On Monday morning, a M4.7 strike-slip earthquake rocked the Anza area, California. The quake occurred at the San Jacinto Fault Zone and was widely felt. As there are not many people who know the San Jacinto better than Tom Rockwell, I recommend to read this short interview. The LA Times has more info on the quake.
USGS Shake map (Credit: USGS)
Jahns lecture by Jim McCalpin on paleoseismology
On Monday, 18 March, Jim McCalpin will give the Jahns lecture at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. This is a unique chance – you will not only learn about old earthquakes, but also enjoy free pizza and beverages!
Tōhoku 2011 earthquake registered from space
The M9.1 Tōhoku EQ of March 2011 was so powerful, that the sound waves (well, elastic waves) were registered by GOCE satellite orbiting at 260 km above ground! Read the Nature letter for the story.
Preparing for the mega-quake in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest will likely face an earthquake as strong as Japan’s 2011 event – we know about a number of earthquakes with ~M9.0 that happened in the past there, and at some day in the future this area will be rattled again. The Seattle Times has a frightening article on disaster planning. HT @ManuelSintubin (please, follow him on Twitter, you will not regret it).
Colorado flooding controversy
Once in a while, the Colorado River downstream Lake Powell is flooded artificially to clean up the river banks and to re-distribute the sediments (establish new sandbars). Now there is an intense discussion if this is good or bad – the sandbars are needed by some animals, but other “bad” or unwanted species like the occasional flooding, too…
Heavy storm fractures polar ice sheet
Dan Satterfield at the Wild Wild Science Blog wrote a very interesting post about an Arctic storm that fractures the arctic sea ice cover – fascinating imagery!
Credit: National Snow Ice Data Center
Mars was habitable long time ago
The most spectacular news in Geology Marsology is that the rock sample drilled by Curiosity revealed that the Red Planet once had habitable conditions. I feel it’s only a small step until we can finally prove extraterrestrial life. Curiosity, please drill into a Martian Dinosaur bone next time!
Popocatépetl is active again
The Popocatépetl can bee seen from Mexico City and frequently reminds the +25,000,000 people of its hidden, but well known powers. Currently, a nice ash plume is rising form its summit.
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Sinkholes in Florida
You’ve probably heard the tragic news of the Florida man swallowed by a huge sinkhole. So, please have a look at this map from the Florida Geological Survey with all the known sinkholes of Florida – they are basically everywhere!
Where on GoogleEarth #375 still to be solved
If you have some time to kill, have a look at WogeKubi’s Where on Google Earth? – WoGE#375!
Earthquake drill in Basel, Switzerland
in 1356, the city of Basel was destroyed by an earthquake that reached intensity X. This was one of the strongest documented events in Central Europe. An international earthquake drill has now been held in Basel, assuming a magnitude 6.6 event to occur near the city.
Have a nice weekend and beware of groundhogs!
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