

 

One caller from Wellston reported glass broken at her home. However, some fallen pictures and broken glass was the totality of damage in the area. Nobody was injured.

 

If you have property damage to report from Friday morning's earthquake, post it to our Live Wire blog. You can post photos or video of damage to our Web site at ulocal.koco.com.

 

A 2.8 magnitude quake was also recorded in the area at 11:16 p.m. Sunday and a 3.3 quake was recorded at 4:05 a.m. Thursday.

 

Quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are generally the smallest felt by people. ...

[Turtle]

now don't over react just because we have quake activity in yellowstone and it's a super-volcano that blows ~ 600,000 years & it blew last ~ 600,000 years ago. these things happen all the time, or don't happen all the time as the case may be.

 

be prepared. (just in case :phones:) Ready.gov: Get A Kit odds are that ~ 80%+ of you, dear readers, do not have a kit for any emergency, let alone for earthquake or super-volcano erruption. :phones:

 

...A record breaking number of hurricanes brought emergency preparedness into the spotlight in 2005. A national, independent survey from American Family Safety in October found that even after recent natural disasters, nearly half of all Americans report no change in their level of concern about how a disaster might affect them. The survey also found that though 85 percent of Americans are concerned about family members in an emergency disaster situation, only 13 percent have an emergency kit with essential supplies.

Prepare for an Emergency and Help a Good Cause: American Family Safety Donates Sale Portions to Charity

 

Volcano Information

 

Released: January 19, 2010 03:00 PM MST

 

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reports an update of information on an ongoing earthquake swarm in Yellowstone National Park that began January 17, 2010 (1:00 PM MST). The swarm is located about 10 miles northwest of Old Faithful, WY

 

just had a mag 3.4 quake this hour in yellowstone, continuing the swarm there: >> Magnitude 3.4 - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

 

map: >> Map Centered at 45°N, 111°W

[modest]

Is this,

 

Magnitude 5.8 - CAYMAN ISLANDS REGION

 

the same fault as Haiti?

 

It seems the swarm might be pondering a move westward.

 

~modest

[Turtle]

Is this,

 

Magnitude 5.8 - CAYMAN ISLANDS REGION

 

the same fault as Haiti?

 

It seems the swarm might be pondering a move westward.

 

~modest

 

same fault system where n. american & caribbean plates meet i think, but not technically the same fault. the haiti quakes are on the enriquillo fault line which is only ~ 100 miles long.

 

... The 100-mile border between these two plates, known as the Enriquillo Fault Line, extends from the Dominican Republic through Haiti all the way to Jamaica. Last Tuesday’s rupture occurred when a segment of the plates that had been stuck together since 1751 (when the last earthquake occurred) jerked themselves free, releasing 250 years of built-up friction from the earthquake’s epicenter and displacing just enough ground to topple Haiti’s fragile and ill-prepared capital.

 

Not all of that tension was released by the quake. As this map, created by UNAVCO, a non-profit geology consortium, shows, a good deal of it has merely been shifted to other segments of the same fault line, collecting in two spots in particular: 20 miles west of the original epicenter, near the port village of Miragoane (already the site of several vigorous aftershocks) and 10 miles east, near the Dominican border (where aftershocks have yet to be reported). Eventually, say seismologists, the tension in both places will be released by seismic events equal to or greater than that of Tuesday’s quake. ...

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2010/01/20/the-cause-of-haiti-s-latest-earthquake-is-the-worst-yet-to-come-a-look-at-the-seismic-science-in-the-caribbean.aspx

 

having some trouble finding good maps of your quake area this morning, but will stay on it. :shrug:

 

meantime since you posted, a 6.1 back in haiti this morn. :phones: >> Magnitude 6.1 - HAITI REGION

 

gonna be one of those weeks. ;)

[Turtle]

alrighty thens. back to the cayman quake of yesterday. :phones:

 

•Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico are parts of the Greater Antilles Arc ©, a subduction-related magmatic arc that formed along the northern boundary of the Caribbean Plate in the Late Cretaceous and moved northeastward with the plate. The Chortis block (D) is a continental fragment perhaps derived from western Mexico that was also carried along with the Caribbean plate. It is now juxtaposed with the Maya block along the Motagua shear zone (E) which marks the suture between the North American and Caribbean plates.

•Cuba was separated from the Greater Antilles arc by back-arc spreading during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene and became part of the North American plate. A new strike-slip plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates developed along the complex group of strike slip-faults that extends from the Motagua shear zone northeastward past the eastern tip of Cuba. The Cayman spreading center (F) developed in the Early to Middle Eocene as a connection between two of the major transform faults in this zone.

Northeastward movement of the Caribbean plate relative to North America since development of the spreading center is thought to have been as much as 1000 km. ...

Geologic Map of North America: Comparisons

 

perhaps the haiti quakes have relieved pressure on the spreading center in the cayman trench and the cayman quake is related to underwater volcanism. :ideamyabenot:

 

here's some recent work done on the the area. :shrug:

 

The study area, also known as the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center, is one of Earth’s deepest and slowest-spreading mid-ocean ridges—regions where two of Earth’s tectonic plates are ripped apart and new material wells up from the Earth’s interior. There, scientists will search for hydrothermal vent systems—natural, seafloor plumbing systems where cold seawater circulates down into the hot, freshly-formed oceanic crust releasing heat and mineral-rich fluids at the seafloor that support complex ecosystems of exotic organisms. ...

Oases for Life on the Mid-Cayman Rise : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

 

a fairly recent & excellent report on the sitch of the surrounds. ;)

>> The Cayman Islands: A Geological View

[Turtle]

i mentioned using google earth to track quakes, and here is how to turn on that feature.

 

on the menu bar at top of google earth, click View, and turn on the Sidebar if not already on. :phones:

 

on the Sidebar go to Layers

scroll to Gallery

click on Earthquakes to turn the feature on.

 

the data is from USGS. besides the recent quake modest brought to our attention, google earth shows 3 others all on the cayman rise & within 200 miles of one another.

 

december 1, 1999 6.3

september 9, 2004 6.0

december 14,2004 6.8

january 19, 2010 5.9

 

approx. center of activity:

18º 17' 51" N

81º 29' 30" W

 

my usa quake o' the day pick is, a 3.3 in arkansas. did ya feel it modest? >> Magnitude 3.3 - ARKANSAS

/forums/images/smilies/banana_sign.gif

[Turtle]

go away for an hour & what do i get? why, a new usa quake o' the day of course. arkansas out; yellowstone in.

 

Magnitude 3.7 - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 06:16:19 UTC

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:16:19 PM at epicenter

44.568°N, 110.973°W

Depth 10.3 km (6.4 miles)

Region YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

Distances 15 km (9 miles) SE (135°) from West Yellowstone, MT

30 km (19 miles) ENE (75°) from Island Park, ID

56 km (35 miles) SSW (202°) from Gardiner, MT

431 km (268 miles) N (10°) from Salt Lake City, UT

 

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 0.4 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 1.9 km (1.2 miles)

Parameters NST= 31, Nph= 31, Dmin=11 km, Rmss=0.23 sec, Gp= 86°,

M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=4

Source University of Utah Seismograph Stations

 

by this yellowstone seismogram, looks like there were 2 similar size quakes about 15 min apart. >> The University of Utah

 

 

 

for some comparison, a 4.0 quake releases the energy of a small nuke.

 

4.0 1 kiloton 4.2 TJ(tera-joules) Small atomic bomb

 

scroll down at this link for other magnitude comparisons: >> Richter magnitude scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

hunker down! :phones:

[Turtle]

so many swarms, one hardly knows which to swat at. :fly: however, since earthquakes at yellowstone can & will presage a super volcano erruption that would be very bad for a very large area & a very large number of peeps, we'll take a poke at that. :eek: fortunately geologists are aware of the danger & yellowstone is highly instrumented. :naughty: unfortunately, if she blows 80% of you in the danger zone are screwed.

 

 

[boldenation turtle's]

This release is a continuation of information updates building upon our two previous press releases on the ongoing earthquake swarm on the west side of Yellowstone National Park. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reports that a pair of earthquakes of magnitude 3.7 and 3.8 occurred in the evening of January 20, 2010 in Yellowstone National Park.

 

The first event of magnitude 3.7 occurred at 11:01 PM and was shortly followed by a magnitude 3.8 event at 11:16 PM. Both shocks were located around 9 miles to the southeast of West Yellowstone, MT and about 10 miles to the northwest of Old Faithful, WY. Both events were felt throughout the park and in surrounding communities in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

 

These two earthquakes are part of an ongoing swarm in Yellowstone National Park that began January 17, 2010 (1:00 PM MST). The largest earthquake in the swarm as of 12 PM, January 21, 2010, was a magnitude 3.8. There have been 901 located earthquakes in the swarm of magnitude 0.5 to 3.8. This includes 8 events of magnitude larger than 3, with 68 events of magnitude 2 to 3, and 825 events of magnitude less than 2. There have been multiple personal reports of ground shaking from observations inside the Park and in surrounding areas for some of the larger events (for felt reports, please visit Did You Feel It?). Earthquake swarms are relatively common in Yellowstone.

 

The swarm earthquakes are likely the result of slip on pre-existing faults rather than underground movement of magma. Currently there is no indication of premonitory volcanic or hydrothermal activity, but ongoing observations and analyses will continue to evaluate these different sources.

[modest]

perhaps the haiti quakes have relieved pressure on the spreading center in the cayman trench and the cayman quake is related to underwater volcanism. :ideamyabenot:

 

I think you're right :naughty:

 

Brilliant information. I didn't know,

 

i mentioned using google earth to track quakes, and here is how to turn on that feature.

 

on the menu bar at top of google earth, click View, and turn on the Sidebar if not already on.

 

on the Sidebar go to Layers

scroll to Gallery

click on Earthquakes to turn the feature on.

 

Brilliant!

It's a very interesting kind of double fault there with the Cayman trench in between. As much as I'd love to be on the Cayman Islands right now, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the Cayman Islands right now. :/

 

~modest

[Turtle]

It's a very interesting kind of double fault there with the Cayman trench in between. As much as I'd love to be on the Cayman Islands right now, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the Cayman Islands right now. :/

 

~modest

 

well, you can come up here in washington & wait with me for the 9.0+ & its associated tsunami coming to the cascadia subduction zone any time now. :lightning :eek: :hyper: or, just stay put & the new madrid fault system will shake, rattle, & roll your worl'.

 

meantime, there have been over 50 4.0+ aftershocks in haiti since the inititial 7.0, and the usgs has issued a statement on that ongoing situation.

 

...Earthquake Hazard and Safety in Haiti and the Caribbean Region

 

The magnitude-7 earthquake of January 12, 2010, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has generated a sharp increase in concerns about the potential for future earthquakes in Haiti and the surrounding region. These concerns extend to understanding the causes of the earthquake hazard and learning what can be done to ensure seismic safety in the future. The purpose of this statement is to convey our best judgment on these subjects.

 

Aftershocks: The aftershock sequence of a magnitude-7 earthquake will continue for months if not years in the affected area. The frequency of events will diminish with time, but damaging earthquakes will remain possible in the coming months. There is also a small chance of subsequent earthquakes larger than the initial shock. The sequence from the Port-au-Prince earthquake continues to be very strong and active. Based on this activity and the statistics of aftershock sequences, our estimate for aftershock activity during a 30-day period beginning January 21, 2010, is as follows:

 

•The probability of one or more earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater is less that 3 percent.

•The probability of one or more earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater is 25 percent.

•The probability of one or more earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater is about 90 percent.

•Approximately 2 to 3 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater are expected within this time period.

These estimates will be updated as new information becomes available. ...

 

read full release statement: >> USGS Release: USGS Issues Assessment of Aftershock Hazards in Haiti (1/21/2010 5:49:20 PM)

[Turtle]

just had a 6.0 off the coast of california :eek:; stay tuned for aftershocks. :evil: really i was checking in to look for some seismograms in the area of the underwater volcano that started erupting off japan, but i have another thread for that. :phones:

 

here's the off-shore cally bit, along with the closest-to-me seismogram. :rolleyes:

 

quake record: >> Magnitude 5.9 - OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

 

cedar flats seismogram: >> PNSN Webicorder Display

[freeztar]

The recent Chilean earthquake, the seventh largest in recorded history, has been shown to have knocked Earth off its axis by about 3 inches. Here's a good article explaining it in more detail.

 

SPACE.com -- Chile Earthquake May Have Shortened Days on Earth

[Ganoderma]

the quake in Chile was horrible....we had tsunami warnings here in taiwan. though i think it was quite small as we were camping by the beach with nothing noticeable.

 

this morning we just had a 6.4 really close by, but thankfully nothing in comparison to the americas recent disasters

[Turtle]

too many quakes to list them all. :shrug: i'm all shook up!

 

anyway, just had more large quakes in a short time in chile this morning; closer to santiago this time. :hihi:

 

>> Magnitude 7.2 - LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

>> Magnitude 6.9 - LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

>> Magnitude 6.0 - LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

 

let's not forget oklahoma. :doh:

>> Magnitude 3.1 - OKLAHOMA

>> Magnitude 3.1 - OKLAHOMA

 

back to watch some news as they have yet to report the 7.2 in chile. . . . :eek: :naughty:

[Turtle]

fascinating! just had a 3.4 in oklahoma; this time west of oklahoma city. on doing more reading, i find they have many quakes per year there. maybe i shou'nt have mentioned it. :hihi: :doh:

 

here's the latest: >> Magnitude 3.4 - OKLAHOMA

 

some local flavor. (pepermint me thinks. :naughty:)

 

The Oklahoma Geological Survey Observatory in rural Tulsa County, south of Leonard is a comprehensive geophysical observatory which records, identifies, and locates 50 to 167 earthquakes in Oklahoma each year, and also records at least seven worldwide earthquakes per day.

...

Website updated 11:56 am CDT 03-11-2010

 

Nine Earthquakes recorded in Canadian County: Several felt in Niles & Minco OK. 3/11/10 LATEST OKLAHOMA EARTHQUAKES!

 

The six largest earthquakes locations are very well constrained and on relocation we expect the magnitude 2.1 earthquake to centered with the cluster. The cluster of six earthquakes is 7 miles west of Union City Oklahoma in Canadian County near the border with both Grady and Caddo Counties. The cluster is about 11 miles SSW of El Reno. ...

 

seismograms, historical records, maps & more at the main page here: >> Oklahoma Geological Survey Observatory, Leonard OK

 

:eek: :shrug:

[Turtle]

i predict another major quake or quakes in the next few days on account of some pains i'm having similar to ones i had a few days before the last round of biggies. ;) no; i have no idea where. yes; my prediction is not scientifically supported. :phones: ;) who ya gonna call? :cheer: :hihi:

 

this was written for the bay area, but it applies every-where earthquakes can occur...which is everywhere. :rolleyes:

 

The Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety