The early morning quiet on Tuesday in Southern California was broken by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near Los Angeles. The temblor, centered near Pico Rivera, caused no major damage but rattled area residents and put first responders on alert.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake occurred at 4:04am and originated 11.7 miles below the surface of the earth. The epicenter was less than a half mile from Pico Rivera or 10 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
While the quake was relatively small, it was felt across a large swath of Southern California. Reports indicate it was felt as far north as Rosamond, as far east as Lucerne Valley and as far as Poway near San Diego to the south.
The Earth's axis was shifted slightly and our days shortened by last Saturday's earthquake in Chile. (NASA)
NASA scientists have determined that the massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday has shortened our days and shifted the Earth’s axis. Officials said that the effects of the event while not unusual are a testament to the power of the temblor.
Richard Gross, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said his team had determined the Chile earthquake shorted the length of an Earth day by 1.26 microseconds. A microsecond is one millionth of a second.
The 2004 earthquake in Sumatra which triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people was a magnitude 9.1 temblor. That event shortened the days by 6.8 microseconds according to the same computer models.
Most interesting is the effect the quakes had on the earth’s axis. Saturday’s earthquake shifted the earth’s axis by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). The Sumatran quake shifted the planet’s axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches).
The scientists said the 2010 Chile quake had a greater effect on the Earth’s axis than the 2004 temblor because it occurred in the planet’s mid-latitudes. By contrast, the Sumatran quake was near the equator.
Researchers have said that all earthquakes affect the Earth’s axis. Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said “Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth’s rotation, from seasonal weather down to driving a car.”
A crushed car in a parking garage in Concepcion Chile following the earthquake early Saturday morning Feb. 27, 2010. (TVN)
Buildings lie in heaps of rubble, highway overpasses collapsed and large crevices opened in the earth following a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile yesterday. Aftershocks continue to rock the nation while rescuers try to reach an untold number lying buried in the remnants of towns and cities.
Yesterday’s earthquake struck the nation early in the morning hours when most residents were still sleeping. The temblor’s 8.8 magnitude rating demonstrates the power of the quake and put the event in a tie for the fifth most powerful earthquake since 1900.
Tsunami warnings were issued immediately following the quake for thousands of miles of coastline surrounding the Pacific Ocean. From California and Alaska to Hawaii and Japan, officials worried about a devastating wave that could have been generated by the quake.
Near the epicenter, Chile is under a ‘state of catastrophe’ and officials work to direct recovery efforts. Outgoing President Michelle Bachelet said, “It was a catastrophe of devastating consequences.”
Officially the death toll from the quake stands at 214 however officials warn that number will almost certainly grow. 500,000 homes were damaged by the quake and 1.5 million residents have been affected.
Concepcion, the largest city closest to the epicenter, saw widespread destruction and the greatest count of fatalities thus far. Buildings across the city were collapsed into ruin and rescuers were working to comb the rubble for survivors.
The nation’s capital, 200 miles from the epicenter, was not spared. Elevated highways collapsed and apartment buildings were reduced to piles of brick and mortar.
Rescuers were struggling to reach possible survivors as they run low on supplies and gasoline. Adding to the difficulty are ongoing aftershocks that threaten to bring down already weakened structures. More than 80 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 have occurred since the main quake struck at 3:34am Saturday.
Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey said yesterday’s quake was several hundred times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti last month. Chile however is in an earthquake-prone region and newer buildings have been built to withstand quakes.
The service also said that the Chile quake was centered 21.7 miles beneath the earth’s surface, considerably deeper than the 8.1 mile depth of the Haiti quake. Its magnitude 8.8 rating puts it in a tie as the fifth largest earthquake to strike the globe since 1900.
Smoke and haze are clearly seen over Santiago, Chile after the earthquake in this image released by NASA. See larger before and after images below. (NASA)
The quake has caused tsunami warnings to be issued for most of the nations along the Pacific including Australia, Japan, Russia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Hawaii, the tsunami arrived in recent hours and it appears the state will escape relatively unscathed.
NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the stricken area today and the agency released ‘before and after’ photos that clearly show the smoke and dust. For complete coverage of the earthquakes, please visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.
Haze Over Santiago Following 8.8 Earthquake
After Image
Before image
Haze lingered over the metropolitan area of Santiago, Chile, following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on February 27, 2010. In an image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite at 14:25 UTC, black smoke hung over the northern part of the city, while light-colored haze (perhaps pollution and/or dust) covered the southern part of the city and filled a canyon that cuts eastward into the mountains. The lower image, acquired on February 23, shows the city and surroundings under clear-sky conditions.
NASA images provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
Tsunami wave travel times as a result of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake near Chile. (NOAA)
One of the largest earthquakes since 1900 struck off the coast of Chile early Saturday morning prompting tsunami warnings, collapsing buildings and claiming an unknown number of lives. The magnitude 8.8 temblor struck at 3:34am local time (06:34 UTC) and has been followed by more than 50 significant aftershocks.
At the current time, many eyes are focused on Hawaii. A tsunami has been generated by the quake and is expected to arrive in Hawaii at 2:05 MST.
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Update, 12:12pm MST – Powerful aftershocks continue to rock Chile. According to the U.S. Geological survey, more than 50 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0… Keep Reading »
Hurricane Ike bears down onto the upper Texas coastline with category 2 wind speed of 110 mph, September, 2008. (NOAA)
Beginning this hurricane season, NOAA’s National Weather Service will use a revamped hurricane rating system that does away with storm surge effects of each category. The new scale, called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale will use wind as its only determining factor.
Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson developed the original Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale as a way to communicate the threat of hurricanes based on their power and released it to the public in 1973. In addition to wind, the scale used storm surge as a factor when determining a storm’s category rating.
Since then, scientists have realized that the amount of storm surge generated by a hurricane can vary greatly, well outside the wind guidelines of the original scale. According to NOAA, the storm intensity, size, pressure and the underwater topography near where a hurricane is going to make landfall make a large difference.
In announcing the new scale, NOAA pointed two recent storms to convey the problem with the old scale. Hurricane Ike made landfall along the Texas coast in 2008. While only a Category 2 storm, it produced storm surge of 15 to 20 feet. By contrast, Hurricane Charley in 2004 was a Category 4 storm that struck Florida but only generated a 6 to 7 foot storm surge.
Storm surge is extremely dangerous and flooding resulting from it and the tremendous rains generated by hurricanes claim more lives than wind. As such, storm surge forecasts will continue however they will be independent of the hurricane ratings. Beginning this year, when discussing surge, it will be expressed in height above ground level to help residents understand the potential for flooding in their area.
The revamped scale also was accompanied by new descriptions of wind impact while retaining the same wind speeds that were previously used.
Venezuela's state run media is reporting that the United States used a devastating new 'earthquake weapon' to cause the earthquake that struck Haiti last week. (Examiner.com)
Unbeknownst to the world, the United States has a new weapon that was responsible for last week’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti and the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China that killed 90,000 people. That of course is a ridiculous statement but the claim was nevertheless made on Venezuela’s ViVe TV, the official news outlet of the nation’s dictator, Hugo Chavez.
According to the report, not only can this devastating weapon cause earthquakes, it can also “create weather anomalies to cause floods, droughts and hurricanes.” The claims are based on a supposed report from Russia’s Northern Fleet which has been monitoring United States Navy activity and documented the new device.
ViVe TV says the earthquake in Haiti was the result of the U.S. Navy testing this new weapon and the United States was aware that it could cause damage. Despite this, ViVe says the U.S. proceed with the test and “had pre-positioned their Commander Southern Command Officer, Gen. PK Keen, on the island to oversee relief efforts if needed.”
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck northern New Mexico early Monday morning. The temblor was felt as far away as Trinidad, Colorado. (USGS)
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck northern New Mexico west of Raton early this morning and was felt as far away as Trinidad, Colorado. The U.S. Geological Survey says that the temblor’s epicenter was 16 miles west of Raton and originated 3.1 miles underground.
No damage from the quake that occurred at 1:41am on Monday morning has been reported. While a magnitude 4.1 quake is not a major quake, had it struck in a more densely populated area it would have been sufficient to knock items off of shelves.
While normally not particularly active, there are approximately 100 potentially active faults in Colorado and more than 400 temblors of magnitude 2.5 have occurred in the state since 1870. The state’s largest quake occurred on November 7, 1882 along the northern Front Range and measured 6.5 on the Richter Scale.
According to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, the costliest quake was a 5.3 magnitude temblor that occurred on August 9, 1967 and was centered near Commerce City. The quake caused more than $1 million worth of damage and is thought to have been caused by the injection of liquid waste into the earth at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.
The Sangre de Christo Fault, near which the quake occurred, is located in the mountain range for which it is named and runs more than 110 miles from the New Mexico border north into Colorado. In 2001 an earthquake “swarm” shook the area near Trinidad on the fault. During that event, from August 28 and September 21 of that year, 12 earthquakes of magnitude 2.8 to 4.6 struck just west of the southern Colorado city in the same area as Monday’s quake.
Severe cold weather has enveloped the northern half of the globe from the United States to Britain to China. Across the continents, many places are reporting record setting temperatures and lives have been lost due to the Arctic chill.
The eastern half of the United States saw cold, Arctic air pulled down from the north plunging temperatures below freezing in normally mild places as far south as Florida. The widespread cold gripped most of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Seaboard.
Across the Midwest, temperatures plunged to well below freezing as parts of Iowa recorded temperatures as low as -15 degrees. Jeff Johnson, National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Des Moines Register, “”We’re a solid 30 degrees below normal.” Minneapolis, Minnesota and Chicago, Illinois were seeing wind chills below 0 degrees Tuesday morning.
In Miami, residents accustomed to short sleeve shirts and shorts bundled up as temperatures dropped to freezing. Further north in the state, Orlando saw a low temperature of 21 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued hard freeze warnings across parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida as the cold threatened the agriculture industry in those states. Freeze watches in Tennessee highlighted the severe cold and came on the heels of reports that four people have died in that state from the cold.
Magma erupts from a newly discovered deep sea volcano. (NOAA)
An impressive display of the earth’s power was witnessed by scientists 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Scientists discovered the deepest erupting volcano yet and aided by the extreme pressure at that depth, they were able to send a remote controlled submersible within feet of it as it erupted.
Video of the event (click here) captured bubbles of magma as they shot into the ocean with a cloud of sulphur. The magma froze virtually instantly due to the extreme cold and fell to the surface as rock.
Co-Chief Scientist Bob Embley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, “It was an underwater Fourth of July – a spectacular display of fireworks nearly 4,000 feet deep.”
The mission featured a number of firsts in addition to the discovery of the volcano itself. For the first time scientists witnessed molten lava flowing across the ocean’s bottom and discovered a new type of lava.
NOAA said that the lava the volcano is producing has never before been seen on an active volcano. The Boninite lava is said to be the hottest erupting on earth in modern times. Scientists said it will allow a unique opportunity to learn how the earth recycles material when one tectonic plate subsides under another.
The early morning quiet on Tuesday in Southern California was broken by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near Los Angeles. The temblor, centered near Pico Rivera, caused no major damage but rattled area residents and put first responders on alert.
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