Category Archives: earthquakes

How I (mostly) slept through the one of the largest earthquakes to hit NW Europe in 200 years

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Chris Rowan

In the early hours of 13 April 1992, the border region in western Europe where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet was shaken by a magnitude 5.4 earthquake, caused by northeast-southwest extension in the Roer Valley Graben. The shaking was … Continue reading →

Categories: academic life, earthquakes

Geological mayhem and destruction in 2012: not the end of the world, just business as usual

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Chris Rowan

We don’t live on a boring planet. 2012 will be plagued by natural disasters, but so is every other year. Continue reading →

Categories: antiscience, climate science, earthquakes, geohazards, palaeomagic, public science, volcanoes

Two more earthquakes shake Christchurch

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Just as it seemed that seismic activity was finally dying down in Christchurch, the city has been shaken by two more earthquakes. The USGS currently has the first shock pegged as a magnitude 5.8, and the second as a magnitude … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards

Friday(ish) Focal Mechanism: a kinky slab beneath Mexico

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Chris Rowan

A quick look this week at the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook southern Mexico last Sunday. It caused a fair amount of shaking in Mexico City, and a few deaths, but apparently no major structural damage. The depth of the … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics

Friday focal mechanisms: aftershocks in eastern Turkey

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Almost a fortnight after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook Eastern Turkey, the region continues to suffer from aftershocks, and there were two pretty big ones earlier this week: a magnitude 5.2 on Tuesday, and then a magnitude 5.6 on Wednesday. … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards

A short FAQ on earthquakes and fracking

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Chris Rowan

While there are plenty of important reasons to scrutinise this fracking business, the risk of triggering earthquakes is not one of them. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, public science

The Oklahoma Earthquakes

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Chris Rowan

There was some slight seismic excitement over the weekend in central Oklahoma: a magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook things up early on Saturday morning, which turned out to be the prelude to magnitude 5.6 tremor late Saturday evening. The focal mechanisms … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics

M 7.2 earthquake near Van, eastern Turkey

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Earlier this morning, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit near the city of Van on the eastern border of Turkey. The BBC reports that at least 45 people have died as buildings collapsed close to the rupture. The most well-known seismic … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, tectonics

Friday Focal Mechanisms: the Hayward Fault shows up to the Shakeout Party

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Yesterday, several million Californians participated in the 2011 Great California ShakeOut – a simulated earthquake drill, held close to the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake, that aims not only to raise awareness of the ever-present risk of a … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards

Friday focal mechanism: mountain building in Argentina

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Yesterday a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in the Jujuy province of northwestern Argentina, in the western foothills of the Andes. What few news reports there are indicate strong shaking but little damage in what seems to be a remote and … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, structures