Quake Watch 2011

Original link with video, photo

NASA Finds Japan Tsunami Waves Merged, Doubling Power 12.05.11

www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/tsunami20111205.html

The discovery helps explain how tsunamis can cross ocean basins to cause massive destruction at some locations while leaving others unscathed. The data raise hope that scientists may be able to improve tsunami forecasts.

Research scientist Y. Tony Song of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and professor C.K. Shum of The Ohio State University, Columbus, discussed the data and simulations that enabled them to piece the story together at a media briefing Monday, Dec. 5, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

"It was a one in 10 million chance that we were able to observe this double wave with satellites," Song said. He is the principal investigator in the NASA-funded study.

"Researchers have suspected for decades that such 'merging tsunamis' might have been responsible for the 1960 Chilean tsunami that killed about 200 people in Japan and Hawaii, but nobody had definitively observed a merging tsunami until now," Song said. "It was like looking for a ghost. A NASA-French Space Agency satellite altimeter happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture the double wave and verify its existence."

The NASA-Centre National d'Etudes Spaciales Jason-1 satellite passed over the tsunami on March 11, as did two other satellites: the NASA-European Jason-2 and the European Space Agency's EnviSAT. All three satellites carry radar altimeters, which measure sea level changes to an accuracy of a few centimeters. Each satellite crossed the tsunami at a different location, measuring the wave fronts as they occurred. Jason-1 launched 10 years ago this week on Dec. 7, 2001.

'Double Tsunami' Doubled Japan Destruction

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2011)
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205181924.htm

Japan quake caused double-wave tsunami

* From: AFP
* December 07, 2011 11:27PM

www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japan-quake-caused-double-wave-tsunami/story-e6frf7jx-1226216727496

reply to post by SpaceSilence


Fascinating. Thanks for that. At least it confirms what I have been saying all along this year that aside from Japan the rest of the world is as normal. Note that the graph was back almost to the start of year angle by the end again showing that Japan is following a 'normal' pattern.

reply to post by lamisqy


Now that was a very interesting article to me, thanks. Makes me wonder if the "Orphan Tsunami" which hit Japan in the 1700's from a big quake in Cascadia may have undergone similar merging in the opposite direction, to make it bigger as well. So it appears there are many natural "tsunami amplifiers" in the Pacific at work to increase death and destruction. Even Mother Nature never lets a good crisis go to waste.

Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 6.8 (Preliminary magnitude — update expected within 15 minutes)
Date-Time

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 01:47:26 UTC
Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 07:47:26 PM at epicenter

Location 17.970°N, 99.763°W
Depth 58.1 km (36.1 miles) set by location program
Region GUERRERO, MEXICO
Distances

34 km (21 miles) NNW (340°) from Chichihualco, Guerrero, Mexico
43 km (27 miles) SSE (168°) from Teloloapan, Guerrero, Mexico
45 km (28 miles) NW (322°) from Zumpango, Guerrero, Mexico
49 km (30 miles) SSW (210°) from Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico
126 km (78 miles) N (8°) from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Location Uncertainty Error estimate not available
Parameters NST= 18, Nph=0, Dmin=0 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp=166°,
M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=B
Source

NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Event ID pt11345000

earthquake.usgs.gov...


EMSC has just come in at 6.0 mb

Magnitude mb 6.0
Region GUERRERO, MEXICO
Date time 2011-12-11 01:47:29.3 UTC
Location 18.25 N ; 99.68 W
Depth 80 km
Distances 20 km SW Iguala (pop 112,106 ; local time 19:47:29.3 2011-12-10)
21 km SE Teloloapan (pop 21,244 ; local time 19:47:29.3 2011-12-10)
2 km NW Cocula (pop 4,546 ; local time 19:47:29.3 2011-12-10)

www.emsc-csem.org...

Omg! I hope that is not the case!!!

Originally posted by murkraz
Omg! I hope that is not the case!!!

Well it might not be 6.8...

On EMSC they say 6.0.

Thank you for this thread!!!
i live in Mexico City, was sat watching tv on the sofa twenty minutes ago, my sofa bounced around, sure it left the ground..with me on it!

My first experience with an kind of quake, so checked here :-S

reply to post by Vitchilo


Confirmed as 6.7

Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 6.7
Date-Time

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 01:47:26 UTC
Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 07:47:26 PM at epicenter

Location 18.038°N, 99.796°W
Depth 64.9 km (40.3 miles)
Region GUERRERO, MEXICO
Distances

35 km (22 miles) S (171°) from Teloloapan, Guerrero, Mexico
43 km (27 miles) NNW (339°) from Chichihualco, Guerrero, Mexico
45 km (28 miles) SW (219°) from Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico
133 km (82 miles) N (6°) from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14.5 km (9.0 miles); depth +/- 9.8 km (6.1 miles)
Parameters NST=488, Nph=488, Dmin=140.3 km, Rmss=0.78 sec, Gp= 47°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8
Source

Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID usc000753u

earthquake.usgs.gov...

The difference is because one is mb and the other Mw

EMSC now showing it as 6.7 Mw

www.emsc-csem.org...

64.9km depth sounds terrifying. What can we expect?

reply to post by PuterMan


There's a difference between Mw and Mb? What is it? I thought both meant magnitude...

64.9km depth sounds terrifying. What can we expect?

I would think the contrary... the deeper it is, the weaker it is at the surface.

reply to post by murkraz


The pager report (computer generated) says 37% chance of 100 fatalities



earthquake.usgs.gov...

MMI City Population
VI Cocula 5k
VI Tepecoacuilco de Trujano 6k
VI Iguala de la Independencia 112k
VI Apaxtla de Castrejon 7k
VI Teloloapan 21k
VI Tlacotepec 7k
IV Mexico City 11,286k
IV Naucalpan de Juarez 846k
IV Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl 1,232k
IV Puebla de Zaragoza 1,392k
IV Ecatepec 1,806k

No immediate reports of damage/fatalities.

uk.reuters.com...

6.7 really isn't that big in the scheme of things... so no need to panic. We were well overdue a 'biggish' one anyway

Hey Puterman, remember when I told about getting the earthquake songs stuck in my head, 10 pages previous (three -eighty- seven) well -today- they were earworming me. I kept thinking, "I need to bring this thread up and say 'just in case' ". Dammit, I just hate posting this _ after the fact.

reply to post by Vitchilo


Yes there is a difference and no the magnitude is not always the magnitude.

Have a read of this: earthquake.usgs.gov...

USGS figures for that quake are:

mb = 6.2 (396) ML = 6.2 ( 8) mblg = 0.0 ( 0) md = 0.0 ( 0) MS = 0.0 ( 0)

and the figure they are using, which they call GS is the Mw magnitude @ 6.7

Mw is often but not always larger than mb

USGS WPhase Moment Solution
GUERRERO, MEXICO

11/12/11 1:47:26

Epicenter: 18.038 -99.795
MW 6.5

USGS/WPHASE CENTROID MOMENT TENSOR
11/12/11 01:47:26.00
Centroid: 18.038 -99.480
Depth 60 No. of sta: 62
Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm
Mrr=-5.68 Mtt= 5.22
Mpp= 0.46 Mrt=-2.28
Mrp=-0.45 Mtp=-0.88
Principal axes:
T Val= 5.79 Plg=10 Azm=188
N = 0.41 6 97
P = -6.20 77 335

Best Double Couple:Mo=6.0*10**18
NP1:Strike=287 Dip=35 Slip= -78
NP2: 93 56 -98

earthquake.usgs.gov...

First tensor solution in. We need to wait for the body wave tensor and the centroid but based on that wphase this may go down a bit more yet.

reply to post by Saucerwench


Yes you should have. Do so next time. No one will laugh if it does not happen. Well not much any way

reply to post by Saucerwench

 

Yes you should have. Do so next time. No one will laugh if it does not happen. Well not much any way

edit on 10/12/2011 by PuterMan because: (no reason given)

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck in Mexico's western Guerrero state Saturday night, shaking buildings and causing panic in the nation's capital and the Pacific resort of Acapulco. There were no reports of deaths or serious damage. The U.S. Geological Service initially estimated the quake at magnitude at 6.8, but downgraded it to 6.7 and then 6.5. A quake of that magnitude is capable of causing severe damage. The USGS said the quake occurred 40.3 miles (64.9 kilometers) deep and was centered about 26 miles (42 kilometers) southwest of Iguala in Guerrero. That is 103 miles (166 kilometers) south-southwest of Mexico City. A Twitter message from President Felipe Calderon said one person had been reported injured by a collapsed ceiling in the Guerrero town of Tuxpan, which is near Iguala. It said there were no other reports of casualties in the quake area. In Acapulco, which is in Guerrero, hundreds of anxious tourists congregated in the streets after fleeing rocking buildings. Authorities said they had found no structural damage and had no reports of injuries in the Pacific resort, which was about 87 miles (140 kilometers) from the quake's epicenter. High-rises swayed in the center of Mexico City for more than a minute, and shoppers were temporarily herded out of some shopping centers until the danger passed. Mexico City's mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, reported by Twitter that no major damage had been reported. He said power failed in some parts of the city. People in one part of Mexico City's upscale Condesa neighborhood ran out of their houses and gathered in the streets, hugging each other while some shook and began to cry. On one street, a group of women joined hands in a circle, closed their eyes and began to pray. "Please God, help us and let everything be OK," said one. "It's OK. It's OK. Everything is OK." Parts of Mexico City rest on the shaky soil of a former lake bed, which tends to magnify the effect of earthquakes. An 8.1-magnitude quake in 1985 killed as many as 10,000 people in the city.

Source

reply to post by PuterMan


See they are going around with the moon!



Ooops sorry..meant
Rainbows
Jane

reply to post by MoorfNZ

"Fools, I shall destroy you alllllllll !!!!! I am great!"

(After the GOP debates, though......)

Hmmm the predictors are slacking.. NOT ONE has said it's a foreshock.. yet...