EU Earthquakes
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In environmental news, something of a seismic anomaly occurred yesterday in Spain. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck deep beneath Granada. While no damage or even significant ground shake were noted, the depth at 616 kilometers is a little enigmatic even according to the USGS. Deep quakes in this region have been recorded in the past, but this is 2010 - a time for anomalies.

Seismologists in Spain, and at the USGS associate this very deep seismic activity with a powerful earthquake which struck Spain in 1954. Besides that magnitude 7.1 event, earthquakes at this depth, in this region, are not all that common. One Spanish geologist, Spanish Geologist Luis Eugenio Suarez, predicted a month ago that a quake like that which devastated Chile would strike this region of Spain.

If you look at the occurrence map (above) from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre you can see, not only is yesterday's quake the largest in recent days, but it occurred deeper and a little outside other significant events. The depth being the most interesting variable. Several studies have been conducted with regard to very deep, high magnitude quakes in the Mediterranean basin. Counting yesterday, there have only been 4 such quakes in something like the last 125 years.

Other experts negated his theory based on the fact the Chilean event occurred in a high seismic occurrence area. However, the same geologists noted that Spain is struck about every 100 years or so with a forceful event. The last was over 120 years ago. So far no aftershocks have been felt by the people in the region, or registered at monitoring stations. We will keep you appraised via our USGS notification alerts.