Tuesday's Quake
According to Julie Mack's report in the July 2, 2015 Kalamazoo Gazette, the earthquake that occurred at 11:42 A.M. Tuesday was a 3.3 magnitude one and an aftershock of the 4.2 one May 2. I have two comments that I think may be of interest about the two that are not likely to be considered by the earthquake experts.
FRACKING?
First, although I agree it is appropriate to label it an aftershock, the assumption that the depth of over three miles detaches the question of fracking being part of the cause is most likely but not necessarily correct for two reasons. Fissures and boreholes could possibly divert fracking fluids to greater depths; I think that is not likely, but possible. Of greater probability is the fact that if fracking fluids are spread in the quake region but at considerably shallower depths, they could detach the overlying strata from the ones below and reduce resistance to movement at different rates in the separated strata. THE SLIPPING LAYER COULD BE EITHER ABOVE OR BELOW A FRACKED LAYER. Although that should be true, it also seems that in reference to surrounding areas the upper layers would be more likely to demonstrate movement.
THE MOON?
Second, the timing of both quakes came near the approaching full moon's peak effect on tides that may have a cyclic effect on stresses of continental plates. I presented this as a possibility in the blog of May 3,[ http://evolutioninsights.blogspot.com/2015/05/earthquake-and-continental-drift.html ]. If I had more confidence in this as a partial cause, I would look up the phase of the moon, to see if was either near full or near new moon status on August 10, 1947, when a 4.6 magnitude quake was the strongest recorded in Michigan. The three quakes seem to be clustered in the same fault system.
I think that years ago I saw some data presented showing tides exist in the crust of one or both bodies of the earth-moon system. They were of much smaller magnitude than the movement seen in ocean tides.
The effect of the moon would seem to peak near noon and midnight (ignoring the position of the sun). The monthly peak of those peaks would be near the new moon and the full moon - about every 14 days. It seems, if quakes correlate with the lunar cycle, a scatter graph of earthquakes by intensity and time of the lunar monthly cycle and another by intensity and time of the lunar daily cycle might reveal if the moon has an affect. Possibly smaller quakes would be more likely the ones to reveal effects by such a process.
The problem may be much more complicated than I have suggested. Anyone familiar with tides along our coasts knows the delay in tide arrival is not very closely correlated with the time of maximum lunar and solar gravity attraction maximums. Tidal and moon effects are not true causes of earthquakes, they only affect the timing of quakes due to gradual accumulation of stresses from crustal movements. But the possible result is to make a quake occur sooner than the gradual accumulation would otherwise cause it. Thus the quakes along a fault may release the energy in smaller quakes than the ones only triggered by the gradual buildup of stress.
Joseph G. Engemann Kalamazoo, Michigan July 2, 2015
Showing posts with label THE MOON. Show all posts
Showing posts with label THE MOON. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Sunday, May 3, 2015
EARTHQUAKE and CONTINENTAL DRIFT
EARTHQUAKE UPDATE
Yesterday's earthquake will not receive recognition in comparison to great earthquakes of the past, or even the present severe one in Nepal this past week. One five years ago in Haiti resulted in the death of over 316,000 people; the second largest (in fatalities), recorded after 800,000+ in 1556 in China, was followed by 300,000 in 1737 in Calcutta, India.
The geologically stable (relatively) state of Michigan had its worst earthquake in 1947, not far away, near Coldwater at 4.6 on the Richter scale, whereas the 4.2 or 4.4 of yesterday ranked second and was centered about five miles south of Galesburg, in Kalamazoo County near Scotts and Climax. For comparison the Haiti quake was 7.0 but the even larger quake of 2011 rated at 9.0 caused the death of over 20,000 due the large tsunami generated as a result of its offshore location in close proximity to Fukushimi, Japan.
THE CAUSE OF YESTERDAY'S QUAKE
Because it was centered over three miles deep, those quoted on TV and/or in the paper thought it was not related to the much shallower depth of wells involved in possible fracking activities there. It is along a fault line running from NW to SE through the area and many miles in each of those directions.
So it was thought to be due to two of the earth's crustal plates shifting or sliding over one another. It started me thinking about continental drift, plate tectonics, and their causes and effects. I mentioned glacial rebound (I should have said crustal rebound from the demise of the continental glaciers). Such rebound it evident from the high past shorelines of Lakes Michigan-Huron noted on Mackinac Island compared to other locations.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
The movements of continents and the formation of the Atlantic Ocean are well accepted now. When I arrived in Tasmania in 1956, a international conference on Continental Drift had just been completed. They were telling me it was well accepted as a concept by all but the American geologists who thought there was no cause known to be strong enough to cause the movement. I had already thought the biogeographic evidence was so strong it had to be true. So I mused about how the earth was a little bit similar to a simmering pot of soup. The upwelling generated by the heat below produced a column that rose and spread carrying surface material aside.
Once the earth's surface cooled sufficiently and the crust was thick and lighter the accumulation may have caused a reversal of the circulation due its insulating effect and an new column arose under it to disperse the present continents and widen the Atlantic. The collisions following such movements and continued pressure produced by oceanic plates caused some of the subsequent mountain building and other events. The reduction of deep sources of heat due to decay of radioactive elements may have caused some decline in rates of crustal movement.
DOES THE MOON HAVE A ROLE?
When I looked at the paper and saw we will have a full moon tonight, I thought about the role of tides in the above movements. Could it have been the straw that broke the camel's back; were tides of sea and earth reaching a peak that triggered quakes. Probably not, but perhaps tides could be a factor in minor crustal movements that accumulate to cause quakes etc.
The tides move a tremendous amount of water and its attendant weight about with approximately a twice daily cycle that is of greater magnitude during a twice monthly cycle when sun, moon, and earth or sun, earth and moon are aligned. When the stresses produced by tides are aligned with crustal movement forces, the movements could show a twice daily cycle of speed or movement if measurements were able to record them. Then again, it may just be my imagination.
MICHIGAN'S GLACIAL GEOLOGY
I thought about Michigan geology. The Lower Peninsula of Michigan has subsurface geology resembling a stack of saucers. Devonian deposits outcrop around the rim and progressively younger deposits are at the surface as you go to the central part. Above the Devonian are layers that include salt, gypsum, coal, limestone, and sandstone of varying thickness. Bedrock is topped by glacial till containing predominately sand, gravel, and clay in an unconsolidated layer as much as 1,000 feet deep in some places. In many places the water of the melting glaciers left nearly horizontal layers varying according to the materials the melting glacier carried and the flow of the departing water.
Since the coral deposits and other marine material indicated it formed in a shallow sea, it occurred to me that perhaps the saucer like shape of the layers was due to glacial weight after the shallow sea sediments had been deposited. A likely candidate was late Permian glaciation near the end of the Paleozoic Era that was associated with the extinction of about 95% of marine and terrestrial species. It was long before the Atlantic Ocean became a significant body of water. Once the continental glacier, centered on or north of Michigan, got high enough, the altitude effect would prevent melting and perhaps produce a massive ice mountain deforming the flat sediments to its cup shape configuration.
When continental glaciation more recently happened (during Pleistocene glaciation), it is thought to have been centered farther north in Canada so the scouring effect increased the depth of the Great Lakes and caused the formation of the Finger Lakes in New York State.
Joseph G. Engemann May 3, 2015
Yesterday's earthquake will not receive recognition in comparison to great earthquakes of the past, or even the present severe one in Nepal this past week. One five years ago in Haiti resulted in the death of over 316,000 people; the second largest (in fatalities), recorded after 800,000+ in 1556 in China, was followed by 300,000 in 1737 in Calcutta, India.
The geologically stable (relatively) state of Michigan had its worst earthquake in 1947, not far away, near Coldwater at 4.6 on the Richter scale, whereas the 4.2 or 4.4 of yesterday ranked second and was centered about five miles south of Galesburg, in Kalamazoo County near Scotts and Climax. For comparison the Haiti quake was 7.0 but the even larger quake of 2011 rated at 9.0 caused the death of over 20,000 due the large tsunami generated as a result of its offshore location in close proximity to Fukushimi, Japan.
THE CAUSE OF YESTERDAY'S QUAKE
Because it was centered over three miles deep, those quoted on TV and/or in the paper thought it was not related to the much shallower depth of wells involved in possible fracking activities there. It is along a fault line running from NW to SE through the area and many miles in each of those directions.
So it was thought to be due to two of the earth's crustal plates shifting or sliding over one another. It started me thinking about continental drift, plate tectonics, and their causes and effects. I mentioned glacial rebound (I should have said crustal rebound from the demise of the continental glaciers). Such rebound it evident from the high past shorelines of Lakes Michigan-Huron noted on Mackinac Island compared to other locations.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
The movements of continents and the formation of the Atlantic Ocean are well accepted now. When I arrived in Tasmania in 1956, a international conference on Continental Drift had just been completed. They were telling me it was well accepted as a concept by all but the American geologists who thought there was no cause known to be strong enough to cause the movement. I had already thought the biogeographic evidence was so strong it had to be true. So I mused about how the earth was a little bit similar to a simmering pot of soup. The upwelling generated by the heat below produced a column that rose and spread carrying surface material aside.
Once the earth's surface cooled sufficiently and the crust was thick and lighter the accumulation may have caused a reversal of the circulation due its insulating effect and an new column arose under it to disperse the present continents and widen the Atlantic. The collisions following such movements and continued pressure produced by oceanic plates caused some of the subsequent mountain building and other events. The reduction of deep sources of heat due to decay of radioactive elements may have caused some decline in rates of crustal movement.
DOES THE MOON HAVE A ROLE?
When I looked at the paper and saw we will have a full moon tonight, I thought about the role of tides in the above movements. Could it have been the straw that broke the camel's back; were tides of sea and earth reaching a peak that triggered quakes. Probably not, but perhaps tides could be a factor in minor crustal movements that accumulate to cause quakes etc.
The tides move a tremendous amount of water and its attendant weight about with approximately a twice daily cycle that is of greater magnitude during a twice monthly cycle when sun, moon, and earth or sun, earth and moon are aligned. When the stresses produced by tides are aligned with crustal movement forces, the movements could show a twice daily cycle of speed or movement if measurements were able to record them. Then again, it may just be my imagination.
MICHIGAN'S GLACIAL GEOLOGY
I thought about Michigan geology. The Lower Peninsula of Michigan has subsurface geology resembling a stack of saucers. Devonian deposits outcrop around the rim and progressively younger deposits are at the surface as you go to the central part. Above the Devonian are layers that include salt, gypsum, coal, limestone, and sandstone of varying thickness. Bedrock is topped by glacial till containing predominately sand, gravel, and clay in an unconsolidated layer as much as 1,000 feet deep in some places. In many places the water of the melting glaciers left nearly horizontal layers varying according to the materials the melting glacier carried and the flow of the departing water.
Since the coral deposits and other marine material indicated it formed in a shallow sea, it occurred to me that perhaps the saucer like shape of the layers was due to glacial weight after the shallow sea sediments had been deposited. A likely candidate was late Permian glaciation near the end of the Paleozoic Era that was associated with the extinction of about 95% of marine and terrestrial species. It was long before the Atlantic Ocean became a significant body of water. Once the continental glacier, centered on or north of Michigan, got high enough, the altitude effect would prevent melting and perhaps produce a massive ice mountain deforming the flat sediments to its cup shape configuration.
When continental glaciation more recently happened (during Pleistocene glaciation), it is thought to have been centered farther north in Canada so the scouring effect increased the depth of the Great Lakes and caused the formation of the Finger Lakes in New York State.
Joseph G. Engemann May 3, 2015
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