Earthquakes
S


Attention

770 earthquakes in Yellowstone Park in 2 weeks: 'More than normal' say scientists

Michael Becker
Idaho State Journal
Fri, 23 Jun 2017 06:13 UTC
Yellowstone earthquake swarm
© USGS
Almost 770 earthquakes have been recorded in Yellowstone Park over the past two weeks — more than normal but not a sign of volcanic activity, scientists say.

As of 11:30 Friday morning, 769 quakes had been recorded in the current swarm, said Jamie Farrell, a research professor of seismology at the University of Utah.

The swarm, which began June 12, is ongoing, he added, though the frequency of earthquakes has slowed down a bit. Typical swarms comprise 10 to 50 quakes, Farrell said.

"As of now, everything that we can see looks like these are tectonic in origin," he said. "There's no volcanic signature to any of these events that we've found."

The university's seismograph stations have tracked a single quake in the magnitude 4 range, a temblor near West Yellowstone on June 15 that has been the largest of the swarm to date.

Comment: Yellowstone supervolcano is hit by 464 earthquakes in just ONE WEEK

Read More...
Seismograph

Shallow earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude strikes Beira, Mozambique

Avinash Nandakumar
India Live Today
Sat, 24 Jun 2017 08:50 UTC
CHART
An earthquake measuring 5 point 8 magnitude struck 60 kilometers (37 point 28 miles) northwest the Mozambique city of BEIRA, the United States Geological Survey said today.

The USGS put the depth of the tremor at 10 km (6. 21 miles).

The USGS says Mozambique lies on a huge East African continental rift that is associated with shallow earthquakes. The most recent major quake to strike the region took place in Mozambique in 2006. It measured magnitude 7.0 and killed two people.

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 has struck Botswana, with shaking felt across southern Africa, including South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe on April 32017
Read More...
Seismograph

Seismologists study massive Yellowstone earthquake swarm

Justin Ayer
NBC Montana
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 18:18 UTC
seismograph
Seismologists are studying a swarm of 500-plus earthquakes that have rattled the Yellowstone Park area since June 12.

Most are centered 8 miles north-northeast of West Yellowstone. That is just a few miles east of the Hebgen Lake Basin, the site of the historic 1959 quake. That one measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, killed 28 people and created Quake Lake, near the Gallatin National Forest.

Mike Stickney, of the Earthquake Studies office at Montana Tech, said earthquake swarms are normal this time of year. He says many are smaller. When we checked we found dozens that measured under 2.0 on the Richter scale.

Comment: Yellowstone supervolcano is hit by 464 earthquakes in just ONE WEEK

Read More...
Attention

6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Guatemala, El Salvador

Sofia Menchu and Nelson Renteria
Reuters
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 09:50 UTC
Guatemala earthquake
© USGS
A major earthquake struck off the coast of Guatemala on Thursday, damaging buildings and downing trees as well as causing powerful tremors in neighboring El Salvador. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The quake, measured at a magnitude of 6.8 by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck 38 kilometers (24 miles) southwest of Puerto San Jose at a depth of 46.8 kilometers.

A deeper earthquake of similar magnitude struck the interior of Guatemala last week, killing at least two people and damaging buildings.

Edwin de Leon, a spokesman for fire services in Guatemala, told local radio that the quake had damaged some houses.

"There are buildings with collapsed roofs, but we don't have casualties," de Leon said.
Read More...
Attention

Earthquakes and tremors continue around Katla volcano in Iceland

K. Jóhannsson
Ice News
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 10:23 UTC
Katla volcano
Katla volcano
The past few days have seen a swarm of tremors around Katla volcano, but yesterday they reached over a 3 in magnitude or up to 3.6. According to reports quakes aren't always signs of looming eruptions although the seismic activity has been frequent of late. The Icelandic Met Office is closely monitoring the volcano and surrounding area.

Katla is a large subglacial volcano in southern Iceland. It's been dormant under the Mydalsjokull glacier for almost 100 years, but it's considered a very active volcano with twenty documented eruptions between 930 and 1918, with intervals of 13 - 95 years.

Katla hasn't erupted forcefully since 1918, although there may have been small eruptions under the icecap that didn't break the ice, including ones in 1955, 1999, and 2011. Prior eruptions have measured with a Volcanic Explosively Index of between VEI-4 and VEI-6 on a scale of 0 to 8. In comparison, the infamous 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption had a VEI-4. The last major eruption started on 12 October 1918 and lasted for 24 days. It was likely a VEI-5 level eruption.

Katla's present dormancy is among the longest in known history and many theorize that the current seismic activity is a sure sign of a pending eruption although the Icelandic Met Office assures that there are no definite tell tale signs of a looming eruption.
Read More...
Attention

Earthquake, loud 'boom' shakes city near South Carolina-Georgia border

Jane Moon Dail
The State
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 12:20 UTC
Earthquake in Augusta, GA
© The State
Officials confirmed an earthquake happened near the South Carolina and Georgia border, and residents reported hearing a loud noise.

The earthquake was recorded 6 kilomoters southwest of Augusta, Ga. around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake was recorded as 3.2 magnitude with a depth of 12.9 kilometers.

As of 12:45 p.m., about 1,600 people reported they felt the earthquake to USGS, including people as far away as Columbia and Greenville, S.C.

WRDW reported residents in the Augusta area are reporting the earthquake displaced furniture in homes and triggered security alarms at homes and businesses.
Read More...
Seismograph

New study shows shifting water weight can trigger small earthquakes in California

Warren Cornwall
Science
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:45 UTC
Shifting water weight can trigger earthquakes
© Reuters/Robert Galbreath
Water shapes California powerfully, deluging the state with El Niño - generated rainfalls and drying it out with punishing droughts. Now, a new study suggests that water may play yet another role: triggering earthquakes.

Scientists for decades have tried to understand how different natural forces, pressing on Earth's surface, might help explain changes in earthquake rates, with mixed results. The pulsing of the tides has been one long-standing suspect, but their effect is weak or nonexistent. In the Himalayas, rains from the annual monsoon season have also been found to affect quake frequency. And in California, criss-crossed with faults and at the center of grinding tectonic plates, quake activity seems to increase regularly in the autumn along part of the San Andreas fault—during the driest time of year.

To find out whether precipitation was playing a role, geophysicist Christopher Johnson, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, set out with colleagues to gather data from a network of 661 GPS sensors scattered around the state. The units are sensitive enough to detect when the ground rises or sinks by a few millimeters because of water weight, groundwater pumping, and tides, among other things.
Read More...
Attention

6.1-magnitude earthquake hits south of Fiji Islands


China Daily
Sun, 18 Jun 2017 18:44 UTC
graph
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted south of the Fiji Islands at 22:26:02 GMT on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 518.19 km, was initially determined to be at 24.1049 degrees south latitude and 179.59 degrees east longitude.

Source: Xinhua
Read More...
Seismograph

Unusual M4 earthquake sparks tsunami in Greenland, four missing (VIDEO)


Indian Express
Sun, 18 Jun 2017 17:50 UTC
Greenland: M4 earthquake sparks tsnuami, four missing (VIDEO)
© AFP11 houses had been swept away after a magnitude 4 overnight quake off Uummannaq, a small island well above the Arctic Circle, Bay reported
Four people were listed as missing today after an earthquake sparked a tsunami off Greenland and forced some residents to be evacuated. "Four people are missing," local broadcaster KNR quoted local police chief Bjorn Tegner Bay as telling a news conference in the autonomous Danish territory.

There were no confirmed fatalities, but Bay said 11 houses had been swept away after a magnitude 4 overnight quake off Uummannaq, a small island well above the Arctic Circle.

"The huge waves risk breaking over Upernavik and its environs. The residents of Nuugaatsiaq are going to be evacuated," police said on Facebook, referring to nearby hamlets.
Read More...
Seismograph

Two earthquakes rattle Aegean Sea off western Turkey


Yeni Şafak English
Sun, 18 Jun 2017 07:22 UTC
Aegean Sea earthquake

No casualties or damage reported so far, Turkey's disaster authority says

A pair of earthquakes shook Aegean Sea, western Turkey late Saturday, according to the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

One quake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale hit at 10.33 p.m. local time (1933GMT) while a second one measuring 5.3 struck 17 minutes later at 10.50 p.m. (1950GMT), AFAD said on its website.

No casualties or structural damage have been reported so far.

Last week, the region was rattled by a 6.2-magnitude quake which struck coastal İzmir's Karaburun district at 3.28 p.m. local time (1228GMT) at a depth of 22.98 kilometers (14 miles).
Read More...