6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes region of Papua New Guinea
March 15, 2012 – SYDNEY — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake (6.2USGS) struck Papua New Guinea Thursday, the US Geological Survey reported, but a tsunami warning was not issued and seismologists said “no major human impact is expected.” The quake hit the New Britain region at 7:13 am (2113 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 48 kilometers (30 miles), 204 kilometers southwest of the main city in the area Rabaul and 598 kilometers from national capital Port Moresby. Geoscience Australia, which put the depth at 103 kilometers, said the quake may have been felt as far away as Port Moresby but “no major human impact is expected. It seems to be in a relatively isolated area with small villages to the south,” seismologist Emma Mathews told AFP. “It definitely would have been felt but earthquakes regularly hit these areas and people living there are used to these types of events.” Quakes of such magnitude are common in the New Britain region of impoverished PNG, which sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. A giant tsunami in 1998, caused by an undersea earthquake or a landslide, killed more than 2,000 people near Aitape, on the country’s northwest coast. -AFP
Posted in Earth Changes 1 Comment
‘Earthquake swarm’ shakes New Brunswick village- like ‘a bunch of dynamite going off,’ resident says
March 14, 2012 – CANADA - Residents in a small southwestern New Brunswick community may continue to feel minor earthquakes for several more days or even weeks, according to a Natural Resources Canada seismologist. McAdam has been hit with four small earthquakes since Saturday in what is known as an “earthquake swarm.” “Certainly we are seeing what we are calling an earthquake swarm,” said John Adams, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada. “It is a number of earthquakes all of similar and small size all happening in the McAdam area.” The first earthquake happened at 1:40 a.m. on March 10, which had a magnitude of 2.4. Three minutes later, an aftershock with a magnitude of 1.4 was recorded. Two more earthquakes were recorded on Tuesday within roughly 20 minutes of each other. The small quakes had magnitudes of 2.0 and 1.9 respectively. Adams said these small earthquakes could happen for several more days or even weeks. “We are absolutely certain that they are earthquakes that are underground. They are unpredictable. Of course you don’t know when the next one is going to happen,” he said. Earthquake swarms often happen in Ontario and Canada’s North, Adams said, but do not pose risks. These minor quakes are still unsettling for many people who live in the area. Gloria Nason said her house hasn’t sustained any damage and the only noticeable effect was a picture falling from the wall. But she said the events are scary. “We had two very large bursts of something, they are just like great big bangs like an explosion, very eerie, very scary,” she said. She said it felt like “a bunch of dynamite going off.” –CBC
Posted in Earth Changes, Earth Watch, Earthquake Omens?, Seismic tremors 3 Comments
Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano unleashes small pyroclastic flow
March 14, 2012 – MONTSERRAT – A small pyroclastic flow occurred from Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano on 9 March, MVO reports. The flow was small, but happened with no warning at around 5:20 pm (local time) from the western flanks of Soufriere Hills Volcano down into Spring Ghaut. The pyroclastic flow traveled about 1 km to the west towards Plymouth before its ash dissipated to form a small ash cloud rising 1.3 km and drifting towards St. Georges Hill and out to sea. MVO has published further details and photographs of this event which is significant as it occurred during a quiet phase of the volcano with no current active lava dome growth and illustrates the hazard of sudden pyroclastic flows. “There were no precursors to this event. Although activity has generally been low, this event clearly illustrates that Soufrière Hills Volcano is still an active volcano and that pyroclastic flows can occur at any time with little to no warning.” –Volcano Discovery
6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Japan- regional tsunami alert issued
March 14, 2012 – JAPAN - A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the northeast Japan coast today prompting a regional tsunami warning to be issued, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake hit 146 miles (235km) from Kushiro on the northeastern island of Hokkaido at a relatively shallow depth of 16 miles (26km). The tsunami was predicted to be around about 20 inches (50cm). No Pacific-wide tsunami threat was issued. It comes just over a year after 9.0-magnitude tremor struck the country’s northeastern coast, leading to a massive tsunami which killed at least 19,000 people. The earthquake was followed by a swarm of tremors- several in the 5.7 magnitude but the strongest of which registered at a 6.1 magnitude. –Herald Sun
Costa Rica’s Poás volcano continues to simmer
March 14, 2012 – COSTA RICA - During February, Poás activity consisted in strong high-temperature fumarolic activity and sporadic small phreatic explosions, reported by park rangers. The latest monthly bulletin of Costa Rica’s volcano observatory OBSICORI published a more detailed summary of Poás’ activity during February summarized as follows: The ultra-acid crater lake had a greenish-gray color with sporadic convection cells visible in the central part carrying sulfur in suspension. Lake temperature were measured at 44° C, which is a value significantly lower than those measured during most of 2009-2011. The pH value of the lake water was measured at 0.01, slightly “less” acidic than during November 2011 (pH -0.4). The lake volume continued to decrease and its level dropped by 1.16 m between 25 Jan and 24 Feb. Concentrations of sulphate and chlorine increased. The composite pyroclastic cone (the “dome”) has high-temperature fumarolic activity and a strong emissions of blue gas (SO2). Fumarolic activity in the northwest sector of the “dome” had temperatures between 685 and 725°C. In the northern part of the “dome”, temperatures were ranging between 640 and 727°C (at accessible points). –Volcano Discovery
Cities on alert as smoke and ash rise from Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz volcano
March 14, 2012 – MANIZALES, COLOMBIA (CBS) — A rising smoke plume from a Colombian volcano put nearby cities and towns on alert as it continued to emit smoke, vapor and ash Monday. The Nevado del Ruiz volcano, located in central Colombia about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Bogota, has been on yellow alert since October 2010 and began spewing ash and smoke last week. The director of the Manizales seismic observatory, Gloria Cortes, said they are keeping a close eye on the volcano and monitoring seismic activity as they work with local officials to ensure the safety of nearby residents and tourists in the area. “The local committee leaders, led by the area mayors, and given the current state of activity, have made a decision regarding the level of alert for the different areas and cities,” Cortes said. Authorities from cities in the volcano’s proximity say they too are carefully watching the situation and have issued green and yellow alerts depending on how close they are to the volcano. The mayor of Manizales, Jorge Eduardo Rojas, said his city is on green alert for now adding that could change if activity increases. “Everyone needs to be ready for any situation. However, the city alert, which is at green, is still green and is not going to change though we are of course carefully watching for any changes on Nevado [del Ruiz],” Rojas, said. Other cities closer to the crater are on an elevated yellow alert, though they say populated centers are not in imminent danger at the moment. Thus far, the smoke plume has not caused any problems for air traffic. The volcano’s yellow alert means an eruption is possible though not definite. If it passes to orange it signifies an eruption is likely in weeks. –Today’s THV
Santorini: history’s most dreaded volcano awakes and is rapidly inflating warns geologist
March 14, 2012 – GREECE – The British Broadcasting Company named it the world’s best island in 2011. Santorini is a tourist magnet, famous for its breathtaking, cliff side views and sunsets. It’s also a volcanic island that has been relatively calm since its last eruption in 1950. Until now. The Santorini caldera is awake again and rapidly deforming at levels never seen before. Georgia Tech Associate Professor Andrew Newman has studied Santorini since setting up more than 20 GPS stations on the island in 2006. “After decades of little activity, a series of earthquakes and deformation began within the Santorini caldera in January of 2011,” said Newman, whose research is published by Geophysical Research Letters. “Since then, our instruments on the northern part of the island have moved laterally between five and nine centimeters. The volcano’s magma chamber is filling, and we are keeping a close eye on its activit
y.” Newman, a geophysicist in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, cannot be certain whether an eruption is imminent since observations of such activity on these types of volcanoes are limited. In fact, similar calderas around the globe have shown comparable activity without erupting. However, Newman says the chamber has expanded by 14 million cubic meters since last January. That means enough magma has been pumped into the chamber to fill a sphere three football fields across. Should Santorini erupt, Newman says it will likely be comparable to what the island has seen in the last 450 years. “That could be dangerous,” notes Newman. “If the caldera erupts underwater, it could cause local tsunamis and affect boat traffic, including cruise ships, in the caldera. Earthquakes could damage homes and produce landslides along the cliffs.” –E Science News
Santorini’s violent past destroyed much of the early Minoan civilization. The volcano is a pressure point between a juxtaposition of tectonic plates that dissect the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. -The Extinction Protocol
contribution Yamkin
Delhi rattled by fifth tremor in 2012
March 14, 2012 – INDIA - An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale was felt in western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Delhi and the NCR on Tuesday. The earthquake took place at around 3.37 am. No serious damage has been reported. An official from the Meteorological Department (IMD) said it was a low intensity earthquake with the epicenter at Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh. This is fifth tremor experienced in Delhi since the beginning of this year. On March 5, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake had shaken Delhi and its adjoining areas in the NCR. Its epicenter was Bahadurgarh on the Haryana-Delhi border. Tremors were felt on September 18 in 2011 too because of an earthquake with an intensity of 6.8 on the Richter scale and its epicenter near the Sikkim-Nepal border. Also, on September 8 in 2011, an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude on Richter Scale hit Delhi with Haryana’s Sonepat as its epicenter. The National Disaster Management Authority has planned a 10-day crash course on Rapid Visual Screening for over 300 engineers. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Development Authority will help in completing this course. After their training the engineers will assess whether or not buildings in Delhi can withstand quakes. –Deccan Herald
Another solar flare and comet dives into solar radiation storm
March 14, 2012 – SPACE - Departing sunspot AR1429 unleashed another strong flare on March 13th, an M7-class eruption that peaked around 1741 UT. Although the sunspot is no longer directly facing Earth, the blast will affect our planet. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say a CME is en route to Earth, and its impact on March 15th at 06:20 UT (+/- 7 hours) could trigger minor to moderate geomagnetic storms. Also, protons accelerated by the flare are swarming around Earth, causing an S2-class radiation storm. A bright comet is diving into the sun. It was discovered just last week by SOHO’s SWAN instrument, so it has been named “Comet S
WAN.” The comet’s death plunge (or “swan dive“) comes just as the sun has unleashed a strong flare and radiation storm around Earth. SOHO images of the comet are confused to some degree by energetic protons striking the camera. This is a Kreutz sungrazer, a fragment of the same ancient comet that produced sungrazing Comet Lovejoy in Dec. 2011. According to comet expert Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC, “Comet SWAN is one of the brightest Kreutz-group comets ever observed by SOHO, although not quite as bright as Comet Lovejoy.” Battams forecasts a peak magnitude of -1 for Comet SWAN, while Lovejoy was three magnitudes brighter at -4. Will Comet SWAN survive its plunge through the sun’s atmosphere as Comet Lovejoy did? Probably not, but experts also said Comet Lovejoy would not survive, and they were happily wrong. Stay tuned to Karl Battam’s blog for updates. –Space Weather
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Fed bank stress test: 13% unemployment, 50% stock market drop wipes some banks out
March 14, 2012 – WASHINGTON – Citigroup was one of four large U.S. banks that flunked stress tests aimed at seeing how they would hold up in a new economic crisis, Federal Reserve data showed Tuesday. Three others — Ally, Suntrust and MetLife — also failed the tests, while 15 other large bank holding companies passed the exercise, the Fed said. As a group, though, the 19 came through strongly, said the Fed, thanks to pressure for them to boost capital over the past three years as the financial sector digs its way out of the deep 2008-2009 recession. “In fact, despite the significant projected capital declines, 15 of the 19 bank holding companies were estimated to maintain capital ratios above all four of the regulatory minimum levels under the hypothetical stress scenario,” the Fed said. The exercise opened the door for some of the most capital-flush banks to immediately announce new or higher dividend payments to shareholders, after the Fed prevented or limited such payouts by a number of the banks last year following a similar examination. JPMorgan Chaseannounced a 20 percent dividend hike and a $1
5 billion share buyback program, while Wells Fargo also sharply boosted its planned dividend. Bank shares meanwhile surged in the final hour of trade on the U.S. markets after JPMorgan jumped the gun with its announcement that it had passed the tests and would up its dividend. The Fed had originally planned to release the results on Thursday. The central bank’s test subjected the banks to another theoretical crash of the economy to see how they would hold up: a U.S. recession marked by a 50 percent drop in stock prices, a 21 percent fall in housing prices, and joblessness soaring to 13 percent, all the while being buffeted by an even worse recession in Europe. The test saw the 19 together losing $534 billion over nine months. Despite that, the Fed said, at the end of the test period the banks together had core “tier one” capital at a level that was higher than the actual level they had during the financial crisis in early 2009. That “reflects a significant increase in capital during the past three years,” it said. Citigroup was the largest of the four that failed the test — its tier one capital ratio level fell in the theoretical crash to 4.9 percent, below the fed’s 5.0 percent minimal threshold. –Yahoo News
More reports of dolphin strandings off Brazil
March 14, 2012 – BRAZIL – It was just another day at the beach–or so it seemed till dozens of dolphins suddenly swam in with the surf and got stranded in the sandy shallows. The dramatic video of the stranding in the Brazilian town of Arraial do Cabo–now a YouTube sensation–shows humans rushing to help their fellow mammals, pushing and pulling hard to help the animals reach deeper water. Were the dolphins saved? To find out, you’ll have to view the video. But what would lead seemingly healthy dolphins to swim onto shore? And what causes similar strandings of whales and other animals? “There is no single answer for marine mammal strandings, just as there is no single answer for what causes car crashes or traffic jams,” Dr. Darlene R. Ketten, senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., told The Huffington Post in an email. After viewing the video, she speculated that “the pod may have been feeding very close to shore and then were caught in a strong current or wave area and pushed onto shore by the water…We do see feeding groups getting caught in the shallows in situations similar to this in many locations, and the tendency varies by species, seasons, and circumstances.” Strandings of dolphins and whales are more common than is commonly realized, according to Dr. Ketten–with 1,000 or so animals a year stranding themselves in U.S. coastal waters. Statistics show frequent strandings among seals and turtles as well as marine mammals. Dr. Ketten commended the people who tried to save the dolphins, pointing out that handing dolphins can be risky for both species–especially when the animals thrash wildly, as they do in the video. Overall, she said, it was certainly no “day at the beach.” –Huffington Post
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