Geology News
Earthquakes Current Events

Smithsonian.com has an article about Japan’s Orphan Tsunami (“orphan” because it was then unlinked to any earthquake) and how it was connected to an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The Indiana Geological Survey is helping students (and news reporters) learn about the earthquake history of Indiana and experience simulated ground shaking of up to magnitude 7.0.

“Forecasting volcanic eruptions with success is heavily dependent on recognizing well-established patterns of pre-eruption unrest in the monitoring data. But in order to develop better monitoring procedures, it is also crucial to understand volcanic eruptions that deviate from these patterns.” Quoted from the Carnegie Institution for Science press release.

The Alaska Dispatch has an article with photos that tell the story of a landslide covering the Black Rapids Glacier during the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake.

Most homeowners insurance policies have exclusions that make them worthless when the home is damaged by common geologic problems such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, mine subsidence, cavern collapse and expansive soils. When a home is damaged the homeowner often is surprised that his “all perils” policy has these exclusions.

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake in China killed over 150 people and injured more than 5,000 on Saturday morning. USGS reports that the earthquake is likely to have occurred on the Longmenshan Fault or a tectonically related fault.

“We detected seismic waves created by the oceans waves both hitting the East Coast and smashing into each other,” with the most intense seismic activity recorded when Sandy turned toward Long Island, New York and New Jersey.

USGS reports that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in Iran at about 3:14 local time. A BBC article reports on how the earthquake was felt in various parts of the Middle East.

ArabNews.com has a short article about a new network of 117 seismic stations that has been built in Saudi Arabia.

“Scientists have linked a rising number of quakes in normally calm parts of Arkansas, Texas, Ohio and Colorado to below-ground injection. In the last four years, the number of quakes in the middle of the United States jumped 11-fold from the three decades prior.” Quoted from the Columbia University press release.

CNN Money has two short videos about the new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge which is expected to be completed in September, 2013.

“Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have found a layer of liquefied molten rock in Earth’s mantle that may be acting as a lubricant for the sliding motions of the planet’s massive tectonic plates.” Quoted from the Scripps press release.

The Los Angeles Times has an article that explains how an earthquake warning system is being tested in Southern California.

“A network of seismographic stations recorded spectacular signals from the blast waves of the meteor that landed near Chelyabinsk, Russia, as the waves crossed the United States.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.

Researchers use shake tables to simulate the performance retrofitted and unretrofitted New York City masonry buildings, locally known as “brownstones”. The article includes an interesting video.

Based upon historic earthquake fatality rates and future population projections, USGS scientists estimate that there could be as many as 3.5 million earthquake-related deaths between 2000 and 2100!

“Predicted population increases in this century can be expected to translate into more people dying from earthquakes. There will be more individual earthquakes with very large death tolls as well as more people dying during earthquakes than ever before, according to a newly published study led by U.S. Geological Survey engineering geologist Thomas L. Holzer.” Quoted from the USGS announcement.

An article on the ScienceMag.org website explains how drilling an array of holes around a building can disrupt the movement of seismic waves.

Researchers are using the principles of earthquake monitoring to detect underground nuclear detonations beneath North Korea.

The Department of Energy’s Geothermal Annual Report includes information about: play fairway mapping, geothermal demonstration projects, induced seismic events, the National Geothermal Data System and outreach to educational institutions.

A Magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred in the Santa Cruz Islands area at about 8:12 PM EST. Tsunami warnings were issued for numerous islands in the South Pacific and waves up to 3 feet in amplitude have been reported.

USAToday reports that dozens of homes were damaged in the Solomon Islands.

Giant Squid in the North Pacific

Every Field Geologist Should Know This…

Why Lava Has a Red Glow

Falling Water Levels in the Great Lakes

Eruption at Copahue

How Deep Does Magma Form?

M6.1 Earthquake on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

2012: Hottest and Second Most Extreme

Earthquakes stronger than M6.0 are unusual on a mid-ocean ridge.

USGS reports that a M6.1 earthquake occurred on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge today at about 11:00 AM local time.

“New Caltech research suggests creeping faults can turn destructive which could explain the unexpectedly large 2011 earthquake in Japan and give new insight on potential future quakes along the San Andreas Fault. In contrast to some current theories, the research suggests that earthquake ruptures might not stop at creeping fault segments—which are considered stable—instead activating the supposedly stable segments and triggering a bigger quake with more destructive power across a large area.” Quoted from a Caltech media release.

Munich Re has posted a 58-minute webinar that reviews natural catastrophe events for the United States and worldwide.

In 2012, insured losses in the United States were about $58 billion – far above average for the 2000-2011 period.

Did you know that the NOAA website has a tabulation of “Watches, Warnings and Advisories” for each of the 50 states? These include blizzard warnings, avalanche warnings, fire weather watches, wind advisories and much more.

“The primary goal of U.S. Geological Survey Natural Hazards Response is to ensure that the disaster response community has access to timely, accurate, and relevant geospatial products, imagery, and services during and after an emergency event. [...] Post-event imagery and analysis can provide important and timely information about the extent and severity of an event. USGS Natural Hazards Response will also support the coordination of remotely sensed data acquisitions, image distribution, and authoritative geospatial information production as required for use in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery operations.” Quoted from the USGS Fact Sheet.

“USGS volcano seismologist, Seth Moran, describes how seismology and seismic networks are used to mitigate volcanic hazards.” Quoted from the USGS video release.

Earthquake insurance can be expensive. That is part of the reason why only about 12% of California homeowners have coverage. The good news is that some premiums are being reduced.

“Once buried under detritus eroded from the uplifted Santa Catalina Mountains, the Pirate fault is currently being exhumed by the downcutting Cañada del Oro and its tributaries. [...] This field examination reveals the fault to have left a sparse but diverse collection of remains implying a varied history of fault development and evolution.” Quoted from the publication press release.