Whats going on at yellowstone?

I am slightly disturbed by the similarity between what we are seeing right now at the closest stations, and this image from the 2004 eruption of Mt. St. Helens:

www.skywise711.com...

(Probably the best example of what harmonic tremor looks like on a modern webicorder, too, about 2/3rds of the way down the page)
As you can see we're nowhere near that busy yet, but it's the rapid fire small quakes almost in a predictable rhythm that are concerning. They get very small for a while and then begin a pattern of larger ones more like the St. Helens quakes. I believe this webicorder reading was just prior to eruption.

reply to post by quakewatcher


Sorry to disappoint you, but that's completely different from what's happening right now at Yellowstone.

reply to post by quakewatcher


Not sure what you're seeing but I see no correllation with St H's. Not sure why people are mentioning HT's as there is, as far as I can see, no evidence of any at all

Nice example of them on your St H's image though.

If I know how to record and post on youtube (yikes) I would have - I'm a little shy took me awhile to post - anyway, I don't know how to do things like that - maybe I'll call my computer guy and ask him. As far as Mt. St. Helens (which I also follow) - what is appearing on the recorders at ys are not similary to what the recorders showed then (yeah, I definatley think I should start and archive - taking me awhile to get in the swing) what happened there was slow intense and graduated to a page of full color -

reply to post by MoorfNZ


Hmm, replying to my own post here - wondering if i'm going to have to eat my words re HT's latest on YMR looks as if start of.... hmmmm... hmmmm.. not going to get much work done today at this rate!

reply to post by MoorfNZ


Unfortunately, I'm afraid those signals aren't an example of harmonic tremors, at least not those. Harmonic tremors have usually a frequency between 1 to 5 hz, most often something between. They are more or less constant signals and don't vary much in frequency over time. The signals in the linked St.Helens webicorder have a much longer period and vary too quickly over time. On webicorders you don't usually really "see" HTs if not that background seismicity (excluding earthquakes, etc) is much higher than normal.

Those, I think, are long waves from particularly strong distant earthquakes. Sometimes you can see them on Yellowstone webicorders too when such earthquakes occur somewhere in the world.

[edit on 2010-1-24 by Shirakawa]

reply to post by Shirakawa


Shirakawa, I have tremendous respect for your approach and knowledge here... Since I do have such respect, could you please provide a quick macro-level assessment of the state of this swarm? Do you think things are tapering off? You have seen no evidence of harmonics, but do you have anymore concern this go around than last year?

I'll hang up and listen...

very, very strange, we just had 2 very minor quakes in nw montana - strange #1 - such small quakes being reported late on a sunday evening #2 I don't rembering seeing quakes ever at these paticular locations.

reply to post by ressiv


Yes, it's good they are starting to realize that EVERYTHING is connected.

The planets do sort of a dance. The sun directs it. I never took astrology seriously, until now. This dance concerns us!

Anyway, looks like we'll be seeing the effects of Earth's ascension into the 5th dimension ... it can't be fetched without a bit of inconvenience they say.

We are receiving some of the strongest energies from the sun and the cosmos, that we've ever experienced. Fasten seat belts soon.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Which channel on PB.B207? There seem to be over 40! They all seem to have data however.

reply to post by pantangele


As you can see from webicorders, activity is definitely declining compared to past days, however some very low level activity is still continuing. As of now it's the second largest swarm ever occurred, after the 1985 one, which was "special" (long story short: an impermeable rock layer failed and trapped gasses ascended into upper layers causing earthquakes for more than three months).

What bothers me at the moment is that micro activity is continuing in the form of groups of many closely spaced together micro-earthquakes, those which to the untrained eye may look like harmonic tremors. I don't remember something like that in the last large swarm. I don't know if this is common occurrence, nor if these earthquakes will qualify as being part of this swarm, if ever reviewed (since they're so small, I doubt).

Compared to the last big swarm also the average earthquake depth and epicenter seems to be much more definite (there has not been visible "movement", like what happens when magma ascends to the surface). The average depth is also greater (around 9-11 Km).

reply to post by PuterMan


Just choose EHZ, it's fine.

[edit on 2010-1-24 by Shirakawa]

reply to post by Shirakawa


Thanks. Can't get Gee to work at all so using Vase.

Yup much better - actually getting something now.

[edit on 24/1/2010 by PuterMan]

reply to post by PuterMan


You can also use the QUACK tool:
www.iris.edu...

Select network, station, channel, then day, then click "webicorder of selected time-series data".

Umm, Shirakawa...

So how would you explain the ability of these "mini microquake swarms" to be micro, and yet somehow find themselves showing up on stations all over the entire park in the exact same spots on all the webicorders? That's just not making sense to me. They have to reach a certain intensity level before they could possibly do that- and yet that is exactly what we see in a few choice signatures. And if you feel they are teleseisisms, I'd like to see the quakes you are are defining as the originating sources of those. 2.5's in California won't cut it. They don't reach. And anything much further than that would thin out those signatures to look way different.

Total confusion here.

reply to post by Shirakawa


Thanks...

When you say:

"Compared to the last big swarm also the average earthquake depth and epicenter seems to be much more definite (there has not been visible "movement", like what happens when magma ascends to the surface)"

What do you think that may mean?

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Before I reply in more detail, could you make me some examples of what you mean? Would signals visible on YPK station be a good example? They're rather far from the current earthquakes. I can do a side-by-side spectrum/audio comparison just to be sure (because the ones I showed in my previous picture definitely were shallow micro earthquakes).

reply to post by pantangele


Further indication that there's not active movement of magma, if you are worried about it.

[edit on 2010-1-24 by Shirakawa]

Shirakawa you seem to be very knowledgabe - I enjoy this. I would love to do the graphs and postings you are able to do. Maybe some day. - Now that my daughter is home and she is safe - anyway - the micro's are so important they are the base - - when we have a large quake we have afer shock - sometime foreshock -- when we have micros involved means things are brewing - bubble bubble - I could be totaly wrong i have been once or maybe twice before we will see - I again say - I do not think this is wineding down - the micro quake that persist as well as the surounding abnormalties

reply to post by Shirakawa


Well, specifically, I've got two different instances in question here. One that's on the webi's already. And the other which I witnessed today in GEE- hadn't looked that up yet to see how they showed up on the webi's... Give me a few if you'll be around for a bit...

reply to post by Shirakawa


So no indication of active movement... That's good... What do you think could be causing the swarm then? What does your gut say...?

Ok, so first event in question occurs all over, which was pointed out previously:

YPK at 14:02 UTC is showing up on nearly every station in the park.

www.quake.utah.edu...

Now this second thing I saw today in GEE I am having a tougher time finding, so not sure yet, still looking....