Earthquake Swarm Eastern PAcific 3.22.09

Currently, the USGS is reporting multiple confirmed 5+ Magnitude earthquakes in the eastern pacific rim, starting in the Tonga region where the last large tremor set off tsunami alarms only 4 days ago.

Original Tonga EQ story

Official USGS Tonga quake info summary here

The RSS feed from the USGS is worth watching, my firefox EQ alert browser plugin has been shaking the screen for the last hour, set for >5 magnitude quakes.

Current >5 USGS RSS Feed

A recent science survey team was watching volcanic activity about 6 miles from Tonga, and the events are undoubtedly linked to tectonic plate activity with active magma in the region: Tonga Volcano Link
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8b679e9884ab.jpg[/atsimg]

A very interesting factoid is the Tonga Trench has the fastest rate of convergence of tectonic plates, generally a subduction type in this area, of all the tectonic plates in the world...at least according to wiki.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c053123a0ac0.png[/atsimg]

Enjoy nature's fireworks!


[edit on 3/22/2009 by drphilxr]

[edit on 3/22/2009 by drphilxr]

[edit on 3/22/2009 by drphilxr]

[edit on 3/22/2009 by drphilxr]

[edit on 3/22/2009 by drphilxr]

reply to post by drphilxr


Wow, more going on here again?
I didnt post in the other threads about the activity, or tsunami, but i was watching them.
And the plug in you have shakes your screen when it detects eq's?
Thats cool!

Yeah the plugin eQuake alert can be set to mimic a screen shake approximating what the earthquake would produce in reality!

eQuake Alert!!!
Folks, did u ever thought of getting alerts on land disasters like earth quake, right on your dekstop . eQuake is the solution for that.

What is eQuake Alert?
eQuake alert is a handy addon for firefox, which alerts you with the basic information (date, location, and magnitude) of each earthquake. By default your browser will shake proportional to the earthquake magnitude. You can configure the alert methods and even you can limit the alerts by the earth quake magnitude. The recent quakes menu provides a link to the detailed information of quake @ the USGS (US Geological Survey) website.

How does eQuake works?
This extension reads the rss feed provided by USGS (earthquake.usgs.gov...) on regular intervals, that can be customized by the user (by default 5 mins). It then parses the rss feeds and see if it is updated. If then, it will push those entries to the recent quake list and alert the user with the basic information.

Interesting to see its not just my country but the entire area...

In the last week or so on teletext they've had for the local news at least 5 or so entries for earthquakes here in New Zealand, at least 3 in the Bay of Plenty area and a couple near wellington if I remeber, over the last couple of months or so there have been ALOT more reported on teletext than any other months for the last 6 years at least. Ive been making an effort to make a mental note of all the earthquake reports theyve been publishing on teletext for about a year or so and its definitely getting busy compared to what I remember from other years.

Somethings moving down there... heck I think it was last week or teh week before they had one that was a 4.1 (dont quote me but the size was quite impressive compared to the typical 3.5ish we get) that was only 15km down which made me raise my eyebrows since for the most part the little regular earthquakes they report are all typically alot deeper at 40km+ down, mostly 50-60+. Theyve also seem to be alot closer to the mainland as well recently rather than being 60-100km out to sea.

For those that dont know it teletext is like a World/Local/Business/TV Guide listing you can access through your TV... its quite useful for getting up to date news headlines although often its kinda limited.

But yeah, definitely alot of 'small but bigger than average' activity for us here in New Zealand.

((Whats interesting is Ive just remebered having an odd dream 2 nights ago where I was watching the news on TV and mentioned to teh family 'hey look their having an earthquake the camera man cant keep his camera still'... hmm, hopefully nothing comes of it))

[edit on 22-3-2009 by BigfootNZ]

There is also a wonderful little widget for the mac - called Tremor skimmer 3 -

www.apple.com...

There is a very nice woman who will speak to you and give you the lowdown
on all of the quakes when they happen.

Well if it is a SWARM as your sensationalist headline puts it OP its been going on for some time!

Otherwise the island of Tonga wouldn't exist.

This is normal Volcanism and Tectonic activity on this Plate boundary area, nothing unusual is happening as the following Seismic History map more than clearly displays:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/258667eecd6c3d9f.jpg[/atsimg]
USGS

Nothing at all.

Where as well is this swarm of 5+ quakes? what do you think is a swarm as I am sure there is no mention of it from a Seismologist.

This is Island building.

Most of the Pacific Islands would not exist except for events like this or ones in this region .

A 7.6 is a Biggish one and would have been devastating in a Built up area, or is shallow and creating a slip and tsunami, but it is run of the mill for this area, and there is a Big difference between 7.6 and a 8.6 or 9.


Kind Regards

Elf

Originally posted by BigfootNZ
Interesting to see its not just my country but the entire area...

In the last week or so on teletext they've had for the local news at least 5 or so entries for earthquakes here in New Zealand, at least 3 in the Bay of Plenty area and a couple near wellington if I remeber, over the last couple of months or so there have been ALOT more reported on teletext than any other months for the last 6 years at least. Ive been making an effort to make a mental note of all the earthquake reports theyve been publishing on teletext for about a year or so and its definitely getting busy compared to what I remember from other years.

Quite nice'intelligence' from the other land down under, thanks BigfootNZ.
The hard thing to do with all the data freely available on the government servers
is TRENDS. You would need to write your own software to statistically analyze the data,
or do it with an excel hack. Time consuming.

Keep your ear to the ground. That pacific plate near the tonga trench is the fastest
moving, and the pacific is the most active EQ zone on the planet by far.
I would get onto the USGS site myself and program sms text alerts by region of interest.
Especially as you are in NZ.

My alerts focus on las palmas in the canaries as i am east coast local (within 10miles).

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
Well if it is a SWARM as your sensationalist headline puts it OP its been going on for some time!

Otherwise the island of Tonga wouldn't exist.

Of course 'nothing unusual' is happenning in the area if you are not aware of trends
like Bigfoot NZ aluded to above.

If your were a seismologist, i would take this seriously. I am only a lowly
neuroradiologist with rudimentary bachelors science degrees and an interest in
geoscience and physics...

However, the 'swarm' - while not a definition like what recently happened around new years in yellowstone - indeed got some attention yellow journalism like (like all our headlines, ever check drudgereport or ats on any given day?)

annoying. this is a post out of scientific interest in what i suspect subjectively is increased EQ activity in the pacific rim since the last solar maximum in 2001-3, starting around Boxer's day tsunami of 2004. I have had personal communications over 2 years with the local MIT tempestologist Kerry Emmanuel who doesn't have the data for solar flare influence on hurricane frequency/intensity empirically, but did agree it was possible. Dont forget solar flares and cme's encompass a spectrum of energy and particles, and strongly interact with the earth's geomangentic shell/shield (aurora borealis), and that solar quakes may - may - influence the earth's ferrite core and hence magma flow/ delayed earthquake activity.

In short, the research topic i would love to pursue (if i wasn't busy interpreting hospital trauma and stroke scans all day/ evening) would be to statistically map 1) earthquake trends, are they up recently? and 2) do they correlate with any statistical significance with solar activity from the last maxima (considering our current blank sun minimum) or are these nonsignificant.

A lot of people here on ATS think big events are around the corner earth change wise in 2012. The trends should be visible now if that was the case!

Originally posted by drphilxr

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
Well if it is a SWARM as your sensationalist headline puts it OP its been going on for some time!

Otherwise the island of Tonga wouldn't exist.

Of course 'nothing unusual' is happenning in the area if you are not aware of trends
like Bigfoot NZ aluded to above.

As the data set from the USGS shows this area then has been swarming for a very long time.

Along with the whole ring of fire.

If your were a seismologist, i would take this seriously.

Exactly, and if a seismologist mentioned "swarm" I might but they have not.

The data shows this is normal.

I am only a lowly
neuroradiologist with rudimentary bachelors science degrees and an interest in geoscience and physics...

Well then you should know better and how to interpret data properly over a long time period rather than just cheery picking.

However, the 'swarm' - while not a definition like what recently happened around new years in yellowstone - indeed got some attention yellow journalism like (like all our headlines, ever check drudgereport or ats on any given day?)

Yep of course I check ATS and the other sites, but a mention on somewhere like drudge does not mak it official, and some attention does not mean it is right.

ATS unlike many other sites has a strong history of any claims being put forward to be analysed strongly, and this is how this site works to keep it the best on the Net.

You stated something that is untrue, show me in the data sets where the recent activity is any different or significantly above the historical seismology of this actual area.

annoying.

I agree

this is a post out of scientific interest

As I have shown the science does not support this, I cant see anywhere what you are alluding to as scientific.

in what i suspect subjectively is increased EQ activity

As any scientists know with actual historical and undisputed accurate data
knows the word "Subjective" does not come into it, unless you have a entire new theory on Seismology.

in the pacific rim since the last solar maximum in 2001-3, starting around Boxer's day tsunami of 2004.

Again i am sorry this seems like words, The link I posted shows acyivity since 1990 well before the event's you describe and it seems very as is the norm or not even statistically significant.

I have had personal communications over 2 years with the local MIT tempestologist Kerry Emmanuel who doesn't have the data for solar flare influence on hurricane frequency/intensity empirically, but did agree it was possible.

Very confused I thought you were postulating about seismic activity?

Please start a new thread for the weather patterns as this sounds very interesting.

Dont forget solar flares and cme's encompass a spectrum of energy and particles, and strongly interact with the earth's geomangentic shell/shield (aurora borealis), and that solar quakes may - may - influence the earth's ferrite core and hence magma flow/ delayed earthquake activity.

I don't disagree at all, I am very open to it, I just don't see what the seismic events you posited could be the "marker" or evidence of such an interrelation?

In short, the research topic i would love to pursue (if i wasn't busy interpreting hospital trauma and stroke scans all day/ evening)

I certainly hope you interpret that data than the "swarm" you see here!

would be to statistically map 1) earthquake trends, are they up recently? and 2) do they correlate with any statistical significance with solar activity from the last maxima (considering our current blank sun minimum) or are these nonsignificant.

That is a really good idea, and I feel you might find something in it, though the amount of Seismic activity, it's variation in strength's and delayed , dispersed and hard to pin point any manifestation from any casual link to extra magnetic influences will make this a very long study i feel. Also the accepted unknown ways that actual Seismic events occur at point of source make any extrapolation of further understanding of the topic very fudged and ultimately very subjective.

I am not sure if you have seen the thread on ATS Quakewatch 2009 if you look on this post Here There is a documentary to watch online just released by the BBC interviewing USGS and worldwide scientists on Earthquakes and showing the current understanding, Blanks and causal factors of the events. It is a MUST watch for you, and anyone interested in seismic activity.

Also if you look at previous years Quakewatchs on ATS and esp search for a user Valhall who drew a huge amount of data together in 06/05 I believe and postulated a similar hypothesis and did lots and lots of work on it. Again a must do for you as the user actually works within the field.

A lot of people here on ATS think big events are around the corner earth change wise in 2012. The trends should be visible now if that was the case!

They certainly do, and indeed many trends do seem to evident and not just in science.

Welcome to ATS as such or our first debate hope some of the above helps, and good luck with the research, do watch the Docu and look at quake watch for previous years (is weak this year with contributions) esp Valhal's data and work. Very much looking forward to anything on hurricanes and magnetic influences I have always wondered why this has never been researched more as the electrical potentiality and charge as such of the atmosphere.

Kind Regards,

Elf

[edit on 27-3-2009 by MischeviousElf]

Excellent, i have finally enticed someone with a lot of time on their hands (from the lengthy analysis of my post and mountains of seismic data analysis obviously performed)

to either debunk or lend credence to my hypothesis: prove that there is increased seismic activity in this area (if you can). I don't have the time, I am sifting through media reports, and the usgs site, the geophysical abstract updates i subscribe show no trends in this area.

So, perhaps some more sensationalism, but its worth noting the area is acting up again. Of course, we have to keep in mind this is the ring of fire, highly active island building as you put it, and this is probably nothing new. Nope.

But just for a moment ask yourself - doesn't ATS have an abundance of conspiracy theorists proposing mass earth changes leading up to the 2012 climax? A lot of 'global warming' is viewed as conspiratorial too, not to mention the 'killer solar flare' possibility posed by some extremists (hard to believe that anytime soon due to our very blank sun, maunder minimum like). So, why would a ramp up in earthquake activity be so surprising in light of the vast earth changes being recorded for 3 decades? Its either natural cycling, or something insidious predicted by ancient cultures. Makes for an interesting discussion at least.

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s LAT
deg LON
deg DEPTH
km Region
MAP 5.1 2009/04/16 23:42:52 34.203 70.021 3.2 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.5 2009/04/16 21:27:52 34.227 70.055 8.8 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.0 2009/04/16 20:51:46 -3.094 100.653 35.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.6 2009/04/16 20:42:32 -3.300 100.260 35.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.0 2009/04/16 19:55:29 -3.322 100.308 35.0 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.1 2009/04/16 19:15:38 55.065 165.717 19.5 KOMANDORSKIYE OSTROVA, RUSSIA REGION
MAP 6.6 2009/04/16 14:57:06 -60.187 -26.845 20.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 2009/04/16 05:17:19 -12.485 65.229 10.0 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 5.8 2009/04/16 00:43:26 -6.500 154.194 44.8 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 6.2 2009/04/15 20:01:33 -3.091 100.496 8.5 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.2 2009/04/15 18:26:34 -5.839 154.016 35.0 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 5.5 2009/04/15 17:47:27 -3.088 100.430 14.6 KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.1 2009/04/15 14:07:10 -18.489 65.971 10.0 MAURITIUS - REUNION REGION
MAP 5.7 2009/04/15 10:20:05 12.328 58.081 10.0 OWEN FRACTURE ZONE REGION
MAP 5.1 2009/04/15 07:23:33 26.961 129.754 10.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP 5.0 2009/04/14 23:54:47 27.098 129.860 10.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP 5.9 2009/04/14 23:29:33 -16.292 -177.764 4.5 FIJI REGION
MAP 5.0 2009/04/14 22:44:46 19.328 -155.210 9.9 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.2 2009/04/14 12:48:57 -30.352 -177.950 5.4 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP 5.5 2009/04/14 03:04:26 48.877 154.844 35.0 KURIL ISLANDS

reply to post by MischeviousElf


Oh, and by the way, what did you say your scientific background was again?

Just curious. Mine own consisted of bachelors in biology, minor in basic sciences

and a medical degree with radiology and neuroradiology subspecialties, including

basic physics.