Quake Watch 2010

It's not abnormal to have a lot of activity in CA, but what concerns me is that you see so much rapid fire activity in the same place, at multiple spots on the map.

For example, Coso Junction is just absolutely going nuts.

1.2 2010/01/14 07:53:15 36.042N 117.832W 2.8 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
0.9 2010/01/14 07:05:00 36.031N 117.835W 3.3 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
0.9 2010/01/14 07:02:12 36.031N 117.829W 3.9 11 km ( 7 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
2.1 2010/01/14 06:57:13 36.037N 117.838W 1.4 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
2.0 2010/01/14 06:43:38 36.032N 117.835W 2.3 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
0.6 2010/01/14 06:36:42 36.034N 117.832W 2.8 10 km ( 7 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
0.5 2010/01/14 06:32:37 36.030N 117.834W 3.4 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
0.2 2010/01/14 05:41:08 36.032N 117.825W 3.0 11 km ( 7 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
3.4 2010/01/14 05:37:00 36.038N 117.836W 1.6 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA

(This is just one very small snipped of a long list of micro quakes punctuated by occasional 3+ magnitude quakes, from the last few days.)

Here's the full list, centered on that location:

quake.usgs.gov...

and a similar but slightly less dramatic sequence near Mammoth Lakes:
quake.usgs.gov...

...and of course the Geysers continues to go off like popcorn, but that's been a continual thing for a long time.

While I was busy blathering on speculatively about ocean currents and changes in the equatorial gravity bulge, Obsidian butte in Cali went nuts:

Edited to add a few more at the top. Popping like popcorn, or maybe really bad flatulence
1.7 2010/01/14 19:04:40 33.234N 115.679W 8.2 8 km ( 5 mi) NNW of Obsidian Butte, CA
1.4 2010/01/14 18:34:12 33.443N 116.067W 0.1 5 km ( 3 mi) NNW of Desert Shores, CA
1.6 2010/01/14 18:31:23 33.183N 115.589W 2.9 5 km ( 3 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
1.4 2010/01/14 18:24:08 33.492N 116.203W 5.5 15 km ( 9 mi) SW of Mecca, CA
1.3 2010/01/14 18:22:04 33.486N 116.200W 8.0 15 km ( 9 mi) SW of Mecca, CA

1.8 2010/01/14 18:19:52 33.191N 115.597W 2.1 4 km ( 3 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
1.8 2010/01/14 18:17:02 33.181N 115.601W 3.0 4 km ( 2 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
3.5 2010/01/14 18:13:49 33.306N 115.525W 0.0 8 km ( 5 mi) N of Niland, CA
3.4 2010/01/14 18:12:56 33.188N 115.610W 3.4 3 km ( 2 mi) NE of Obsidian Butte, CA
3.4 2010/01/14 18:12:44 33.178N 115.606W 3.6 3 km ( 2 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
2.2 2010/01/14 18:04:23 33.178N 115.605W 3.7 3 km ( 2 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
2.8 2010/01/14 18:03:14 33.179N 115.598W 3.6 4 km ( 2 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
3.0 2010/01/14 18:01:34 33.179N 115.607W 2.9 3 km ( 2 mi) ENE of Obsidian Butte, CA
0.3 2010/01/14 12:57:02 33.159N 115.608W 0.1 3 km ( 2 mi) ESE of Obsidian Butte, CA
0.3 2010/01/14 12:14:44 33.133N 115.605W 9.1 5 km ( 3 mi) SE of Obsidian Butte, CA

Obsidian Butte is part of the Salton Sea Geothermal Field:

The morphology of Obsidian Butte and its surrounding flow indicates that they were produced by a single volcanic eruption with extrusion from a single, central vents. The obsidian domes, spines, and breccia mounds that ring the flow are interpreted to be pressure features developed at the outer margin of the flows. Obsidian Butte itself is topographically higher than the flow because of a late pulse of magma that pushed up a central, viscous mass of partly crystallized rhyolite. The Obsidian Butte volcanic rocks were extruded subaerially but were covered by Lake Cahuilla and modified by wave action soon thereafter.

vulcan.wr.usgs.gov...


[edit on 14-1-2010 by quakewatcher]

The Coso area and the Salton Buttes area (as well as Clear Lake/the Geysers) are both listed as areas of potential volcanic hazard in CA.

vulcan.wr.usgs.gov...

(Along with, of course, Long Valley and Shasta/Lassen)

reply to post by quakewatcher

Would anyone agree this seems to be a little active. givin all that has happened in the last two weeks, globally?

Hey, check out the current SOHO sunpot diagram and the shape of the Salton Sea, I believe we have a match....

Someone edited the Wikipedia entry for the Coso Volcanic field this fall when a similar swarm was happening there:

The Coso Volcanic Field is one of the most seismically active regions in the United States, producing dozens of tremors in the M1 and M2 range each week. Tremors in the M3 range occur at a rate of 2-6 per month and M4 quakes occur two-three times each year. Recent activity in the M5 range happened in 1996 and 1998 when tremors of M5.3, M5.1, M5.2, and M5.0 occurred with a day of each other. These tremors were actually recorded along the eastern side of the Coso Volcanic Field, 15 miles (24 km). September 30, 2009 to October 6, 2009 there have been 429 earthquakes ranging from 0.1 up to a 5.2. Some days have activity just about one every minute. On October 2, 2009 there were three earthquakes (5.2, 4.7, and a 4.9) all with in one hour of each other.

(Let's assume this is correct.) Worth noting that today alone there were three earthquakes above 3.0. So that "tremors in the M3 range occur in at a rate of 2-6 per month" part is no longer accurate.

Magnitude 5+ earthquakes worldwide, yesterday:

5.0 2010/01/14 18:46:25 42.380 142.959 56.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
5.3 2010/01/14 16:22:38 -11.966 166.209 57.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
6.0 2010/01/14 14:03:41 11.517 142.113 32.4 SOUTH OF THE 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS
2010/01/14 08:42:13 -41.108 -83.724 10.0 WEST CHILE RISE


The Coso Junction region of CA continued it's swarm last night/this morning. There were many, many quakes but I'll list the larger ones:


3.0 2010/01/15 06:20:49 36.033N 117.845W 2.9 9 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
3.4 2010/01/15 05:39:31 36.031N 117.840W 3.2 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
3.6 2010/01/15 02:29:58 36.022N 117.839W 2.7 10 km ( 6 mi) ESE of Coso Junction, CA
3.5 2010/01/15 01:28:18 36.024N 117.839W 2.8 10 km ( 6 mi) ESE of Coso Junction, CA
3.0 2010/01/15 01:25:13 36.034N 117.851W 2.9 9 km ( 5 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
4.4 2010/01/15 00:23:27 36.030N 117.846W 2.9 9 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA


These are just the quakes over 3.0 that have occurred since I posted about the area yesterday. This is an area of ancient volcanic activity, and the present location of the China Lake Naval Weapons Station and a geothermal plant.

This is only correlation and not causation, but the company that owns the plant recently won a legal battle allowing them to pump water into a reservoir on the site, which they appear to have commenced at more or less the same time the earthquake swarms started this fall. Last night I found a link to a news story in which a geologist appeared to have claimed the earlier quake swarm was man made, and related to this project, but that story appears to have been removed from the local NBC affiliate where it was posted.


I can find some scholarly papers citing "induced microseismicity" relating to fluid injection and this geothermal field in particular, however they all require that I purchase a copy. If anyone has done any more research into the subject, I'd love to hear about it.

The area around Obsdian Butte calmed down a bit overnight.

Magnitude 4.3 - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

USGS

Nothing major going on today (although there was another 4.x quake in Iran and the usual action in the S. Pacific)

But, despite the small magnitude I do think it's worth noting all of the volcanic regions of CA continue to rattle.

This week in the Shasta region:

2.1 2010/01/16 02:14:33 40.063N 121.505W 0.1 22 km (14 mi) NW of Storrie, CA
1.6 2010/01/13 13:30:24 40.744N 122.311W 0.0 9 km ( 6 mi) NE of Shasta Lake, CA
2.0 2010/01/13 09:55:53 40.173N 121.510W 6.8 21 km (13 mi) SSE of Mineral, CA
0.7 2010/01/12 06:22:23 40.283N 121.429W 9.3 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mineral, CA
1.7 2010/01/11 22:34:31 39.411N 122.950W 9.1 1 km ( 1 mi) ENE of Lake Pillsbury, CA
0.3 2010/01/11 02:10:15 40.457N 121.542W 4.7 11 km ( 7 mi) N of Mineral, CA
1.5 2010/01/11 02:09:29 40.455N 121.538W 4.7 11 km ( 7 mi) NNE of Mineral, CA
2.0 2010/01/10 08:38:44 40.197N 121.315W 0.7 12 km ( 7 mi) W of Almanor, CA

Past 2 days near Long Valley (too many to list a whole week)

1.4 2010/01/16 17:41:13 37.553N 119.072W 10.9 12 km ( 8 mi) SW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
1.9 2010/01/16 09:12:20 36.206N 118.206W 6.0 20 km (12 mi) WSW of Olancha, CA
1.1 2010/01/16 06:52:12 37.476N 118.604W 10.9 7 km ( 4 mi) N of Round Valley, CA
0.8 2010/01/16 01:15:03 37.553N 118.826W 6.9 13 km ( 8 mi) W of Toms Place, CA
0.4 2010/01/15 15:38:10 37.627N 119.045W 4.8 6 km ( 4 mi) W of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.1 2010/01/15 14:55:51 37.618N 119.036W 5.2 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.6 2010/01/15 14:53:00 37.628N 119.041W 4.6 6 km ( 3 mi) W of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.6 2010/01/15 13:23:06 37.411N 118.451W 6.4 6 km ( 3 mi) N of West Bishop, CA
0.7 2010/01/15 13:20:53 37.469N 118.927W 5.0 19 km (12 mi) SSE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.6 2010/01/15 11:30:35 37.624N 119.046W 5.1 6 km ( 4 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.2 2010/01/15 07:42:31 37.614N 119.044W 5.1 6 km ( 4 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.7 2010/01/15 07:09:14 37.552N 118.829W 7.1 13 km ( 8 mi) W of Toms Place, CA
0.1 2010/01/15 06:27:35 37.621N 119.043W 5.5 6 km ( 4 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
1.5 2010/01/15 06:26:35 37.620N 119.038W 5.3 6 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.7 2010/01/15 06:04:51 37.548N 118.844W 9.6 15 km ( 9 mi) W of Toms Place, CA
0.8 2010/01/15 05:28:21 37.593N 118.692W 11.8 4 km ( 2 mi) NNW of Toms Place, CA
0.5 2010/01/15 03:37:43 37.676N 118.907W 0.1 8 km ( 5 mi) NE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
1.1 2010/01/15 02:57:00 37.540N 118.873W 6.5 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.3 2010/01/15 01:43:50 37.636N 119.037W 1.4 5 km ( 3 mi) W of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.7 2010/01/15 01:41:05 37.622N 119.028W 2.7 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.6 2010/01/15 01:40:34 37.623N 119.032W 2.5 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA
0.3 2010/01/15 01:39:53 37.623N 119.032W 2.3 5 km ( 3 mi) WSW of Mammoth Lakes, CA

Today alone near the Coso Geothermal Field:

2.1 2010/01/16 18:26:02 35.866N 118.058W 12.0 22 km (14 mi) SSW of Coso Junction, CA
1.5 2010/01/16 15:28:44 36.031N 117.836W 3.2 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.9 2010/01/16 09:12:20 36.206N 118.206W 6.0 20 km (12 mi) WSW of Olancha, CA
1.8 2010/01/16 07:45:06 36.025N 117.844W 3.4 10 km ( 6 mi) ESE of Coso Junction, CA
2.1 2010/01/16 05:27:24 36.032N 117.838W 3.4 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.4 2010/01/16 04:39:56 36.030N 117.836W 3.5 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.8 2010/01/16 04:30:36 36.028N 117.851W 2.8 9 km ( 6 mi) ESE of Coso Junction, CA
2.0 2010/01/16 04:11:16 36.034N 117.838W 3.9 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.9 2010/01/16 02:04:05 35.884N 118.013W 26.6 19 km (12 mi) SSW of Coso Junction, CA
2.0 2010/01/16 01:31:45 36.038N 117.839W 3.1 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
2.0 2010/01/16 00:42:44 36.039N 117.851W 3.5 9 km ( 5 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.9 2010/01/16 00:29:42 36.035N 117.842W 3.3 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.3 2010/01/16 00:25:32 36.038N 117.844W 3.4 9 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA
1.3 2010/01/16 00:21:01 36.038N 117.837W 3.0 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Coso Junction, CA

And near the Salton Buttes, many many quakes earlier this week, followed by a larger quake nearby:

4.3 2010/01/16 04:03:25 33.938N 117.017W 14.8 4 km ( 3 mi) WNW of Beaumont, CA

...and of course the Geysers/Clear Lake, but that area hasn't shut up in years.

I don't think this is all necessarily leading up to anything, but I think it's interesting. Remember that Yellowstone supposedly reacts to Volcanos in Alaska? They all do sort of seem to "talk to each other."

The Cascade Range (aside from Shasta) seems to be very quiet this week, it appears to be a California thing.


On a completely unrelated note, I am currently watching "Volcano." High-larious and highly recommended. (Gotta get past some lava? Just swing over on a rope!)






[edit on 16-1-2010 by quakewatcher]

What's this all about??

Magnitude 6.3
Date-Time Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 12:00:02 UTC
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 08:00:02 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 57.671°S, 65.910°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region DRAKE PASSAGE
Distances 355 km (220 miles) SSE of Ushuaia, Argentina
595 km (370 miles) SSE of Punta Arenas, Chile
705 km (440 miles) SSE of Rio Gallegos, Argentina
2625 km (1630 miles) S of BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

Nowhere near popluated areas but non the less a reasonably big quake...

Peace

4.3 on the Juan de Fuca/Pacific plate boundary

(That's enough now, stay still.)

4.3
Date-Time
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 18:11:07 UTC
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 10:11:07 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
43.515°N, 126.647°W
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
Distances
186 km (116 miles) WNW (284°) from Bandon, OR
190 km (118 miles) W (276°) from Barview, OR
194 km (121 miles) WNW (297°) from Port Orford, OR
195 km (121 miles) W (275°) from Coos Bay, OR
280 km (174 miles) NW (315°) from Crescent City, CA
388 km (241 miles) SW (236°) from Portland, OR
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 16.6 km (10.3 miles); depth fixed by location program

Well, I don't like it. Makes me nervous that all those California volcanoes are murmuring because of some instability in the subduction zone. Probably along the Southern portion of the Juan De Fuca (Gorda Plate)

Someone come in here and tell me that's a crazy theory.

Getting some mid 4's aftershocks in haiti, very near port-au-prince

neic.usgs.gov...

Wonder if it will hit the news, or impede rescue efforts

2.7 at Yellowstone

Magnitude
2.7
Date-Time
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 21:04:07 UTC
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 02:04:07 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
44.562°N, 110.967°W
Depth
9.7 km (6.0 miles)
Region
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
Distances
16 km (10 miles) SE (135°) from West Yellowstone, MT
30 km (19 miles) ENE (77°) from Island Park, ID
56 km (35 miles) SSW (201°) from Gardiner, MT
430 km (267 miles) N (10°) from Salt Lake City, UT
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 0.3 km (0.2 miles); depth +/- 1.2 km (0.7 miles)
Parameters
NST= 26, Nph= 26, Dmin=11 km, Rmss=0.13 sec, Gp= 83°,
M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=2
Source
University of Utah Seismograph Stations
Event ID
uu00000265

Only listed as one earthquake so far on the map but if you look at the seismographs I think we'll see more:

quake.utah.edu...

Going to take this discussion to the Yellowstone thread.

reply to post by quakewatcher


I have no theories for you, just that it's starting to give me the heebie jeebies for no real reason, wondering what's going to go down soon.

4.1 in New Mexico

USGS link

Thought it was odd, but read this in the 'summary'

EARTHQUAKES IN THE STABLE CONTINENTAL REGION Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake. The earthquakes that do occur strike anywhere at irregular intervals.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

Edit to add a 3.6 in Nevada too. Lots of different places popping up lately!

Info Here.

[edit on 18/1/2010 by bkaust]

3.1 2010/01/18 10:38:07 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
2.5 2010/01/18 10:10:23 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
3.4 2010/01/18 09:03:19 NEVADA

why am I up so late??? INSOMNIA

5.5 2010/01/18 12:28:37 -31.264 -68.573 107.6 SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA

5.1 2010/01/18 12:19:13 -6.311 130.556 120.1 BANDA SEA

5 am PST still up - going to hit the feathers now.

6.0 in Guatemala.

M6.0 Monday, January 18, 2010 at 15:40:32 UTC

Same fault line as Haiti?

[edit on 18-1-2010 by loam]