Seismic Activity
Last night at 4:06am I was awakend to a loud noise and a non-trivial movement of my bed (both vertical and horizontal). It was, indeed, the earth moving beneath me. Evidently it was a mild quake (a 3.9), but none-the-less to generate an equivalent seismic energy yield, one would have to detonate approximately 1000 tons of TNT or a small nuclear weapon (scroll down in the previous link). Judging from the intensity map I just caught the edge of things (I'm on the coast between La Jolla and San Diego). However, it was enough to instill a newfound sense of my own insignificance.
I've been puttering around the web trying to get a little more perspective and have come across a couple of pretty cool links about earthquakes:
The wikipedia's discussion of the 2004 Quake in the Indian Ocean that resulted in a tsunami.
The USGS Earthquakes Hazard Program - Largest Earthquakes in the US and Recent quakes in SoCal
Finally: Map of areas of the US with quake potential. Gee--what's that area in red in the mid-south? The New Madrid fault.
Nice links-- I was not aware that the San Diego area had as much Seismic activity as the map shows; as usual LA gets all the attention. I am relieved to have gotten away from the New Madrid, but I am quite squarely in hurricane country now.
Posted by:
steve on April 13, 2005 05:51 PM
ps did anyone else find it odd that Frank and Ernest made their way onto the seismic page? I think these geologist types are pretty starved for fun.
Posted by:
steve on April 13, 2005 05:52 PM
Yeah, I wasn't aware that San Diego rumbled this much either. Evidently the San Jacinto, Elsinore, and Coyote Creek faults are just east of us. The infamous San Andreas fault is a bit further east, running right through Palm Springs. As for LA stealing the limelight, well, it may not entirely be undeserved. LA's got faults out the wazoo(no pun intended)! Check out the locations of major quakes in SoCal in the last 25 years. As far as I'm concerned, being the quakey place is an honor that LA can keep!
As for Frank and Ernest: I'm no geologist, but I can tell you that biomedical scientists consistently compensate for their lack of social/public speaking skills by cannibalizing cartoons and anecdotes from others. Believe me, after you've listened some guy carry on for an hour about some obscure molecule in a Ben Steinlike monotone, Frank and Ernest are a welcome diversion.
Posted by:
rneff3 on April 14, 2005 01:20 PM
Another good one yesterday morning! A 5.6. I can't help but be fascinated, and this fascination has begun to supercede my slight sense of impending doom. Hopefully mother nature won't feel the need to chastise me for it.
Posted by:
rneff3 on June 13, 2005 01:09 PM
Posted by:
rneff3 on June 16, 2005 05:51 PM
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