World Earth Quake History 1 A.D. to 2010

I keep hearing that the earthquake activity we are seeing is normal. I came across this graph on Google. I typed in world earthquake history, and entered 1 A.D. to 2010. I found the results to be interesting.

World Earthquake History Timeline


This seems to show that we are in a unique period of geologic history. What do you think?

[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

It is normal, for our period in time especially. Do you expect that earthquake activity to remain the same over 2009 years? Also, whoever created that time line is quite arrogant and naive if they think they can actually bring to us a valid earthquake history over 2009 years... Population has changed, earth has changed(its been 2000 years, of course it has), information has changed and so on. This is not valid evidence that earthquake activity has changed all that much.

reply to post by The Protector



I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this.

Over the last few centuries, earthquakes have become fewer.
There are some excellent threads on this.
Look for some posts by Phage to assist your search.

reply to post by The Protector


I personally don't expect the earthquake activity to stay the same for two thousand nine hundred years. I expect the earthquake activity to increase. You say this amount of earthquake activity is normal. Normal compared to what? The last few years? I expected more from a Time Lord.

I would also argue, that our equipment and technology have, obviously, improved tenfold in tracking, tracing and recording data on the movement of tectonic plates, and other natural causes around the planet.

No telling where that Google graph comes from. No kidding, they don't tell. What's the vertical scale supposed to represent?

Here's what the real data says. 7.0+ since 1900 in number of quakes per year.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7f4d694099d1.png[/atsimg]
neic.usgs.gov...

[edit on 2/27/2010 by Phage]

reply to post by dusty1


2,900 years isn't long compared to the 4 billion years the planet has been around though.

However, it is pretty crazy with all the things going on today. I'm not disagreeing that something bigger may be on the horizon. Most of us here on ATS seem to feel that way

reply to post by dusty1


I can see that it "looks" like we are in a period of instability or activity, but for me it's a question of scale.

Here we are looking at a few centuries of quakes, but the geology of Earth and its processes are BILLIONS of years old. It seems like a trick of statistics to put forward that idea when you look at it like this!

I'm no expert though, so I'll double check my emergency rations and bug out kit just in case!!

I think that seismometers weren't as widespread in the past as they are today.

Interestingly enough the anchient Chinese invented the seismometer?

In 132 CE, Zhang Heng of China's Han dynasty invented the first seismoscope (by the definition above), which was called Houfeng Didong Yi (lit. instrument for measuring the seasonal winds and the movements of the Earth). The description we have, from the History of the Later Han Dynasty, says that it was a large bronze vessel, about 2 meters in diameter; at eight points around the top were dragon's heads holding bronze balls. When there was an earthquake, one of the mouths would open and drop its ball into a bronze toad at the base, making a sound and supposedly showing the direction of the earthquake. On at least one occasion, probably at the time of a large earthquake in Gansu in 143 CE, the seismoscope indicated an earthquake even though one was not felt. The available text says that inside the vessel was a central column that could move along eight tracks; this is thought to refer to a pendulum, though it is not known exactly how this was linked to a mechanism that would open only one dragon's mouth. The first ever earthquake recorded by this seismograph was supposedly somewhere in the east. Days later, a rider from the east reported this earthquake.

en.wikipedia.org...

Crazy that the greeks have a word ( σεισμός γράφω ) that describes a way to draw ground shaking. The question is which came first the invention or the words?

Perhpas they are just describing the modern invention?

So when was the seismograph invented and by who?

The word derives from the Greek σεισμός, seismós, a shaking or quake, from the verb σείω, seíō, to shake; and μέτρον, métron, measure.

Seismograph is another Greek term from seismós and γράφω, gráphō, to draw.

en.wikipedia.org...

[edit on 27-2-2010 by In nothing we trust]

that information doesn't inlude every single quake and besides we have no control of giant plates

I didn't realize it was 2901 A.D It's not two thousand, nine hundred years.. it's two thousand and nine. Anyhow..

I would trust Phage's graph more than the other one because tracking earthquakes over one hundred and 10 years is more realistic than trying to track for two thousand and nine..

I'm not.. nor do I claim to be a Timelord, I know that was probably a joke but please come up with a more clever response than that.

Compared to the last 100-200 years is what I was referring to.. It's difficult to compare today to 2000 years ago where the coverage of earthquakes, understanding of earthquakes and number of people it affected was much lower than it is today..

The Protector

[edit on 27-2-2010 by The Protector]

reply to post by The Protector

I didn't realize it was 2901 A.D It's not two thousand, nine hundred years.. it's two thousand and nine. Anyhow..

Alright, egg on my face on that one.

I'm not.. nor do I claim to be a Timelord, I know that was probably a joke but please come up with a more clever response than that.

Really? You really can't travel through time and space? Thank you for clearing that up for me. I stand corrected.

I do like your avatar.








[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

[edit on 27-2-2010 by dusty1]

Just a quick reminder. We can collect more information in this age because we have more seismograph and send info faster. They aren't going to be able to detect small quakes in the 1700s and have all the information still.

reply to post by The Protector

I'm not.. nor do I claim to be a Timelord, I know that was probably a joke but please come up with a more clever response than that.

Tom Baker......... is that you?



Is that better?

reply to post by dusty1


That one actually made me chuckle a bit, lol.

There sure are a lot of Earthquake threads today.(Second line)

[edit on 27-2-2010 by KainRich]

reply to post by Phage


Thank you for the graph. The data goes back to 1900, but during the last 100+ years is there a spike in geologic activity compared to the last 2000?

reply to post by dusty1

There is no way to know the answer to that. There weren't many seismographs 200 years ago much less 2,000. For that reason alone the graph in the OP is meaningless.

Originally posted by kiwifoot
reply to post by dusty1

 

I can see that it "looks" like we are in a period of instability or activity, but for me it's a question of scale.

www.iris.edu...

reply to post by Phage


larges t since 1990

click on the column header to sort (only since 1990)

the mapping link is
here