11/2 GHOST QUAKE: WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT...

On 11/2, amateur seismologists (and GLPers) noticed something which we could not explain. A thread on the subject was started here: [link to www.godlikeproductions.com] It appeared that there had been a rather large earthquake (probably Md 6.0-7.0) somewhere within about 150 miles of the Solomon Islands chain, yet this earthquake had not shown up on any earthquake reports. There were no Tsunami warnings. Indeed, the only evidence of it at all seemed to be that it showed up on almost every seismograph in the world. It looks like it was very very deep... deep enough that it would not be immediately felt at the epicenter (this has happened before) although some reported feeling it halfway around the world (although 'feeling it' is rather subjective, and so cannot be counted as evidence). Initially, it was thought that the quake had something to do with Yellowstone, which has subsequently been rather discounted as the Solomon Islands are just a teensy distance away from Montana.

link to an example of the seismic data: [link to aslwww.cr.usgs.gov]

Here's what I think may be happening:

I think that there has been an increase in pressure in one portion of the earth's crust, which is unable to release and so is translating its potential to other areas of the world. Take a look at the following link:

[link to earthquake.usgs.gov]

Notice all the earthquakes in the SoCal area... there are more than 700 on this map, and this is pretty much what you see whenever you look at the quake data, these days. Then look at the San Francisco area, and notice that you get nothing. Note that SoCal is active because it is sliding northwards against the North American Plate, yet the plate that it slides directly into (the Juan de Fuca plate, a plate which is being pushed under the NA plate by the pacific plate) is showing nearly no movement whatsoever. This sets up an imbalance. Add to this the fact that JdF has a trench (spread zone) and you get even more energy directed eastward.

So I think that the plates are getting ready to readjust, and I think that we should see more of these deep quakes. However (and this is just speculation) pressure translates to heat, and the earth doesn't radiate heat very well. That means increased volcanic activity in other parts of the world, until the Juan de Fuca plate (that's what SoCal is sliding into) actually cuts loose. And given that JdF Plate is being pushed northward as it is also being pushed eastward, that means a MAJOR release of energy somewhere within (in my crackpot opinion) 500 miles of Seattle.

No, I don't have dates. We'd see pre-release temblors before it happened, as things start to give way, though. Either a major eruption, or a big-ass quake (or a big ass-quake, if you prefer).

That's all I got.

Last Edited by herrw on 11/03/2010 12:35 PM