Yellowstone earthquakes

3767 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Mrs.Swirtz, Jan 29, 2009

endurance

Discussion Starter · Dec 31, 2008

Just curious if anyone else is following the series of earthquakes over the last week or so. They not only continue with significant frequency but they also seem to be growing some in intensity. This story is just a day old now, but there's been about 35 more earthquakes, including three magnitude 3.0 or higher since the story ran.

Interesting stuff.

Save

1 - 13 of 13 Posts

Jezcruzen

· #2 · Dec 31, 2008

Seismic activity in and around Yellowstone is not unusual according to what I've either read or watched. This series, however, is unusual due to its frequency and strength according to the seismologists that monitor this huge caldera constantly.

Even with a movie and a few science documentaries, few probably realize that Yellowstone is a "Super Volcano", and has erupted on average every 250,000 years. Its now overdue.

Should this entire caldera erupt, it is predicted that life on planet earth would be in jeopardy.

Talking about a SHTF event......

Save

CVORNurse

· #3 · Dec 31, 2008

yup, been watching them since the day it started. At first there were 7 earthquakes on the map when I zoomed in as close as I could. Just now there are 222 on the map. Kinda worrysome.

Save

endurance

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 1, 2009

It's been an odd year for earthquakes in the US. First there was a cluster of small earthquakes in northern Nevada that went on for several weeks, but faded away without a major earthquake, then there was the cluster in Arkansas a few weeks ago that had folks worried about the New Madrid fault, but they've stopped, too. Thankfully, so far we've dodged any big ones near major populations on this continent, but China wasn't so lucky this year.

Yellowstone has had more small eruptions than mega-eruptions, so even if this is the precurser of an eruption, there's a good chance it'll only be a local event (although I sure wouldn't want to live in Cody at the moment). If it's the big one, the only prepping would be finding that perfect spot in the southern hemisphere that can deal with the initial cooling effect from the ash and then the warming as the vegitation around the world dies and releases billions of tons of CO2. You'd need to plan for numerous years without a successful harvest, too. Frankly, I think it would come down to more luck than planning for an event of that scale.

See less See more

Save

CVORNurse

· #5 · Jan 1, 2009

now there are 237 quakes on the map, 2 and a half hours after I posted that there were 222. Funny though, I clicked on all the earlier ones, so the color of the link changed. But there are new quakes that are showing previous to some of the later ones. I guess because some are so small they didn't notice them at first?

Save

Tex

· #6 · Jan 1, 2009

From what I understand, a bunch of smaller earthquakes may relieve the pressure on the plates and prevent a big one. Maybe all of these quakes are a good sign.

Save

skip

· #7 · Jan 1, 2009

Tex said:
From what I understand, a bunch of smaller earthquakes may relieve the pressure on the plates and prevent a big one. Maybe all of these quakes are a good sign.

Let's hope. If this thing goes, there may not be much left in North America for a long time.

Save

endurance

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 1, 2009

Tex said:
From what I understand, a bunch of smaller earthquakes may relieve the pressure on the plates and prevent a big one. Maybe all of these quakes are a good sign.

That would be very true if we were talking about a slip fault, like in California, but odds are what's making Yellowstone move is either moving magma under the surface or highly pressurized steam and water. In either case, it's not releasing the tension like a slip fault, it's simply yielding to pressure from below.

Again, there's a 99.9% chance it's just a cluster of rumblings that will calm down after a while, but that .1% is a bugger.

Save

endurance

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 4, 2009

Wow, 18 quakes on Friday including six magnitude 3 or higher, then only one 2.6 quake all day Saturday. Sure looked like it was building to something impressive. It'll be interesting to see if this is the calm before the big one or if the cluster of quakes is over.

Save

SJZ

· #10 · Jan 4, 2009

It looks like this is starting to get some (but not much) press:
Earthquakes at Yellowstone Supervolcano: Update - Capital Commerce (usnews.com)

Yellowstone Earthquake Swarm Puzzles Scientists | LiveScience

250 Small Quakes Rattle Yellowstone, Scientists Keep Close Eye On Earth Under Park, In Case It Was "Something Precursory" - CBS News

Save

CVORNurse

· #11 · Jan 4, 2009

only one quake yesterday. I too wonder if it is over, or just taking a breath before the big stuff?

Only time will tell.

Save

endurance

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 4, 2009

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...

A 7.6, followed by a 7.3, that's just brutal. Those poor people. I feel so lucky to live outside a major earthquake zone. I was in SoCal in 1971 for the San Fernando earthquake (a 6.6) and it left enough of an impression on me that I can recall the events of that day as one of my earliest childhood memories. I can't imagine the trauma of coping with back to back big quakes, but it happens nearly every time. China had a number of nearly equal-sized aftershocks.

That's what stands out about the Yellowstone quakes, they were small and getting stronger (until they stopped) which is pretty much the opposite of most slip-fault quakes that move big, then are followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.

Save

Mrs.Swirtz

· #13 · Jan 29, 2009

RE:earthquakes and volcanos

I've heard a little about the yellowstone supervolcano but really don't know a whole lot about it. I live in Alaska and today all of my neighbors were talking about mount redoubt erupting within the next 48 hours. I guess it's been on the news but not having T.V. I wouldn't know. The last time a volcano erupted up here it deposited 6 inches of ash in our area. (the volcano is 200 miles away) It also deverted the caribou herds and killed off over 5000 mountain goats and sheep(teeth ground down and they starved). So I'm interested to see if MT Redoubt erupts or not. We live a mostly subsistance lifestyle.Hunting Caribou , getting salmon from the fish wheel , collecting berries , canning and smoking meat and making jams and such. It has me a little worried but a know I have enough food put by to last us for a while.

See less See more

Save

1 - 13 of 13 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month