5 Arkansas Earthquakes in 2 days?

I swear I searched pretty hard and did not find a thread with this. I noticed some fairly odd Earthquakes around Little Rock Arkansas the past two days. There have been 8 Earthquakes in a very close proximity within the last week. While they are not unheard of, they are usually rare, but not this week!
earthquake.usgs.gov...

According to this link, ( quake.ualr.edu... ) Earthquakes that are felt by residents of Arkansas are extremely rare, and they occur mostly in the NE corner of the state and are associated with the New Madrid Fault. The Earthquakes this week are not from that fault, but from a newly discovered one.

www.foxnews.com...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake with an epicenter near a major natural gas pipeline, a scientist said Wednesday.

Haydar Al-Shukri, the director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said the fault is separate from the New Madrid fault
...
The fault, likely created in the last 5,000 years, sparked at least one magnitude 7 earthquake in its history
. Such temblors cause massive destruction in their wake.

"This is a very, very dangerous (area) at risk of earthquake," Al-Shukri said. "When you talk about (magnitude) 7 and plus, this is going to be a major disaster."

Now, I don't know if this stuff is relaated to the oil spill, or 2012, or anything else, but I am constantly reminded of the Chinese Curse, "May you live in interesting times." We are all living the curse, and these are indeed interesting times. I hope some of our more "Earthquake educated" ATSers can shed some light on this recent phenomenon.

More sources:
www.fox16.com...

hisz.rsoe.hu...

Note: Almost all of my searches for Earthquakes in Arkansas come up with the NE corner and the New Madrid. Earthquakes in Central Arkansas are almost unheard of. Now, we have also recently(within 12 months) had earthquakes in central Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Seems to be an East-West line of quakes that nobodhy is worrying about, and then the North-South New Madrid fault that everybody is worrying about. I wonder if they intersect near New Madrid/Memphis?

I live in Arkansas, minor earthquakes are pretty common in some parts of the state.

The map on this page has data up to 2009 and it is quite informative.

Also they are not too uncommon for the central part of the state. By the map mentioned earlier there were around 17 in the central part of the state in 2009.

[edit on 6/27/2010 by ThaLoccster]

The OP reminds me of the people who make threads about the earth being a machine and we are taking out the lubrication and it's starting to "overheat" due to friction.

Time will tell.

The 'Marianna Fault' is a fault located near Marianna, Arkansas. The discovery was first announced by seismologists on January 21, 2009. It is not part of the more famous nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone,[1] which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) away.[2]

Haydar Al-Shukri, director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, discovered the Marianna Fault after searching for a fault since 2005.[3] The fault line is seven miles long,[4] with 110 metres (360 ft) dimensions.[2] The land above the Marianna Fault is mostly cotton fields, but the presence of fertile soil with stretches of fine sand alerted seismologists to the fault's existence. It is believed that the Marianna Fault has previously experienced an earthquake that would have measured 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale, and may well do so again.[1] Al-Shukri believes that the fault was created 5,000 years ago.[3]

Previously, the predicted earthquake damage Marianna, Arkansas, might have received from the more distant New Madrid Fault suffering a 7.0 earthquake would be 100% architectural and content damage, half of all bridges suffering some damage, 2,955 displaced residents, and loss of phones and electricity.[5] The capital city of Arkansas, Little Rock, would also face damage.[4] A major natural gas pipeline is located near the fault, and could be devastated by any such earthquake.[1] Tennessee and Mississippi would possibly be affected as well.[6]

In 2006, a letter to the Seismological Research Letters indicated the possible existence of a fault at Marianna. Sand blows in the area were similar in size to the New Madrid sand blows, giving rise to the speculation of a new fault. It was believed that the Marianna sand blows were created between 5000–7000 years ago.[7] This followed a letter to the same journal a few months before saying that ground penetrating radar (GPR) was being used to study "large elliptical sand deposits" near Marianna.[8]

Haydar Al-Shukri announced the discovery of the Marianna Fault on January 21, 2009.[1] Days later Al-Shukri stated that more funding is required to study the fault, which would include studying if the fault is still active. The lack of seismic equipment in the vicinity is one factor in the need for additional funding.[3]

The most recent earthquake activity in the area around the fault was located ten miles northeast of Marianna in August 2008. It measured 2.6 on the Richter scale. Few quakes have been felt in the area since 1994.[3]


This is all I could find on it. I believe it is near the New Madrid - 7 miles long.

Actually according to www.intellicast.com..., the interactive map, the most recent activity includes 6 earthquakes ranging from 1.9 to 3.3 in magnitude in the past 2 days. Very disturbing. Star for you GetReadyAlready!

[edit on 27-6-2010 by memarf1]

[edit on 27-6-2010 by memarf1]

Several more Earthquakes today! This is a faultline that has only been discovered within the past 10 years, and this is a years worth of activity in less than a week. Growing up in Missouri, I was always afraid of the New Madrid Fault, all the evidence says that this faultline may be just as powerful and less understood. It is also in close proximity to New Madrid. I wonder what the chances of them going off simultaneously are?

reply to post by getreadyalready


Definitely disturbing and deserving of more attention. Where are all the ATSers on this one??

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nothing more to say really.

reply to post by PuterMan


I disagree. Yes, NE Arkansas gets a lot of New Madrid Activity, but the Activity near Searcy lately is very unusual. It is not associated with the other fault, and it is blamed on a newly discovered fault line. Also, the shallowness of the activity means a lot more surface damage if they get a big one.

I am not predicting a large Earthquake in the area, but I am pointing out the new developments and the rapidly changing (last 10 years) view that we have of seismic and volcanic activity.

Now, to connect it to the oil spill seems silly, but not mentioning the idea that these intersecting fault lines could somehow aggravate the situation seems equally silly.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by PuterMan

 

I disagree. Yes, NE Arkansas gets a lot of New Madrid Activity, but the Activity near Searcy lately is very unusual. It is not associated with the other fault, and it is blamed on a newly discovered fault line. Also, the shallowness of the activity means a lot more surface damage if they get a big one.

With what are you disagreeing?

What you said above was the subject of the second link I posted. I was not disagreeing, but saying I have no further comment as the two links said what I considered was needed to say.

If we take the 2.2 as a centre (35.232°N, 91.847°W) and extract ANSS data for a 15km circle we get first the parameters:

Your search parameters are:

* catalog=ANSS
* start_time=2000/01/01,00:00:00
* end_time=2010/06/29,16:27:08
* minimum_magnitude=0
* maximum_magnitude=10
* event_type=E
* delta=0 km to 20 km from (35.232,-91.847)

Then the data

DateTime,Latitude,Longitude,Depth,Magnitude,MagType,NbStations,Gap,Distance,RMS,Source,EventID
2009/10/22 22:42:05.70,35.2623,-91.9310,0.02,2.60,Md,10,156,20,0.49,NM,
2009/11/20 05:56:31.88,35.2282,-91.9852,0.06,2.40,Md,13,115,25,0.49,NM,
2010/03/07 14:40:00.74,35.2915,-91.9962,0.09,1.80,Md,13,73,26,0.49,NM,
2010/04/22 08:11:00.69,35.2605,-91.9983,3.28,2.00,Md,15,119,26,0.44,NM,
2010/05/27 00:17:02.07,35.3592,-91.6932,2.56,2.20,Md,11,154,12,0.25,NM,
2010/05/29 06:14:57.84,35.3615,-91.7173,0.03,2.40,Md,14,89,12,0.40,NM,
2010/06/26 17:40:23.68,35.2477,-91.8445,0.06,2.20,Md,11,112,12,0.32,NM,
2010/06/26 18:47:54.68,35.2367,-91.8203,1.63,2.00,Md,8,167,10,0.10,NM,
2010/06/26 19:03:01.37,35.2433,-91.8398,0.05,2.70,Md,21,138,11,0.33,NM,
2010/06/26 23:47:39.58,35.2083,-91.8687,0.00,3.30,Md,32,106,15,0.29,NM,
2010/06/27 21:04:16.61,35.2263,-91.8323,0.01,1.90,Md,10,150,11,0.30,NM,
2010/06/28 06:32:51.36,35.2470,-91.8620,0.00,2.30,Md,16,111,13,0.57,NM,
2010/06/28 06:36:34.93,35.2242,-91.8633,0.06,3.20,Md,34,106,14,0.27,NM,
2010/06/28 07:49:56.17,35.2293,-91.8252,8.05,1.90,Md,6,171,10,0.11,NM,
2010/06/29 10:26:45.48,35.2318,-91.8473,0.05,2.20,Md,15,68,12,0.31,NM,
2010/06/29 10:26:45.48,35.2318,-91.8473,0.05,2.20,Md,15,68,12,0.31,NM,

So yes I do agree that it is unusual - since there have been no quakes there in the past 10 years except the recent batch.

Would I be correct in assuming that there has been gas extraction from shale fields in the area?

Link to chamber of commerce

Note also that this document states:

Fractures are also induced by pumping pressurized fluids down the well bore to fracture the rock unit. These additional fractures enhance the permeability of the Fayetteville Shale and allow more efficient gas production.

If you do this you are going to get quakes in the zone. There is another big zone - can't remember the name but it begins with B (it just came to me Barnett Shale) - where this happens.

Disturbances in shale fields are noted when gas extraction is taking place. My question to you would be is this relatively recent?

These quakes would seem the right sort of size, but as to the sudden onset I don't know not being either in the area or a geologist by trade.

What I am trying to find is geological maps relating to these area but I seem to be able to find everything but! I will continue this when I have found some.

Edit: I note you say that there is a newly discovered fault line. Do you have details of that?

This sounds like it may be an interesting investigation!

[edit]Links to helicorder displays for the Arkansas Seismic Network.

[edit on 29/6/2010 by PuterMan]

reply to post by PuterMan


LOL. I was disagreeing with the first line of your first link, "There have always been earthquakes in Arkansas." I do appreciate the list you compiled though, that is terrific!

The "newly" discovered fault line was actually discovered in 2005 per Crazydaisy's post:

Haydar Al-Shukri, director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, discovered the Marianna Fault after searching for a fault since 2005.[3] The fault line is seven miles long,[4] with 110 metres (360 ft) dimensions.[2] The land above the Marianna Fault is mostly cotton fields, but the presence of fertile soil with stretches of fine sand alerted seismologists to the fault's existence. It is believed that the Marianna Fault has previously experienced an earthquake that would have measured 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale, and may well do so again.[1] Al-Shukri believes that the fault was created 5,000 years ago.[3]

It is in one of my original links as well.

What has me concerned is the seeming line of odd quakes that stretch east and west almost perfectly through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. A line of oddly rare earthquakes in zones without known faults? Then we have a scientist finding a potentially serious faultline near Little Rock. I wonder if there are others that connect all those dots?

Trying to not be alarmist, it is hard to express my real concern that 2012, New Madrid, Iceland, Theoretical Pole Shifts, and the Mayan calendar are all connected. Specifically that there is some Earth Cycle that comes to pass every 26,000 years or so, and it has been lost in tradition and only sporadic evidence of it still exists in myth and lore. I'm sure it will be abundantly clear in hindsight!

reply to post by getreadyalready

I'm sure it will be abundantly clear in hindsight!

If anyone is around to 'hindsee' it

I added a link to the helicorders just in case you did not spot that I had edited the post.

reply to post by PuterMan


Thank you for the link.

I am now noticing something new. If you were to mark the oil leak location and pull a string to the Earthquake on the coast of South Carolina, you would get a nice arc through the activity in South Carolins, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas! I wish I was better with graphics and embeds, but here is the link to the "Recent Central US Earthquakes" from your link. The oil rig would be just south of the Louisianna Delta tip. Check out how nicely they all line up!

www.geology.ar.gov...
Whoops, link doesnt go directly to graphic. You have to click on "Recent Earthquakes" at the top.

[edit on 29-6-2010 by getreadyalready]

reply to post by getreadyalready


I think the problem with that theory is that the bulk of the quakes on there come in the last 6 months category so I am not sure that we could draw any conclusions from that.

I love the part in Wiki

Haydar Al-Shukri announced the discovery of the Marianna Fault on January 21, 2009.[1] Days later Al-Shukri stated that more funding is required to study the fault, which would include studying if the fault is still active. The lack of seismic equipment in the vicinity is one factor in the need for additional funding.

"I found a fault now give me money!!" Scientists! You gotta love them!

I also found this: (Confirming Fox?)

A pipe laid by Arkla Energy Resources runs through the area but a spokeswoman for the company would not say if it was the one near the fault's epicentre.

Source: National Geoscience Database of Iran

They (the Iranians) are good for some things you know!

I realise this was in the OP but when I see Fox News the eyes glaze over and reason goes out of the window

What is going on?

Pictures of Marianna before the Earthquake

Source

This 'estimate' seems to have been picked up by the MSM (GBTLCS) as something that is imminent! Sky:Quake Warning: New Fault Line Capable Of Magnitude 7 Tremors ...

This despite the fact that the finder wanted money to see it if is still active?

And like Chinese whispers it grows: "A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake in the cotton fields of the upper South with an epicenter near a natural gas pipeline, a scientist said. .... The fault, likely created in the last 5,000 years, sparked at least a magnitude 7 earthquake in its history. Such temblors cause massive destruction in their wake."

And all of a sudden it HAS produced a 7.0 in the past - ?? Not proven.

This seems to be the link to the original scientific paper but of course as usual you have to pay to see any details. It makes me completely that these people get paid with your taxes to produce info and then you can't get at it. Is it any wonder it is difficult to catch these bastards lying!

Still looking.....

[edit on 29/6/2010 by PuterMan]

Well, its only midday but seems a 2.2 rocked near Little Rock again this morning at 10:45AM.

www.intellicast.com...

Observe the layer that includes earthquakes if you use this map. This is my favorite interactive tool, it even has an Oil Spill thing to see the affected areas.

I'll check for more this evening. Since it's not the New Madrid fault, this is very disturbing.

A few years ago I was working in front of a tourist restaurant in Destin Florida and met a group of Engineers who said what they did was classified. As they got drunker they began to talk a lot more about their jobs and informed me that we do a lot of underground nuclear weapons testing and that was what their jobs were.

With all the new activity and the nuclear arms treaty and such I wonder if a lot of this minor seismic activity is underground tactical weapons experiments and testing.

I really hope its not connected to oil spill or drilling, that would be way more disturbing than nuclear testing. lol.

Fine...I'll say it!

UFO Casebook: The White Manuscript


It's the underground alien base under the Ozarks, one of the entrances to which can be found 5mi underneath Blowing cave in Cushman, AR.

Geez, that was easy....

Originally posted by starsyren
Fine...I'll say it!

UFO Casebook: The White Manuscript


It's the underground alien base under the Ozarks, one of the entrances to which can be found 5mi underneath Blowing cave in Cushman, AR.

Geez, that was easy....

Well, I was gonna avoid it, but there is another supposed entrance to that mythical Cave System near Gravette, AR in the NW corner. There is a suspiciously well-funded Airport up there as well. When it was built, nobody could understand why TPTB would avoid remodeling any of the operating airports within 100 miles of there and save them. Specifically, Joplin, MO had a very decent airport that could have been built-up instead.

Anyhow, an Earthquake is an Earthquake, unless it is mining, or gas exploration, or underground trains, or aliens, LOL!

reply to post by getreadyalready


OMG! You guys are insane! haha.

GetReady, you forgot underground Nuclear Explosions, they can cause seismic activity just like an earthquake too. I'll keep an eye on this and post again tonight if more occur. If we notice 2-5 per day then its either a big indicator of real earthquakes preparing or nuclear testing systematically.

ITS NOT ALIENS!!! haha. Sheesh. Lets try and keep a grasp on reality please. lol. I do wonder though, if underground testing could cause new fault lines in the earth the same as a small wedge and hammer do on a large rock.

Related news...

Series of quakes shake Searcy area

LITTLE ROCK — Geologists are installing a temporary sensor just west of Searcy to record seismic activity after a series of earthquakes that have rattled the area in recent days.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists nine quakes in White County since Saturday, with the strongest occurring that night about 7 miles northwest of Garner. That quake measured 3.3 on the Richter scale.

The quakes have continued each day since, including a 2.2-magnitude earthquake reported just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday about 6 miles west of Searcy. More than 100 people have reported feeling the stronger tremors.

Scott Ausbrooks, the geohazards supervisor with the Arkansas Geological Survey, said the temporary earthquake sensor should be online by the end of this week and will record better data should more quakes occur in the same White County region.

"You can equate it to tornado-chasing," Ausbrooks said by phone from the White County site. "You hate to say it but you need more earthquakes to get more data."

Considering an earlier post I thought this quote stood out..

He said scientists have found certain earthquakes to have been caused by man-made operations, such as re-injecting fluids in an oil field or emptying a large reservoir. But definitively saying whether a quake was caused by such work is always tough.

"A lot of people think 'oh we're hiding something,'" Blakeman said. "We're not. It's up in the air because it's very hard to figure out correlation. It's not like you drill a well and the next day you get a whole bunch of earthquakes. And in areas like Arkansas that have earthquakes anyway, it's hard to know what's natural and what's not."

reply to post by memarf1


www.abovetopsecret.com...

Well, not to derail my own thread. I think the quakes are related to a hidden faultline that extends all the way along the Mason-Dixon line to the Atlantic. BUT

here is the link to the thread with a very interesting account of the cave system that extends for at least 7 miles underground near Gravette, AR. I would love to check it out. Read the first page of that thread for some crazy experiences, and growing up in that area, we both know that the cave system is possible and likely, it is only the aliens that seem far-fetched.