JustCurious (guest) 07 May 2010 22:39
I was looking at this table
Earthquake Facts and Statistics
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
Magnitude Average Annually
8 and higher 1 ¹
7 - 7.9 15 ¹
6 - 6.9 134 ²
5 - 5.9 1319 ²
4 - 4.9 13,000
(estimated)
3 - 3.9 130,000
(estimated)
2 - 2.9 1,300,000
(estimated)
¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.
Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy
Magnitude Change Ground Motion Change
(Displacement) Energy Change
1.0 10.0 times about 32 times
0.5 3.2 times about 5.5 times
0.3 2.0 times about 3 times
0.1 1.3 times about 1.4 times
This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?
The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?
Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2010
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
8.0 to 9.9 1 1 0 1 2 1 2 4 0 1 1
7.0 to 7.9 14 15 13 14 14 10 9 14 12 16 5
6.0 to 6.9 146 121 127 140 141 140 142 178 168 142 73
5.0 to 5.9 1344 1224 1201 1203 1515 1693 1712 2074 1768 1754 791
4.0 to 4.9 8008 7991 8541 8462 10888 13917 12838 12078 12291 6928 3196
3.0 to 3.9 4827 6266 7068 7624 7932 9191 9990 9889 11735 2898 886
2.0 to 2.9 3765 4164 6419 7727 6316 4636 4027 3597 3860 3007 932
1.0 to 1.9 1026 944 1137 2506 1344 26 18 42 21 25 9
0.1 to 0.9 5 1 10 134 103 0 2 2 0 1 0
No Magnitude 3120 2807 2938 3608 2939 864 828 1807 1922 20 9
Total 22256 23534 27454 31419 31194 30478 29568 29685 31777 * 14792 * 5902
Estimated
Deaths 231 21357 1685 33819 228802 88003 6605 712 88011 1787 225420
Starting in January 2009, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center no longer locates earthquakes smaller than magnitude 4.5 outside the United States, unless we receive specific information that the earthquake was felt or caused damage
It seems like earthquakes have increased. It seems like we are already halfway to last years TOTAL. I know you have tried numerous time to debunk the fact that earthquakes are not increasing…a good example would be the 6.0-6.9 quakes. Last years TOTAL was 142. This year we are already at 73. Only 69 more and we will reach that total. We have 7 monthd left in thsi year and if we've had 73 in 5 months, and we have 73 in the next 5 months, we will reach that total and have 2 more months left to surpass it.
Sorry to ramble, I'm just EXTREMELY scared that we are leading up to a cataclysim in 2012. Can you explain this…..