Quake Watch 2010

Crikey, we just had a biggie here on the West Coast of the North Island
At least a 5+ I reckon.
Rumble, shake and wobble at least 10 seconds worth
Will post when it comes up on Geonet.

was at 2:23pm NZDT

edit: here it is , 48km to the east of me on the other side of the Tararua Mts

Reference Number 3413873/G
Universal Time November 28 2010 at 1:22
NZ Daylight Time Sunday, November 28 2010 at 2:22 pm
Latitude, Longitude 40.89°S, 175.55°E
Focal Depth 30 km
Richter magnitude 5.4
Region Wairarapa
Location
* Kaituna
* 10 km north-west of Masterton
* 48.3km east of Raumati Beach
* 80 km north-east of Wellington


some damage in the Wairarapa
www.geonet.org.nz...


I'll fill out a USGS report as well, see if they post it, 5.4ML should be well over the 4.5mb threshold.
Edit: Done, they gave me a Modified Mercalli IV for my description, geez if that was a MMIV, I just can't imagine what a MMVII must be like, I thought it was at least a MMV.

Mangatainoka graph is off the scale, check out the aftershocks already (we haven't felt any of those on this side)
MRZ Graph

EMSC
Magnitude M 5.0
Region NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
Date time 2010-11-28 01:22:11.9 UTC
Location 41.04 S ; 175.75 E
Depth 66 km
Distances 71 km N Lower hutt (pop 101,194 ; local time 14:22:11.9 2010-11-28)
13 km SE Masterton (pop 20,698 ; local time 14:22:11.9 2010-11-28)
Source parameters provided by another agency
More information at: USGS/NEIC Denver, USA
www.emsc-csem.org...

USGS
Magnitude 5.0mb
Date-Time
* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 01:22:11 UTC
* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 02:22:11 PM at epicenter
Location 41.036°S, 175.751°E
Depth 66.2 km (41.1 miles)
Region NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
Distances 75 km (50 miles) S of Palmerston North, New Zealand
85 km (55 miles) ENE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand
200 km (125 miles) SSW of Napier, New Zealand
260 km (160 miles) SSE of New Plymouth, New Zealand
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 23.4 km (14.5 miles); depth +/- 1.6 km (1.0 miles)
Parameters NST= 35, Nph= 35, Dmin=57.9 km, Rmss=1.04 sec, Gp= 90°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source * USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0000gfy
earthquake.usgs.gov...

Geonet downgraded it to 5.23ML (4 1/2hrs after)
There have been 7 aftershocks within that period also 2.398 to 3.636ML, I'm just plotting them now.

A sequence in Oklahoma tonight. Probably just aftershocks of the 3.9 earlier this week but significant for the central US.

2.9 2010/11/28 03:28:43 35.613 -97.241 3.9 7 km ( 4 mi) SW of Luther, OK
3.0 2010/11/28 03:26:47 35.591 -97.275 4.8 3 km ( 2 mi) NNE of Jones, OK
3.2 2010/11/28 02:46:00 35.593 -97.258 4.9 4 km ( 3 mi) NE of Jones, OK

earthquake.usgs.gov...

Originally posted by muzzy
Geonet downgraded it to 5.23ML (4 1/2hrs after)
There have been 7 aftershocks within that period also 2.398 to 3.636ML, I'm just plotting them now.

OK heres the map
Kaituna 5.2 quake and aftershocks

Quake was on the Wairarapa Fault (same one the largest quake recorded in NZ was .. Mag 8.2 in 1855) and the aftershocks are trending to the NW parallel with the Waingawa River.

Seismo for posterity. MRZ shows it strongest, being in the same valley (to the north) and the waveform is cropped of course otherwise it would mess up the rest of the graph.

reply to post by muzzy


This is an IRIS version (Unclipped)

HIZ.NZ.10.HHZ.2010.332

Hope this isn't a foreshock

Magnitude 5.4
Date-Time

* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 08:19:47 UTC
* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 05:19:47 AM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 34.529°S, 71.631°W
Depth 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
Distances 60 km (40 miles) NW of Curico, Maule, Chile
90 km (55 miles) WSW of Rancagua, Libertador O'Higgins, Chile
100 km (60 miles) N of Talca, Maule, Chile
150 km (95 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 26.4 km (16.4 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=168, Nph=168, Dmin=618.9 km, Rmss=0.71 sec, Gp=130°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source

* USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID usc0000gj3

There was also a 4.7 close by earlier

Magnitude 4.7
Date-Time

* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 03:37:20 UTC
* Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 12:37:20 AM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 33.889°S, 72.275°W
Depth 28.4 km (17.6 miles)
Region OFFSHORE LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
Distances 70 km (45 miles) WSW of San Antonio, Valparaiso, Chile
110 km (70 miles) SSW of Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile
145 km (90 miles) WNW of Rancagua, Libertador O'Higgins, Chile
155 km (95 miles) WSW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 31.9 km (19.8 miles); depth +/- 1.1 km (0.7 miles)
Parameters NST= 24, Nph= 26, Dmin=562.2 km, Rmss=1.03 sec, Gp=158°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=3
Source

* USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID usc0000ghe

reply to post by PuterMan

Nice

You'll have to give us a tutorial on how to get in to see those, I tried once but got lost

Is there one for MRZ?

One thought I had was that we tend to think because of the Tararua Mountain Range between us and the epi center that energy would be absorbed, but of course this is just dumb as the shock waves travel under them, not over them. 48km isn't too far in a straight line.

reply to post by zenius

More likely aftershocks of the 8.8 I'd say, its only 10 months ago.
History shows that area will be relatively safe from Major quakes (7+) for a few years
Major Global Quakes 100 years

reply to post by muzzy

You'll have to give us a tutorial on how to get in to see those, I tried once but got lost

Now what I would really like is a tutorial on how to tell which plate an earthquake is on...Please don't laugh but I just can't figure it out.
For example:- an earthquake today, 4.8 on the Galapagos Triple Juntion, is that the Nazca or the Cocos?
Then a 4.7 off Coast of Chiapas, Mexico. Is that Cocos, or North American? There are many quakes that are on the line between plates.
Thank you

5.0 North Island, New Zealand (Taranaki)

Universal Time November 28 2010 at 23:26
NZ Daylight Time Monday, November 29 2010 at 12:26 pm
Latitude, Longitude 39.12°S, 174.86°E
Focal Depth 230 km
Richter magnitude 5.0
Region Taranaki
Location

* 30 km south of Ohura
* 40 km east of Urenui
* 70 km east of New Plymouth
* 240 km north of Wellington


www.geonet.org.nz...

reply to post by MoorfNZ


Just popped home for lunch and seen that. Didn't feel it here, quite a deep one at 230km.
You can see it on that HIZ Station graph PuterMan linked to yesterday, amazing the difference 0.2 magnitude makes yesterdays 5.23ML at the top and todays 5.009ML at the bottom.
I'll save that image for later reference the 5.23 will be gone by the time I get back from work (unless you can access older graphs using that quakquery thingy, which seems possible, I just noticed the address of it at the end is 2010.332.png so 332 must be the 28th UTC ie 332rd day of 2010)
www.iris.washington.edu...
.

reply to post by Tzavros

Yeah it can be hard to tell if they are right on the margin.
If you have Google Earth download the kml file off USGS and zoom in close, you might be able to tell from that by taking into consideration of the depth as well.

For example NZ's Kaituna 5.23 is closer to the Hikurangi Margin (Pacific/Australia plates) but at 50km deep is about right as to the thickness of the Australian plate overlap there. Then take the Ohura, Taranaki 5.0 quake is way further west but still might be at the interface at 230km deep if you are a follower of Plate Tectonic Subduction theory. The deepest quake ever recorded in NZ was around this Ohura area back in 1960, 2 quakes at 600km. a 6.5 and a 6.6 on 27th March.

Alright,
so Arkansas has been getting swarms
and the possibility was it was Fracking
Well now Oklahoma has been getting the same thing.
Not convinced of the fracking thing.

Originally posted by muzzy

Originally posted by muzzy
Geonet downgraded it to 5.23ML (4 1/2hrs after)
There have been 7 aftershocks within that period also 2.398 to 3.636ML, I'm just plotting them now.

OK heres the map
Kaituna 5.2 quake and aftershocks

Quake was on the Wairarapa Fault (same one the largest quake recorded in NZ was .. Mag 8.2 in 1855) and the aftershocks are trending to the NW parallel with the Waingawa River.

Seismo for posterity. MRZ shows it strongest, being in the same valley (to the north) and the waveform is cropped of course otherwise it would mess up the rest of the graph.

17 aftershocks to the end of 28th UTC
Reference, Latitude, Longitude, UTC Date/Time, Depth, Magnitude, Location
3413873, -40.8762, 175.53343, 2010/11/28 1:22:13, 25, 5.23, N of Kaituna, Wairarapa, Felt
3413877, -40.85094, 175.49649, 2010/11/28 1:35:23, 25, 2.405, W of Mt. Dagg
3413879, -40.85173, 175.50031, 2010/11/28 1:38:9, 27, 2.938, W of Mt. Dagg
3413891, -40.86006, 175.51801, 2010/11/28 2:4:1, 22, 2.398, Mt. Dagg
3413897, -40.8487, 175.51944, 2010/11/28 2:15:48, 28, 2.638, Mt. Dagg
3413903, -40.85595, 175.52385, 2010/11/28 2:32:35, 22, 2.642, Mt. Dagg
3413906, -40.86596, 175.53122, 2010/11/28 2:39:22, 25, 2.683, SE of Mt. Dagg
3413970, -40.84974, 175.50276, 2010/11/28 5:45:1, 27, 2.57, W of Mt. Dagg
3413884, -40.87194, 175.54031, 2010/11/28 1:45:18, 25, 3.636, N of Kaituna, Wairarapa, Felt
3414261, -40.82849, 175.5032, 2010/11/28 6:34:17, 25, 2.106, NW of Mt. Dagg
3413994, -40.85145, 175.50145, 2010/11/28 6:58:7, 24, 2.405, W of Mt. Dagg
3414064, -40.85104, 175.52025, 2010/11/28 10:24:36, 24, 2.447, Mt. Dagg
3414097, -40.8348, 175.51299, 2010/11/28 12:2:2, 26, 2.314, N of Mt. Dagg
3414122, -40.82804, 175.52441, 2010/11/28 13:19:41, 25, 2.474, N of Mt. Dagg
3414136, -40.81975, 175.51697, 2010/11/28 13:54:43, 25, 2.325, N of Mt. Dagg
3414137, -40.84186, 175.50313, 2010/11/28 13:57:6, 25, 2.447, NW of Mt. Dagg
3414278, -40.83174, 175.52719, 2010/11/28 15:43:4, 23, 2.174, N of Mt. Dagg
3414257, -40.84974, 175.50534, 2010/11/28 19:26:41, 24, 2.811, W of Mt. Dagg

Same Map has been updated

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy

Alright,
so Arkansas has been getting swarms
and the possibility was it was Fracking
Well now Oklahoma has been getting the same thing.
Not convinced of the fracking thing.

Oklahoma? Swarms? 22 events in the past 90 days against 352 events for Arkansas. Not in the same class by a long way I feel.

These have the feel of extraction quakes.

Edit: Basically bloomin' fracking/extraction. The darn area is peppered with oil and gas reserves. Source

In that particular area there are gas fields, oil fields and combined fields. Download and look at the map GM-36.pdf

I would say it is 100% certain that this is caused by extraction. Possibly not fracking but definitely due to extraction.

More editing:

From 1901 through mid-2002 a staggering 14.5 billion barrels of oil and condensate (natural gas liquids) and 90 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas were produced and sold in Oklahoma...................In their last estimate at the beginning of 2000, the E.I.A. projected Oklahoma's proved oil reserves at 610 million barrels (MMBO). Oklahoma natural gas reserves in E.I.A.'s last estimate on 1/1/2001 were about 14 trillion cubic feet (TCF). Both estimates were based on a simple poll of the State's thousands of oil and gas operators.

The state currently ranks fifth nationally in crude oil production and accounts for 3% of national production. This represents about one quarter of the peak rate that was reached in 1927, and is roughly equal to that seen in 1913. At $25 per barrel, this oil still has an annual value to the state of more than 1.7 billion dollars. Oklahoma consumes 50% more oil than it produces.

Source

The current events would appear not to be in a normal area of seismicity as referenced by this map however this only goes to 2006 and you would need to know which oil/gas fields have been put in to production since that map was drawn up.

The largest quake in Oklahoma was not exactly a biggie so I don't think I would be panicking bout this area too much!

Information for the latest quake in Oklahoma

And even more editing:

Horizontal Drilling

Oklahoma has abundant conventional and unconventional low-permeability reservoirs. This has helped make horizontal drilling by far the most important drilling/completion technique to be recently applied in the State. Horizontal-drilling technology has made formerly unproductive areas and reservoirs profitable and revitalized reservoirs that have been producing for decades. Its share of drilling continues to grow with horizontal wells now representing 27% of all State drilling.

Source: PDF

This is quite important as I really do think that this explains much of what we see. If you download that PDF and read on from that paragraph

This production triggers associated gas expansion in poorer (unswept) parts of the reservoir, forcing oil into the natural and/or induced-fracture system and ultimately into the wellbore. Most of the notable wells listed in this report are horizontal completions.

This is fracking, plain and simple and note that it says most of the wells completed in 2009 are using this. There is no reason to believe that 2010 would be any different.

Nuff time spent. Case closed as far as I am concerned.

What is fracking?
second line

reply to post by missvicky


It stands for hydraulic fracturing and is the application of water under pressure to split the rocks so that oil/gas seeps into the fractures and can be extracted.

More information here

Thanks Puterman,
Im not freakin out here, just concerned with the "slight" increase.
I appreciate your indepth reply.

Vedur (Iceland Met Office) rattled my cage with this a while ago.

The GPS data is back. Maybe my scathing email did the trick? I won't tell you the contents but it was not very polite!