Worldwide Earthquake Activity in the Last Seven Days -- Just Prior to 9.0 and until Dec 30

USGS Earthquake Program ^ | Dec 30, 2004

[topher]

Wasn't there something about a meteorite? And Antarctica, too? ... [snip]

First, this is all Southern Hemisphere stuff -- the 9.0 was on one side Australia and North, and the 8.1 [on December 23rd 2004] was on the East side of Australia and South.

The meteorite was an asteriod that supposedly came close to the earth during Full Moon. The Full Moon is known to have an effect on tides.

South of New Zealand was an 8.1 earthquake [12/23/04] that everybody was so concerned about the penquins being hurt by huge chunks of ice falling into the ocean [from Antartica].

There is a possibility that a combination of events somehow played a role -- but I would be second guessing.

But science is in its infancy in some respects.

There was some sort of tsumani in Alaska [years ago] or some huge tidal wave because of alleged hugh chunks of rocks falling into the ocean. The only problem is that recently, scientists did some underwater research in the water and found no trace.

Basically you are talking about astronomy, geology, and physics all interplaying. This is a non-trivial mathematical model just to conceive and build just to take some of the events and put them into play.

You have to build models for the Astro-physics as well as factors in two major oceans -- the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Additionally, it needs to be determined what type of fault and what event happened when the 9.0 happened. This might be difficult just because of the enormous damage and the very deep water involved.

Important data was lost on this event -- no tsunami monitoring in the Indian Ocean to help predict may also mean that trying to figure out some of the factors before hand are just lost data.

But what you could be pointing to is the asteroid playing a factor at the time of the full moon.

This is then complicated by a fairly large earthquake -- 8.1 -- and very shallow quake. This means the New Zealand quake might have generated a tsunami that hit Antartica. The water displaced there might have freely flowed in the huge Pacific ocean but somehow got hung up in the Indian ocean in the ring of fire -- building up pressure on an earthquake fault.

[Note swallow earthquakes are known to generate tsunamis from what I have read].

However, and this is really a big if, a major current of water from Antartica could have flowed North on the other side of Australia, and built up pressure [somehow] in the ring of fire.

There are too many if's and too many variables. You may be totally right, but it would take alot of analysis before someone might be able to prove/disprove what you are alluding to.

Speculation right now is dangerous because it might spread panic. Taking information and saying it means one thing that scares people when there is no proof is irresponsible. And the MSM does this all the time.

What you are saying is possible, it just might take 10 to 20 years to prove -- or alot less.

[topher]

For 12/31/04, area is really quiet so far. I hope someone is telling people in the region that when these shocks hit that is to be expected and not to worry.

But after the 9.0 + tsunami, how can you reassure the survivors.

Praying for aftershocks to stop...

[P.O.E.]

Massive earthquake shakes island

December 24, 2004

THE world's biggest earthquake in almost four years has struck 800km off the coast of Tasmania, Australian seismological officials said. Geoscience Australia said the quake, measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale, hit the Macquarie Rise in the Pacific Ocean at 1.59am (AEDT).

The earthquake, which occurred half-way between Australia and Antarctica, was felt throughout Tasmania, seismologist Cvetan Sinadinovski said.

[topher]

My penguin talk was about:

[topher]

My penguin talk was about:

Penguins escape Massive Earthquake BBC article posted on Freerepublic -- talks about the same earthquake.

[P.O.E.]

Penguins are:
CUTEDELICIOUS, AND FUN

My score:246851

Just a bit of Friday silliness.

[MediaMole]

They could, but remember that a magnitude 7 earthquake is 1/100 as strong as a magnitude 9.

[combat_boots]

astronomy, geology, and physics all inter-playing

Since when do these sciences in actual fact not interplay, except in academe? As for your accusation of being irresponsible, I find it objectionable simply due to the recent history of the area. Yes. It is in the Southern Hemisphere. Very good of you to notice.

That my musings are not proved by empiricism is not bothering me now. What does bother me is that I have not heard anything on the news of the recent events of the last two weeks, other than this major event. I would like to hear from someone with enough prescience to enumerate the geophysical facts of the area in the same way that we have lead ups to quake information here in the US. The bits of information I have read is that the original 8.9/9.0 earthquake alert/potential tsunami was not acted upon in at least one place, and that Sri Lanka and India are not members of the international federation set up after the 1964 Alaska earthquake that caused 100' tsunamis (See http://wwwshs1.bham.wednet.edu/curric/science/geophys/granat/Alaska.htm) and a need for NOAA to totally remap the ocean floor there. Also, Thailand did not have sensors set up where they were needed. See http://metzger.ws/sediments/index.php?p=34 "The US scientific community is talking today about the widespread death and destruction caused by the tsunamis triggered by the Sunday’s great earthquake (see below) off Sumatra. They are talking about how the senseless loss of life could have been prevented. The problem lies not in the fact that there is no warning system. On the contrary, an international system of sensors and warning systems was established after the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The system, which is administered by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, includes most of the major nations that are affected by the Ring of Fire which is the area of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding bodies of water where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Without going into minute detail, the ocean floor in this are has many large trenches and underwater volcanoes. As a result of plate movement and eruptions, earthquakes occur frequently and, with earthquakes, come tsunamis. (large map of the Ring of Fire, courtesy of the USGS) The problem is that not all nations that could be potentially affected by tsunamis are members of the warning system. Which countries are missing? Most notably, the countries of India and Sri Lanka are not members. The director of NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Charles McCreary, told the Associated Press “that’s because tsunamis are much less frequent in the Indian Ocean.” The AP article also noted that “although Thailand belongs to the international tsunami warning network, its west coast does not have the system’s wave sensors mounted on ocean buoys.” Thailand’s west coast resort of Phuket sustained loss of life and property as well from tsunamis."

[topher]

astronomy, geology, and physics all inter-playing

Since when do these sciences in actual fact not interplay, except in academe? As for your accusation of being irresponsible, I find it objectionable simply due to the recent history of the area. Yes. It is in the Southern Hemisphere. Very good of you to notice.

You are not irresponsible, but I was trying to be careful with my response to say that jumping to conclusions might scare people [people who are uptight right now]. And the MSM is really the ones that should avoid reporting anything along the lines of what you are saying -- this should be reported in a scientific journal -- after studies made.

Too many people may not understand the science. For example, what I heard elsewhere was the asteroid was directly on the opposite side of the earth when this occurred but I cannot put my fingers on a hard link of evidence that this is true.

I was trying not to scare people. You were going about this very scientific, but we, and I do include myself, must be careful what we post.

And the last people I want to report about this is the MSM. Some of their reporting is really bad right now -- a natural gas mud field has turned into an erupting volcano by a French News Service [AFP].

[topher]

The bits of information I have read is that the original 8.9/9.0 earthquake alert/potential tsunami was not acted upon in at least one place, and that Sri Lanka and India are not members of the international federation set up after the 1964 Alaska earthquake that caused 100' tsunamis

Times of India had an article about this. Basically, there is no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. Hawaii has a Pacific tsunami warning system.

You would need measuring points in various places that are not set up at the moment.

Diego Garcia could be a measuring point, along with a number of places in the Islands that India has, Sri Lanka, the coast of India, the Indian Ocean side of Indonesia.

India has had two tsunamis in the 20th century and no this one in the 21st century. But there was no interest when scientists tried to get a system in place before this tsunami by the government of India.

[BunnySlippers]

And isn't most of it not even noticeable, even 4 and 5.0?

I simply never feel a 4.0 although many do. I sometimes even miss the 5.0s ... but then I'm a Los Angeles native.

[BunnySlippers]

Times of India had an article about this. Basically, there is no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. Hawaii has a Pacific tsunami warning system.

I was astonished today to read in some news source that 90% of the tsunamis are in the Pacific! No wonder they were less inclined to think one was forming.

[combat_boots]

Thank you for posting the info about Dodge. I read specifically that Diego Garcia had no problems with the tsunami.

Agreed that the MSM is not a viable source for linking the dots. I would have thought that after the 9.2 in Alaska, although there was no major loss of life due to the sparce population, there would have been more effort than a warning system as a result. Of course, NOAA was remapping the ocean floor there into the 80s.

I hope that this event produces more than that warning system's overdue completion. To think that some of these folks could have been asleep on the beach or in their beds because they had no warning is truly shameful.

[topher]

I was astonished today to read in some news source that 90% of the tsunamis are in the Pacific! No wonder they were less inclined to think one was forming.

Some tsunamis are very local -- Japan, Alaska, Islands like Hawaii, etc.

The volcano Krakatoa erupted [blew up is the correct word] in 1883. The tsunami generated reached San Francisco -- although it was only 0.1 meters high.

But when Krakatoa went off in the same general area, the explosion was so loud that the Island of Diego Garcia, over 2000 miles away, the people thought a ship was firing its cannons because it was in distress. Sort of like something happening in Houston, Texas or New Orleans, LA and being heard in Los Angeles -- though the open sea conducts sound much better than land masses such as the Rocky Mountains.

[topher]

I hope that this event produces more than that warning system's overdue completion.

The Times of India said one reason a warning system was not in place is that with India's huge population [over 1 billion people], losing a few people to such an event was acceptable.

[topher]

They could, but remember that a magnitude 7 earthquake is 1/100 as strong as a magnitude 9.

But the energy is a factor of 32 with each magnitude. So the a 9.0 generates 1024 times more energy than a 7.0 -- which makes alot of California quakes seem alot smaller.

[topher]

Some group is claiming these aftershocks may have a bad result. I won't speculate. This is Assam that I am referring to. This is a wait and see if they are correct.

Only point to post is make people alert in that area.

Right now, the aftershocks are terrifying people who have survived the tsunami.

[topher]

Here are the key events for your scenario [and mine] after further research:

1. Giant Iceberg breaks away from Antartica. Iceberg is so big it could supply Nile River valley for 80 years.

2. 8.1 Earthquake South of New Zealand/Australia

3. Full Moon/Asteroid event -- I don't know much about this except Full Moon is supposed to affect tides.

4. Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake -- very shallow and apparently the right type of quake to generate number 5.

5. Tsunami of December 26, 2004 -- a natural disaster that will make the hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexico of 2004 pale by comparison.

The billion dollar question(s) is: would the elimination/changes in any of 1-3 change 4 & 5. Is there an event #6 yet to come -- volcano eruption/earthquake -- caused by numbers 1-5.

I am also alluding to how difficult to try to program a model for all of this. In a sense, the huge, melting iceberg would have [1] displaced water when it broke away and [2] started melting.

How much water was displaced by #2 and #3.

The key to the above is that the East Indies have a number of Islands/straits that restrict water movement from Pacific to Indian Oceans and vice-a-versa.

Friction would play into this -- i.e., the water in the Pacific is allowed to flow freely into the Pacific because of the huge opening nearing 1 & 2, but cause friction/displacements with Indian Ocean.

That could conceivably cause pressure to build up somehow [water or plate pressure] to cause #4.

Finally, with the huge displacement of water, are all events now ended by this series of events?

[combat_boots]

Very good outline of events. Good job.

[patriot_wes]

"They've determined the cause on DU: oil companies drilling and secret nuclear tests that avoid seismic detection. I kid you not."

We know you're not kidding - that's why they call them environmental wacko's.

I heard one call into Rush's show last week suggesting that building all those highways & cutting those channels into the earth could possibly cause the ground to split way down deep. I think the guy was rolling his own if you know what I mean.