Earthquakes
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Attention

Fracking? Oklahoma earthquakes stronger this year; count slightly less

Brad Sowder
KOCO
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 11:24 UTC
earthquake
More 4.0 quakes this year

Since January 1 of 2016 until February 19 Oklahoma has recorded 339 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater.

Through the same period last year the state had recorded 389 quakes.

This year, seven earthquakes of 4.0 magnitude or greater have occurred in the state. Through the same time last year, four earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 occurred.

The strongest earthquake this year was a 5.1 that occurred February 13 in northern Oklahoma.

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Alarm Clock

4.8 magnitude earthquake rattles California, biggest in more than a year


89.3 KPCC
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 01:27 UTC
Bakersfield earthquake
© USGS
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook just after 4 p.m. Tuesday about 22 miles outside of Bakersfield, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake is the biggest earthquake in California in more than a year, according to the USGS. Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist, told KPCC that Tuesday's earthquake is the biggest shake the state has had since 2014's 5.1 in La Habra and the 6.0 Napa earthquake. There was also a 5.7 earthquake offshore in January 2015, and a 4.8 that came close just a week ago (it was a 4.77, while this was a 4.84).

"All of California is earthquake country, this is a relatively less common site down under the basin — but we have seen earthquakes here before," Jones said.

The earthquake was reportedly 13 miles deep, which is why it was felt as far away as the Los Angeles area, Jones said. According to KPCC's earthquake tracker, 280 people have reported they felt the quake.

There were no injuries or damages reported, Kern County Fire Department spokesperson James Dowell told KPCC.

A map from the USGS shows locations of where people felt the shake, and how big of an impact the shake had.

To tell USGS what you felt, fill out the "Did you feel it" report on the agency's website.
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Attention

5.9 magnitude earthquake hits off Antarctica in the Indian Ocean


BNO News
Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:22 UTC
earthquake
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck the Indian Ocean between Antarctica and Australia, seismologists say. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

The earthquake, which struck at about 5:08 a.m. Sydney time on Wednesday, was centered about 454 kilometers (282 miles) northeast of the French scientific station Dumont d'Urville in Antarctica, or about 2,261 kilometers (1,405 miles) south of Hobart on Tasmania.

The earthquake struck at a depth of about 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) below the seabed, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The earthquake was not strong enough to generate a tsunami, and no alerts were issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre.

No damage or casualties were expected from Wednesday's earthquake.

Earthquake Antarctica
© USGS
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Attention

Magnitude 6 earthquake recorded off Coquimbo, Chile


Volcano Discovery
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 13:25 UTC
earthquake
Feb 22 06:44: Magnitude recalculated from 5.5 to 5.6.
Feb 22 06:45: Magnitude recalculated from 5.6 to 5.7.
Feb 22 06:54: Magnitude recalculated from 5.7 to 5.9.
Feb 22 09:18: Magnitude recalculated from 5.9 to 6.0.

Date & time: Mon, 22 Feb 06:37:04 UTC

Magnitude: 6.0

Depth: 10.0 km

Epicenter latitude / longitude: 30.39°S / 71.87°W [Map]

Nearest volcano: Tupungatito (403 km)

Primary data source: GFZ

Earthquake
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Bizarro Earth

5.5-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Afghanistan with tremors felt in Kabul


RT
Sun, 21 Feb 2016 13:18 UTC
Afghanistan map
© earthquake.usgs.gov
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan, USGS reported. The tremors were felt in the country's capital, Kabul, local media said.


The quake happened 43km south of the village of Jarm, 64km and 75km from the city of Fayzabad, the provincial capital and largest city in Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan. The city has a population of about 50,000.

The quake was at a depth of 176.7km, USGS added.
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Bizarro Earth

Minor, very shallow earthquake rattles New Jersey


CBS Local
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 23:13 UTC
New Jersey earthquake
© USGSU.S. Geological Survey reported a 1.6-magnitude earthquake one mile northwest from Bloomingdale.
Many people said they heard a loud boom and could feel their homes shake. Some even said they smelled burning afterward.

"I heard a loud boom and I'm on the other side of the highway," Lori Milone wrote on Facebook.

"Shook our house and then we detected a burning smell for a little while," wrote Mark Selz.

"Double shakes here off Cascade Way, sounded like someone was in my house," wrote Carrie Shaver. "What happened?"

"Me and my husband were watching TV and he said, "What was that?" It sounded like an explosion," one Butler woman told WCBS 880's Sean Adams. "We just went about our business. We didn't hear anything else. He said to me, "You know, that almost made the house shake."

CBS2's Lonnie Quinn explained that low-magnitude earthquakes happen often in the Morris County area, as it - and Butler specifically - sit on the Ramapo Fault Line - one of the major fault lines in the U.S.

Quinn reported the reason the earthquake was felt by so many people in the area was that it was very shallow - occurring only about a mile to a mile and a half underground.

By contrast, the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles was 11 miles deep.


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Attention

4.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Sierra Nevada towns in California


680news.com
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 10:07 UTC
earthquake
An earthquake that rattled remote towns high in California's Sierra Nevada on Tuesday afternoon startled residents for miles around California, but caused no serious damage or injuries, authorities said.

The magnitude 4.8 quake struck just after 3 p.m. six miles west of Big Pine, a small community in the eastern side of the mountain range along scenic U.S. Route 395.

The quake nine miles underground in Inyo County hit along the Owens Valley fault line, said Susan Garcia of the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park. The area has experienced eight quakes of a magnitude 3 since 1935, and a magnitude 4 hit in 1988.

The initial jolt on Tuesday was followed by a series of six aftershocks over more than an hour, the largest a magnitude of 4.3, Garcia said. Residents in Sacramento, Livermore, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles and across the state line in Nevada reported feeling the ground shaking.
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Attention

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits off Indonesia


Channel News Asia
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 09:57 UTC
earthquake
© AFP/File - Adek BerryIndonesian meteorological officials check a seismograph screen as they test a tsunami early warning system in Jakarta.
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey reported.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia at 1726 GMT on Wednesday (Feb 17), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 178 kilometres east of Ternate in the Moluccas and about 41 kilometres deep, the USGS said.

Source: Reuters
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Bizarro Earth

Major earthquakes can be triggered by system of small faults linked along a keystone fault


Science Daily
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
Borrego Fault Baja CA
© UC DavisThis 3-D LiDAR imaging of the Borrego Fault, ruptured during the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake in Baja California, Mexico shows numerous small faults. The various colors represent elevation changes during the earthquake.
A spate of major earthquakes on small faults could overturn traditional views about how earthquakes start, according to a study from researchers at the Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior in Ensenada, Mexico, and the University of California, Davis.

The study, published Feb. 15 in the journal Nature Geoscience, highlights the role of smaller faults in forecasting California's risk of large earthquakes.

In the past 25 years, many of California's biggest earthquakes struck on small faults, away from the San Andreas Fault plate boundary. These events include the Landers, Hector Mine and Napa earthquakes. Several of the quakes were unexpected, rattling areas thought seismically quiet.

A closer look at one of the surprise events, the magnitude-7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake, showed that small faults may often link together along a "keystone" fault. A keystone is the central stone that holds a masonry structure together. During the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake, the keystone fault broke first, unlocking seven smaller faults, the study found.

However, the research team discovered that of all the faults unzipped during the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake, the keystone fault was not the one closest to breaking.
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Attention

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Auckland Islands off New Zealand

Tom Evans
Daily Star (UK)
Mon, 15 Feb 2016 13:46 UTC
EPICENTRE: The earthquake was just 258 miles away from mainland New Zealand
© USGSEPICENTRE: The earthquake was just 258 miles away from mainland New Zealand
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has hit the Auckland Islands off the south coast of New Zealand, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Earthquakes 6.0 to 6.9 can cause a lot of damage in very populated areas. News of this earthquake comes just days after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake killed at least 11 people in Taiwan.

The epicentre of the quake is said to have been just 258 miles away from mainland New Zealand.

The earthquake follows a 5.7 magnitude quake hit Christchurch yesterday, causing cliffs to collapse.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck shortly before 1930 GMT on Monday and was centered 136 miles northwest of Auckland Island. It was at a depth of 6.2 miles.

There was no immediate tsunami alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Minutes later, reports emerged that another earthquake hit Zacharo Town along Greece's west coast.
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