A strange title to be using…
But there were a couple of modest sized quakes in Spain that managed to down some buildings and kill some folks, so are notable. Of course, the big question in any set of 5.x quakes is: Are they just foreshocks of something larger?
We’ll see…
But Africa is headed up toward Europe (thus the Alps)…
Spanish Quakes
Here’s the map with a Spanish / Portuguese close up:
Iberian Quakes
Original Image with clickable details
You can see it is where two plates collide:
Plates Of The World
Original Image, and with other language options.
The details:
Originally reported as a 5.3:
Magnitude 5.3 – SPAIN
2011 May 11 16:47:26 UTC
Earthquake Details
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.3
Date-Time Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 16:47:26 UTC
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 06:47:26 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 37.697°N, 1.556°W
Depth 1 km (~0.6 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region SPAIN
Distances 50 km (31 miles) SW of Murcia, Spain
118 km (73 miles) SW of Alicante, Spain
124 km (77 miles) NE of Almeria, Spain
352 km (218 miles) SSE of MADRID, Spain
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14 km (8.7 miles); depth +/- 6.2 km (3.9 miles)
Parameters NST=292, Nph=297, Dmin=301.7 km, Rmss=1.24 sec, Gp= 43°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0003c5s
Later downgraded just a little (note that the Event ID matches):
Magnitude 5.1 – SPAIN
2011 May 11 16:47:25 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.1
Date-Time Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 16:47:25 UTC
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 06:47:25 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 37.699°N, 1.673°W
Depth 1 km (~0.6 mile) set by location program
Region SPAIN
Distances 50 km (31 miles) SW of Murcia, Spain
118 km (73 miles) SW of Alicante, Spain
124 km (77 miles) NE of Almeria, Spain
352 km (218 miles) SSE of MADRID, Spain
Location Uncertainty Error estimate not available
Parameters NST=299, Nph=299, Dmin=295.2 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp= 43°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=B
Source Instituto Geografico y Catastral, Madrid, Spain
Event ID usc0003c5s
The European Hemispheric View
So we can see if anything more widespread is going on (and if Etna is rumbling ;-)
Europe Hemispheric View
Europe with “clickable” areas for more details.
That one in Greece a few days ago was about the same size:
Magnitude 5.1 – DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
2011 May 08 06:50:24 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.1
Date-Time Sunday, May 08, 2011 at 06:50:24 UTC
Sunday, May 08, 2011 at 09:50:24 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 36.600°N, 27.227°E
Depth 16.3 km (10.1 miles)
Region DODECANESE ISLANDS, GREECE
Distances 90 km (55 miles) WNW of Rodos, Dodecanese Islands, Greece
122 km (75 miles) SW of Mugla, Turkey
148 km (91 miles) SSW of Aydin, Turkey
345 km (214 miles) ESE of ATHENS, Greece
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.2 km (8.2 miles); depth +/- 8.5 km (5.3 miles)
Parameters NST= 87, Nph= 91, Dmin=116.9 km, Rmss=0.92 sec, Gp= 43°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=5
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc00038u7
And it makes an oddly curious line with the one in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean:
Magnitude 5.2 – NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
2011 May 06 16:20:39 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.2
Date-Time Friday, May 06, 2011 at 16:20:39 UTC
Friday, May 06, 2011 at 01:20:39 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 32.328°N, 40.045°W
Depth 9.9 km (6.2 miles)
Region NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
Distances 1127 km (700 miles) SW of Santa Cruz das Flores, Azores, Portugal
1242 km (771 miles) WSW of Horta, Azores, Portugal
2003 km (1244 miles) SE of SAINT JOHN’S, Nfld. and Labrador, Canada
2945 km (1829 miles) ESE of BOSTON, Massachusetts
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 17.3 km (10.7 miles); depth +/- 2.8 km (1.7 miles)
Parameters NST=261, Nph=262, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=0.89 sec, Gp= 72°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc00037kj
And even extending on into Mexico:
Magnitude 5.7 – GUERRERO, MEXICO
2011 May 05 13:24:06 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.7
Date-Time Thursday, May 05, 2011 at 13:24:06 UTC
Thursday, May 05, 2011 at 08:24:06 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 16.808°N, 98.592°W
Depth 24 km (14.9 miles)
Region GUERRERO, MEXICO
Distances 126 km (78 miles) SE of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico
138 km (85 miles) E of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
140 km (86 miles) SW of Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico
295 km (183 miles) SSE of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 16.6 km (10.3 miles); depth +/- 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
Parameters NST=321, Nph=324, Dmin=83.5 km, Rmss=0.68 sec, Gp= 58°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc000362l
Odd, that…
Ok, on with the ROW maps:
Southern Hemisphere
A view of Earthquakes from the South Pole
Original Image with Clickable Details
Northern Hemisphere
North Polar Earthquake Map
Original Image with Clickable Details
Asia and Russia
Asia Quake Map
Original Image with clickable areas
Australia / New Zealand
This is a map of the Australia / Indonesia / New Zealand area:
Australia / Indonesia / New Zealand Quake Map
Original with clickable regions to zoom in
While it’s a bit hard to see in the “clutter” the Philippines and Indonesia picked up a set of 5.x about the same time as Spain:
Quakes - Philippines
Original with clickable regions to zoom in
Magnitude 5.0 – MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
2011 May 11 01:28:08 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.0
Date-Time Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 01:28:08 UTC
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 09:28:08 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 6.067°N, 126.002°E
Depth 104.8 km (65.1 miles)
Region MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
Distances 91 km (56 miles) E of General Santos, Mindanao, Philippines
118 km (73 miles) SSE of Davao, Mindanao, Philippines
949 km (589 miles) W of KOROR, Palau
1092 km (678 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 17.8 km (11.1 miles); depth +/- 11.3 km (7.0 miles)
Parameters NST= 81, Nph= 83, Dmin=120.2 km, Rmss=0.97 sec, Gp= 76°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0003bls
And this one in Indonesia:
Magnitude 5.1 – HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
2011 May 11 07:54:30 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 5.1
Date-Time Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 07:54:30 UTC
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 04:54:30 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 1.518°N, 127.239°E
Depth 99.2 km (61.6 miles)
Region HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
Distances 83 km (51 miles) N of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia
266 km (165 miles) E of Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia
1030 km (640 miles) SW of KOROR, Palau
1602 km (995 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 18.1 km (11.2 miles); depth +/- 7 km (4.3 miles)
Parameters NST= 68, Nph= 71, Dmin=572.2 km, Rmss=0.88 sec, Gp= 47°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=6
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0003btm
North America
North America and Mid Atlantic Ridge Quake Map
Original with clickable details
And remember, I have a dedicated CSZ page with closeups
California Map
Action Closer to Me
As I live in California, it makes it easier for me if I keep them in the list where I can see what’s shaking near me.
Here is an alternative view of things with the fault lines highlighted:
California Quakes with fault lines
Just as a reminder, Iceland is continuing to build up a “cumulative seismic moment”:
Grimsvoten Cumulative Seismic Moment
This is from the Iceland Met Office. Main page: English or Icelandic (At least, it looks like Icelandic to me..)
Some Volcano Stuff
This page:
http://pangea.stanford.edu/~dsinnett/Pages/Links.html has a nice collection of links to volcano monitor pages. Just click the pictures for the different volcano observatories.
The Smithsonian page:
Musings from the Chiefio 
‘But Africa is headed up toward Europe’
In more ways than one.
…the Moon is made of Green Cheese and the World is made of Jell-O…
…earthquakes happen all the time, eventually you’ll get one in your own backyard..
…big quakes cause ripples that go around the World…
…what happened in Japan yesterday will be felt in Spain tomorrow (or the day after)…
…expect more of the same soon…
…earthquakes are Mother Nature’s way of reminding us just how insignificant we are…
Chuckles – you earned your name with that comment!
As for the maps, I am sure that there have been some large quakes in Europe in the past. But other than the edge (over by Greece and Turkey), it seems to be very quiet in comparison to other places in the world. I guess that is what makes the 5.3 in Spain noteworthy – and the reason there was – relatively – a large amount of damage and some deaths.
Perhaps it was just a wake up call that perhaps building codes should be strengthened all over the world, not just on the Pacific rim (where most of the activity seems to be concentrated).
Chief,
Is there a site somewhere that graphs total global seismic energy released?
Along the lines of Dr Maue’s ACE index
Just curious.
@mitchel44:
None that I know of, but if anyone else knows of one I’d add a link to it in a heartbeat…
@All
Looks like Hawthorne Nevada isn’t done yet:
Magnitude 4.1 – NEVADA
2011 May 12 16:23:48 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 4.1
Date-Time Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 16:23:48 UTC
Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 09:23:48 AM at epicenter
Location 38.419°N, 118.717°W
Depth 0 km (~0 mile) set by location program
Region NEVADA
Distances 14 km (9 miles) SW (215°) from Hawthorne, NV
21 km (13 miles) NW (307°) from Qualeys Camp, NV
28 km (17 miles) SE (125°) from Wichman, NV
240 km (149 miles) E (93°) from Sacramento, CA
Location Uncertainty Error estimate not available
Parameters NST= 63, Nph= 63, Dmin=5.7 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp= 58°,
M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=7
Source Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno
Event ID nn00336893
I’ve added the image of global plates from this posting:
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/plates-ridges-and-north-america/
to the top of the posting. You can see that the quake is where the two plates collide…
Thoough, oddly, the ‘force arrows’ show it as not moving much there, yet East Africa is headed up and West Africa is headed sideways… Must be some mighty interesting dynamics going on in Africa…
http://geology.about.com/library/bl/maps/blplatemo_atlas.htm
Shows all of Europe headed north, too. Odd, since there is a spreading zone in the Arctic… This really all needs to be animated and on a globe…
Google for Sergio Benandi, the self educated late italian who forecasted an earthquake in Rome for yesterday.
12-May-2011
(USGS data through yesterday)
A different way of looking at quake stats…
Instead of a rolling avg., a year-to-date.
Magnitude 8 – 9.9
2011 Earthquakes (1)
annual average (1)
100% of 20yr. YTD avg. until day #132
Magnitude 7 – 7.9
2011 Earthquakes (8)
annual average (14)
155% of 20yr. YTD avg. until day #132
Magnitude 6 – 6.9
2011 Earthquakes (116)
annual average (134)
239% of 20yr. YTD avg. until day #132
Magnitude 5 – 5.9
2011 Earthquakes (1,139)
annual average (1,319)
239% of 20yr. YTD avg. until day #132
Source: http://modernsurvivalblog.com
Biggest measured quake in Spain,
1954, 7.9M 640 km under the surface.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1954_03_29.php
@Adolfo:
Did. Got:
Compare:
“Google for Sergio Benandi”
looks like I spelled it right…
WHACK! Volley….
@R. de Haan:
Wow! Maybe Spain does need a bit of watching! Just shy of an 8 is in the “Great Quake” range…
I think adolfo meant :Raffaele_Bendandi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaele_Bendandi
Here is an article about the population of Rome leaving the city because they fear a ‘big one’.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8504936/Italians-evacuate-Rome-over-big-one-fears.html
Here is an article about the deep quake (6.2M) that hit Grenada last month
http://www.nwofighters.org/earthquake-in-spain-today-6-2-quake-hits-granada-southern-spain/
From the R.de Haan linked article:
Looks like Italy is going to be toast… but it might not be until Monday ;-)
The last time the Italy experienced a devastating earth quake they took steps to prosecute the geologists for not predicting the event with manslaughter.
http://www.geekosystem.com/italy-earthquake-scientists-charged-manslaughter/
I wonder what the Romans will do if the predicted quake doesn’t materialize.
@R. de Haan:
I like the way the article shows a related prosecution started on a Geologist who DID predict a quake (presumably canceled after the quake happened…)
Looks like a great way to assure there are not geologists working in Italy. Predict, you get prosecuted. Don’t predict, you get prosecuted… Um, I’ll take “Alternate Career Path for $1000″…
Looks like Italy has a very crazy system of law.
When you stated “And it makes an oddly curious line with the one in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean”, it reminded me of “a curious line” across United States that I saw around 7-14 days ago from Baja to Quebec. When I saw the “US line”, I thought I was hoping to see a line (order) in a highly random earthquake events. It seemed peculiar that this line was away from the plate boundries.
When you reported the Greece/Spain/Mexico line around the same time, maybe there is some under”lining” cause.
Looks like we picked up a 6.0 in Costa Rica and a 6.2 off Japan:
Magnitude 6.0 – COSTA RICA
2011 May 13 22:47:55 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 6.0
Date-Time Friday, May 13, 2011 at 22:47:55 UTC
Friday, May 13, 2011 at 04:47:55 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 10.105°N, 84.261°W
Depth 70 km (43.5 miles)
Region COSTA RICA
Distances 25 km (16 miles) WNW (303°) from SAN JOSE, Costa Rica
126 km (78 miles) SSE (153°) from San Carlos, Nicaragua
137 km (85 miles) W (275°) from Limon, Costa Rica
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 16.5 km (10.3 miles); depth +/- 8.8 km (5.5 miles)
Parameters NST=376, Nph=381, Dmin=20 km, Rmss=1.23 sec, Gp=115°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0003et0
Magnitude 6.2 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 May 13 23:35:53 UTC
Earthquake Details
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 6.2
Date-Time Friday, May 13, 2011 at 23:35:53 UTC
Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 08:35:53 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 37.383°N, 141.405°E
Depth 37.6 km (23.4 miles)
Region NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances 59 km (36 miles) NE of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan
91 km (56 miles) E of Koriyama, Honshu, Japan
93 km (57 miles) ESE of Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
239 km (148 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14.1 km (8.8 miles); depth +/- 7.4 km (4.6 miles)
Parameters NST=369, Nph=385, Dmin=300.6 km, Rmss=0.94 sec, Gp= 32°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0003etn
Is lower graph giving us a forewarning?
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/EQr.htm
@Vukcevic:
Ah, that interesting state where you want something to be false as you don’t want the result but want it to be true as it would be “way cool” to have new understanding….
I get the yellow moon is a full moon and the grey moon is a new moon, but what is the PINK moon ? An eclipse?
Hi Mr. Smith
Yes, full and new moon. Big red dot is Honshu eq., it is in there with due respect of its strength. Hope we do not get another one soon.
@ Vukcevic,
Very interesting graph’s, as always. Thanks.
Raffaele Bendandi….Who studies Bendandi is Michele Casati
http://daltonsminima.altervista.org/
Looks like a 6.9 in Papua New Gunea and a 6.0 mid-Atlantic. Odd how I keep seeing these things in sort of “pairs”… probably just a sampling artifact of how often I tend to look… I hope…
Magnitude 6.5 – BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
2011 May 15 18:37:10 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 6.5
Date-Time Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 18:37:10 UTC
Monday, May 16, 2011 at 04:37:10 AM at epicenter
Location 6.157°S, 154.446°E
Depth 43.2 km (26.8 miles)
Region BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Distances 122 km (76 miles) W (273°) from Arawa, Bougainville, PNG
248 km (154 miles) WNW (283°) from Chirovanga, Solomon Islands
331 km (206 miles) SE (131°) from Rabaul, New Britain, PNG
709 km (441 miles) WNW (301°) from HONIARA, Solomon Islands
825 km (513 miles) E (86°) from Lae, New Guinea, PNG
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.7 km (8.5 miles); depth +/- 8.1 km (5.0 miles)
Parameters NST=295, Nph=297, Dmin=334 km, Rmss=1.45 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver
Event ID usc0003fvs
Magnitude 6.0 – CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
2011 May 15 13:08:12 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.Magnitude 6.0
Date-Time Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 13:08:12 UTC
Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 11:08:12 AM at epicenter
Location 0.461°N, 25.601°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
Distances 1276 km (793 miles) ENE (57°) from Natal, Brazil
1624 km (1009 miles) S (188°) from PRAIA, Cape Verde
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 9.5 km (5.9 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=143, Nph=143, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.16 sec, Gp= 43°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=H
Source U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver
Event ID usc0003ft5
In the last couple hours we’ve had the iceland volcano start smoking and a 6.1 north of new Zealand. Interesting… wonder if there has been a tsunami alert.