San Simeon Earthquake Activity

[David]

There continues to be a significant number of small EQ in the San Simeon-Paso Robles area. See http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/121-36.html

Is it possible these small EQ's are still part of the aftershock sequence following the December '03 San Simeon M6.5 EQ?

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by David

There continues to be a significant number of small EQ in the San Simeon-Paso Robles area. See http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/121-36.html

Is it possible these small EQ's are still part of the aftershock sequence following the December '03 San Simeon M6.5 EQ?

IDK but i just moved into my new office today due to ALL the earthquakes...
seems i've been working atop the san andreas fault for the past 5 years!

[GardenStateGirlie]

That's really incredibly interesting to look at. I suppose with the magnitude of such an earthquake that it would be possible for there to still be significant seismic activity. Is this something they're hypothisizing?? Wonder if the same can be said of the recent activity in the far East??

[Jessica Leigh]

Originally Posted by David

There continues to be a significant number of small EQ in the San Simeon-Paso Robles area. See http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/121-36.html

Is it possible these small EQ's are still part of the aftershock sequence following the December '03 San Simeon M6.5 EQ?

it depends on whether there have been constant eqs after the dec 03 quake in the same fault area (which would mean that the ground is still settling into a new position) or if the little quakes stopped at one time in that area (implying the ground had settled) and then started back up recently with all these little ones (which may be little foreshocks to a big eq that might be on the horizon)

i'm not an expert but i did study geology for a couple yrs in that area of cali and into death valley.

[WelshWitchPMD]

Had this guest on this past Sunday:

Seismic Update
Geologist Jim Berkland returned to the show, offering his analysis of planetary seismic activity. The recent series of quakes off the American Northwest are being caused by magma coming up from the water, which is typical for an active ridge, he said. He doesn't see this situation turning into an "Atlantis-type of thing."

Berkland made a prediction of a 6+ earthquake to occur in either Southern Nevada or California during June, July, or August of this year, as these months have particularly high tide periods. He also discussed how the number of deaths are often underestimated for serious quakes. For instance, it has only been in recent years that the death toll from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was raised to the thousands (from several hundred). Governments are reluctant to admit shoddy construction in many cases, he said.

Berkland noted that some people are "earthquake sensitives" who exhibit severe headaches for three days preceding a major quake. He also suggested that there is a correlation between the sun and seismic activity. For example, he said, there were huge X-13 flares that were occurring at the time of both the Loma Prieta and Morgan Hill quakes.

http://www.syzygyjob.org/

[amber]

Originally Posted by WelshWitchPMD

Had this guest on this past Sunday:

Seismic Update
Geologist Jim Berkland returned to the show, offering his analysis of planetary seismic activity. The recent series of quakes off the American Northwest are being caused by magma coming up from the water, which is typical for an active ridge, he said. He doesn't see this situation turning into an "Atlantis-type of thing."

Berkland made a prediction of a 6+ earthquake to occur in either Southern Nevada or California during June, July, or August of this year, as these months have particularly high tide periods. He also discussed how the number of deaths are often underestimated for serious quakes. For instance, it has only been in recent years that the death toll from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was raised to the thousands (from several hundred). Governments are reluctant to admit shoddy construction in many cases, he said.

Berkland noted that some people are "earthquake sensitives" who exhibit severe headaches for three days preceding a major quake. He also suggested that there is a correlation between the sun and seismic activity. For example, he said, there were huge X-13 flares that were occurring at the time of both the Loma Prieta and Morgan Hill quakes.

http://www.syzygyjob.org/

Very interesting! As a resident of the "death zone" ( ) I like to know what's happening. I'm hoping not to slide into the ocean....

[Jessica Leigh]

Originally Posted by amber

Very interesting! As a resident of the "death zone" ( ) I like to know what's happening. I'm hoping not to slide into the ocean....

yeah where you are is sliding into the ocean... but don't worry- i think it's moving at a constant rate of about a foot every thousand years.... so if you live another thousand years, your front walkway to your house might not be in front of your front door anymore. it might be just a little bit to the left.

[amber]

Originally Posted by Jessica Leigh

yeah where you are is sliding into the ocean... but don't worry- i think it's moving at a constant rate of about a foot every thousand years.... so if you live another thousand years, your front walkway to your house might not be in front of your front door anymore. it might be just a little bit to the left.

so, the big one isn't gonna take us down? Whew. thank you! *but what if it's a really big one?*

[Jessica Leigh]

Originally Posted by amber

so, the big one isn't gonna take us down? Whew. thank you! *but what if it's a really big one?*

even a 9 point whatever can't shift california SOOOO much that it would be an island.... the whole earth is covered in plates- if one faultline were to have a 9.3 eq and move like, 10 miles, it would have to make the rest of the plates all around the world move, too... and that would take a lot more pressure than a 9.3 in norcal... all of the other faultlines around the world would have to be slipping a little bit, too... and considering the time of day is different all around the world (a lot of eqs generally happen at night when the ground is cooling down from a warm day- the ground expands with the heat, building pressure at the fault lines, and then when it cools at night they slip) it would be almost impossible for every single one to slip at just the same time... it would require almost a miracle in tectonic activity.

[amber]

Originally Posted by Jessica Leigh

even a 9 point whatever can't shift california SOOOO much that it would be an island.... the whole earth is covered in plates- if one faultline were to have a 9.3 eq and move like, 10 miles, it would have to make the rest of the plates all around the world move, too... and that would take a lot more pressure than a 9.3 in norcal... all of the other faultlines around the world would have to be slipping a little bit, too... and considering the time of day is different all around the world (a lot of eqs generally happen at night when the ground is cooling down from a warm day- the ground expands with the heat, building pressure at the fault lines, and then when it cools at night they slip) it would be almost impossible for every single one to slip at just the same time... it would require almost a miracle in tectonic activity.

Super! I like that you're a fount of geological knowledge...

[David]

Originally Posted by GardenStateGirlie

That's really incredibly interesting to look at. I suppose with the magnitude of such an earthquake that it would be possible for there to still be significant seismic activity. Is this something they're hypothisizing?? Wonder if the same can be said of the recent activity in the far East??

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-usi031605.php

[ominous drums in the distance]

[David]

Originally Posted by Jessica Leigh

even a 9 point whatever can't shift california SOOOO much that it would be an island.... the whole earth is covered in plates- if one faultline were to have a 9.3 eq and move like, 10 miles, it would have to make the rest of the plates all around the world move, too...

Remember, too, that moment magnitude (Mw) is a measure of the size of fault rupture, among other things. The Sumatra quake ruptured a patch of fault roughly the size of California. There are dozens of major faults in California, but geologists don't think there is any single fault in the state large enough to generate such a monster quake. Quakes of M9.0 & above are almost always subduction zone monsters, hundreds of miles long. The biggest quake in California's history was an 1857 quake in Fort Tejon. It was a 7.9. Here's a list of the biggest quakes in CA history:
http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/Earth...Calbigones.htm

Nothing anywhere near a M9.0+ on California soil (or anywhere else in the Lower 48). Theoretically, it's possible, but it's very unlikely.

Sometimes faults are well known & easy to spot, like the San Andreas zone. Others are underground, with nothing on the surface revealing their presence (like the blind thrust fault that caused the Northridge '94 quake). So maybe there's a blind thrust fault somewhere down there, but it hasn't ruptured in a major way in historical times. Nobody knows about it if it's down there.

Another misconception is that a piece of California will "break" off & float out to sea. See the Earthquake Myths page: http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/Earth...akes_myths.htm

[David]

Originally Posted by WelshWitchPMD

Seismic Update
Geologist Jim Berkland returned to the show, offering his analysis of planetary seismic activity. The recent series of quakes off the American Northwest are being caused by magma coming up from the water, which is typical for an active ridge, he said. He doesn't see this situation turning into an "Atlantis-type of thing."

That's surprising, considering Berkland is a quack.

He's the guy who got fired from his county geology job. He says full moons create great quakes, & he used to draw up "prediction" windows using tidal charts & logs of animal disappearances. He isn't even a footnote in seismology studies.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by David

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-usi031605.php

[ominous drums in the distance]

A few months ago I went to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and we saw one of the IMAX films called Forces of Nature (not to be confused with the Sandra Bullock flick). One of the forces they covered was earthquakes with footage from Izmit, Turkey and the devistation of the earthquake that took place in 1999. The geophysicist working that area had developed an earthquake-progression model that showed Izmit would be hit next. No one took the warning seriously and the quake ripped through the town because it was sitting on the Anatolian Fault. He then projected that it wouldn't be long until Istanbul was next.

Probably wouldn't pack the same punch as in an IMAX theater but i'd reccomend renting it if you're a science nerd because it was fascinating.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Apparently there has just been an earthquake along the same faultline that caused the December Tsunami. I haven't seen it reported anywhere except on the weather channel (which i'm currently watching). Apparently, it was an 8.2 and so far, the only thing I could find on the net was a small mention HERE