Earthquakes

New study of earthquakes reveals secrets about the earth's fluid mantle

Science Daily
Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:35 UTC

A new study from a University of Chicago scientist suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock ringing the Earth, at the very bottom of the upper mantle.

The finding was made by measuring the lingering movement registered by GPS sensors on islands in the wake of a deep earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near Fiji. Published Feb. 22 in Nature, the study demonstrates a new method to measure the fluidity of the Earth's mantle.

"Even though the mantle makes up the largest part of Earth, there's still a lot we don't know about it," said Sunyoung Park, a geophysicist with the University of Chicago and the lead author on the study. "We think there's a lot more we can learn by using these deep earthquakes as a way to probe these questions."

Fresh 5.6 quake in Yeşilyurt Türkiye

RT
Mon, 27 Feb 2023 18:22 UTC

© Sercan Kucuksahin / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
An aerial view of a tent camp set up in Malatya after the February 8 quakes.

The Turkish emergencies agency AFAD reported a new earthquake in the east, with at least one fatality recorded

A new deadly earthquake hit Türkiye at around midday on Monday, the national disaster relief agency reported. According to preliminary reports, one person has been killed and 69 others injured in the eastern province of Malatya.

The Turkish disaster and emergency management agency AFAD said the tremor measured 5.6 in magnitude, with the epicenter located in the Yesilyurt district. The quake was estimated to have originated at a depth of approximately seven kilometers and could be felt in neighboring provinces, according to the rescue agency.

Comment: Twitter users on the scene:

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Papua New Guinea

Free Malaysia Today
Sun, 26 Feb 2023 12:00 UTC

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the remote New Britain region of Papua New Guinea today, the United States Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The quake had a depth of 38km, the USGS said, and was recorded in the sparsely populated West New Britain archipelago region this morning.

The shaking was felt at a Walindi Plantation Resort near the town of Kimbe about 80km from the quake but it was described by a worker as "not too bad".

"No one really reacted, it shook, but no damage," resort worker Vanessa Hughes told AFP.

Source: AFP

South Wales hit by M3.7 earthquake, 1 month after sinkhole found in same region

Sophie Zeldin-O'Neill
The Guardian
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 20:34 UTC

Epicentre of quake, which hit just before midnight on Friday, was north of Brynmawr and west of Crickhowell

An earthquake has shaken parts of south Wales.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the 3.7 magnitude quake happened at 23:59 GMT on Friday. The epicentre was just north of Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent and west of Crickhowell, Powys.

It was felt by residents across the region, including Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Llangynidr, Llanover and Llanfoist, with many saying that furniture and windows shook.

Comment: GoogleMaps below shows the epicentre of the quake and the location of the sinkhole, a distance of about 20 miles:

For more on the sinkhole, see: UK: Experts are baffled as giant 30ft-wide and 9ft deep sinkhole crater opens just feet from busy road in Wales

6.0 magnitude earthquake off Hokkaido, Japan

Earthquake Track
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 14:51 UTC

6.0 magnitude earthquake 66 km from Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan

UTC time: Saturday, February 25, 2023 13:27 PM
Your time: Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 1:27 PM GMT
Magnitude Type: mww
USGS page: M 6.0 - 61 km ESE of Kushiro, Japan
USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist
Reports from the public: 7 people

Death toll climbs above 50,000 after Turkey, Syria earthquakes

Al Jazeera
Sat, 25 Feb 2023 13:39 UTC

The number of people killed by the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this month has now passed 50,000, according to the latest figures from both countries.

In Turkey alone, 44,218 people died as a result of the earthquakes, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Friday, while the latest announced death toll in Syria was 5,914.

The first earthquake on February 6 that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria measured a magnitude of 7.7 and a second, a little later, measured 7.6. The region has been rocked by more than 9,000 aftershocks since, according to the AFAD.

Nearly 240,000 rescue workers, including volunteers, continue to work in the 11 quake-hit provinces in Turkey. Some of the areas affected by the quakes were initially difficult to access but recovery efforts continue and casualty numbers are rising as they progress.

There have been no reports of survivors being rescued in recent days.

6.3 magnitude earthquake off Maluku Utara, Indonesia

Earthquake Track
Thu, 23 Feb 2023 20:29 UTC

6.3 magnitude earthquake 177 km from Tobelo, Maluku Utara, Indonesia

UTC time: Thursday, February 23, 2023 20:02 PM
Your time: Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 8:02 PM GMT
Magnitude Type: mww
USGS page: M 6.3 - 177 km N of Tobelo, Indonesia
USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist
Reports from the public: 0 people

Remote Tajikistan region shaken by magnitude 6.8 earthquake

Al Jazeera
Thu, 23 Feb 2023 11:59 UTC

No casualties were immediately reported following the quake near Sarez Lake bordering China.

A series of earthquakes has hit a remote region of Tajikistan bordering China, with the strongest temblor measured at magnitude 6.8, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake struck at about 5:37am (00:37 GMT) on Thursday about 65km (40 miles) west of Murghob near the border with China's Xinjiang province, USGS and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

Murghob is the district capital with a population of a few thousand in the Pamir Mountains. No casualties were immediately reported.

The area is sparsely populated but is home to the Sarez Lake which could potentially flood vast areas in several countries if disrupted.

Two new shocks strike Syrian/Turkish coast

Sott.net
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 22:56 UTC

Earthquake hits Eastern Mediterranean, 49 km north of Latakia, Syria, Feb 21, 2023 12:16 am (GMT +3) .

Comment: The Guardian is reporting:

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake and a second measuring 5.8 have hit Turkey's southern province of Hatay, terrifying those left in a region devastated by twin earthquakes two weeks ago.

Turkey's interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, said that at least three people were killed and 213 wounded by the latest quakes, after a large government hospital in the city of İskenderun in the north of Hatay province declared it was evacuating patients.

The latest quakes, less powerful than the 7.8- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that tore a path of destruction through southern Turkey and northern Syria on 6 February, threaten yet more devastation in a region where many people have fled their destroyed homes for the safety of other towns and villages outside the quake zone.
© USGS/Guardian
Turkey and Syria are rocked by two new earthquakes February 20, 2023
The larger quake struck at a depth of just 2km (1.2 miles), the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, potentially magnifying its impact at ground level. It was centred near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.

Fresh 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattles Turkey-Syria border

Stewart Carr
The Daily Mail
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:55 UTC

© Elif Ozturk Ozgoncu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Residents move to safety on the street after an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, on Feb. 20.

It comes two weeks after three earthquakes killed over 40,000 in same area

Another earthquake struck the border region of Turkey and Syria on Monday, just two weeks after the area was devastated by a larger quake which killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

Monday's quake, this time with a magnitude of 6.3, was centred near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.

It struck at a depth of just two km (1.2 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, potentially magnifying its impact at ground level.

Muna Al Omar said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the latest quake hit.

'I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,' she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.

Comment: A demonstration of how powerful the February 3rd quake was: