Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Summary:

What's going on?!?!

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Angel (guest) 28 May 2010 20:04

Ok, I've saw on many forum discussions on here that nothing different is going on and the Mayans and Nostradamous and everybody did'nt know anything. But yesterday and today there was 2 volcanoes to erupt in 2 different countries and a 7.2 earthquake somewhere. I'm worried. Something big has got to be brewing….Please help. What if 2012 or sooner is the end? Once in a while isn't unusual, but stuff is happening all the time now!!

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Angel (guest) 28 May 2010 20:17

Yahoo News Report on Valcanoes

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100528/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_guatemala_volcano

USGS Shows Earthquake

http://www.usgs.gov/

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Alene Y 29 May 2010 00:54

Hi Angel,
As Winters and The Great Juju have said, these things do happen all the time. The two volcanoes for instance (from the link you posted):

"The most active of Guatemala's 32 volcanos, Pacaya has been intermittently erupting since 1966, and tourists frequently visit areas near three lava flows formed in eruptions between 1989 and 1991.

In 1998, the volcano twice spewed plumes of ash, forcing evacuations and shutting down the airport in Guatemala City.

Eruptions at Tungurahua, 95 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, leaving at least four dead and thousands homeless."

Here is the Vanuatu earthquake history since 1980:
1981
1984
1990
1992
1999
2002
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

Did you know there are 169 active volcanoes in the United States?

Also, take a look at this list of historic earthquakes. They have been happening for billions of years and will continue for billions more. You wouldn't have even read the news about this one or known it had happened if you weren't looking for natural disasters because of the 2012 foolishness.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical.php

How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
The answer to this common question depends upon use of the word "active." At least 20 volcanoes will probably be erupting as you read these words (Italy's Stromboli, for example, has been erupting for more than a thousand years); roughly 60 erupted each year through the 1990s; 154 in the full decade 1990-1999; about 550 have had historically documented eruptions; about 1300 (and perhaps more than 1500) have erupted in the Holocene (past 10,000 years); and some estimates of young seafloor volcanoes exceed a million. Because dormant intervals between major eruptions at a single volcano may last hundreds to thousands of years, dwarfing the relatively short historical record in many regions, it is misleading to restrict usage of "active volcano" to recorded human memories: we prefer to add another identifying word (e.g. "historically active" or "Holocene volcano").

How many active volcanoes known?
Erupting now: perhaps 20
Each year: 50-70
Each decade: about 160

Last edited on 29 May 2010 01:10 by Alene Y Show more

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 28 May 2010 21:54

Ok, I've saw on many forum discussions on here that nothing different is going on and the Mayans and Nostradamous and everybody did'nt know anything.

That's not entirely accurate. Nostradamus was a fraudster, and the Maya never made any of the claims commonly ascribed to them by doomsayers. Those are the points that have been made on this site and message board.

But yesterday and today there was 2 volcanoes to erupt in 2 different countries

There are dozens of active volcanoes erupting every year, all over the world. Some volcanoes erupt constantly. This isn't unusual.

http://www.volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?faq=03

and a 7.2 earthquake somewhere.

Yes, there was a 7.2 quake near Vanuatu, about 1,700 km from Australia, followed by several aftershocks. They had one in that area last year as well, magnitude 7.7. This area is on the Pacific Ring of Fire and spreads across several intersecting fault lines. Vanuatu averages roughly 2,000 quakes per year.

I'm worried.

Don't be.

Something big has got to be brewing….

No, it doesn't, and it isn't.

What if 2012 or sooner is the end?

I can't predict when anything will or will not end, though I will hope the 2012 nonsense will go away in a couple of years, as doomsayer make excuses for their failure and begin planning the next doomsday.

Once in a while isn't unusual, but stuff is happening all the time now!!

That's just the thing—this stuff does happen all the time, and it always has. The difference right now is a lot of people are scared because of the falsehoods about 2012 being perpetrated by doomsayers and other idiots. Consequently, conclusions are jumped to and fears created that have nothing to do with the facts of what is happening (or isn't happening, as it were).

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Angel (guest) 28 May 2010 22:06

@TheGreatJuJu are you a scientist or astronmer or something? :) You always post very good answers.

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 29 May 2010 08:45

Angel, my interest in science and particularly astronomy is great, but the best title I can claim for myself is "amateur astronomer," if even that. No scientist here, but I do what I can, and I'm glad you find my answers useful. ;)

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Winters1 28 May 2010 20:21

Nothing there to be worried about that is part of are world we live on volcanoes blow there tops. Many do every year. But i will let the smart guys answer this one;o)

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Natalie (guest) 29 May 2010 07:14

It definitely seems like we have had a large number of major natural disasters since the beginning of the year. How many more occurrences need to happen before we start worrying that something is not right?

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Marko S 29 May 2010 08:00

Natalie, yes, it seems like it to you, but that does not make it reality.

Earthquakes happen all the time, even as I'm writing this. All the time. Volcanoes erupt all the time as well. There have been even bigger earthquakes and volcanic activity in the past (google for Tambora, Krakatau and Laki for volcanoes alone).

There isn't anything unusual going on, regarding earthquakes and volcanoes. Just business as usual for our planet. That's simply the truth.

And, as has been said again and again, volcanoes/earthquakes/tsunamis/whatever do not have anything to do with the year 2012. The doomsday claims about 2012 are clearly and plainly wrong. It is all a hoax.

You have to ask yourself, why do you want to believe the doomsayers and crackpots. Why do you want to believe in this 2012 stuff? What are you getting out of it?

---

One's convictions should be proportional to one's evidence. - Sam Harris

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 29 May 2010 08:41

Natalie, it only seems that way because there is unwarranted significance being assigned to events over the 2012 hysteria, primarily on the Internet and on the History Channel. In reality, the numbers of earthquakes and volcanoes so far this year are within annual averages. In terms of earthquakes, we're actually well below average right now, and so was last year.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Last edited on 29 May 2010 08:46 by TheGreatJuju Show more

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Angel (guest) 29 May 2010 19:07

I agree with Natalie. I mean, i understand that once you hear about the 2012 stuff you start looking for things to connect to it. But, at 24, I can't remember another year so riddled by natural disasters and now hurricane season is coming and they've predicted it will be terrible. Could the earthquakes and volcanoes be affected by the plates shifting for a reversal?? Guys, i hate to sound so crazy and like a broken record, but I'm scared. I don't want to just be gone in 2 years. i have so many plans that I'm worried i will never see come to light because of this crap. And I do mean CRAP!! It sucks to have something like this take over you and make you scared from day to day. Yes, death will come to us all, but I'm hoping to atleast be in my 80's….Are there any discussions about it in NC that I could attend??

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 30 May 2010 03:34

Angel, there are no more natural disasters this year so far than one would expect by looking at averages. I've given you the numbers. Right now, we are way behind the average number earthquakes. This year, we've had 7,317 earthquakes. Last year we had 14,792. Now look at the numbers before 2009.

2008: 31,777
2007: 29,685
2006: 29,568
2005: 30,478
2004: 31,194
…

You see, the perception that we are experiencing an unprecedented rash of earthquakes is simply not accurate. If anything, 2009 was a very calm geologic year, and 2010 is on track for more of the same—waaay off the pace in terms of the last decade (which is all that chart shows). The same is true for volcanoes, but they're harder to analyze in terms of specific events and trends because, as I mentioned earlier, some erupt constantly. Just keep in mind that there are as many as 20 active volcanoes at any given time, and an average of 50 to 70 per year.

http://www.volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?faq=03

I have no idea what you mean by "plates shifting for a reversal." Plates shift, yes, and that's what causes earthquakes. But reversals of the magnetic field take hundreds to thousands of years to occur. This isn't something that can happen tomorrow, next week, in 2012 or even in 2050. Try here, if you haven't already.

I'm sorry you're so worried and seemingly unconvinced by the information you've received here, but I really don't know what more to say.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Last edited on 30 May 2010 03:38 by TheGreatJuju Show more

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Astrogeek 30 May 2010 05:08

Hi Angel;

I want to zero in on one part of what you just said here:

… I can't remember another year so riddled by natural disasters …

What you are describing is your personal perception (or perhaps the expressed opinion of a third party) regarding the rate of natural disasters. In science we try to make observations that are quantifiable, so that it is not merely a matter of opinion, but rather an objective statement that can be judged as far as its truth of falsity.

A good example of this is the rate of earthquakes. A personal perception might be something like: "There have been a lot of earthquakes lately" whereas quantifiable observation is actually counting the number of earthquakes in a given time period, determining their rate, and then comparing the rate for that time period with other time periods, and determining the difference (if any). For example, a chart showing the number of earthquakes for a particular region, or for the world as a whole, over a period of time.

Where the a personal perception can be filtered by personal bias (for example a selection bias, as in counting the hits but ignoring the misses), the quantifiable observation seeks to eliminate personal bias, and record data and the methods of observation for future analysis and repetition.

When we look at the rates of natural disasters (in our example, earthquakes) from a neutral and quantified point of view, we find that there is not an increase in natural disasters, with one notable exception. The weather patterns are changing due to global warming, and there have been more active hurricane seasons recently. Of course, this has nothing to do with 2012, but is seized on by the doomsayers as an example of "things building up to 2012".

I hope you can see the differences between these two types of observation, and why one might be more accurate than the other.

---

"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Laura (guest) 30 May 2010 01:45

Hey guys!! i saw this thread so I emailed David morrison from NASA on the "Ask An Astrobiologist" page. I got a reply, but it was sent from an iPad and it was misspelled and it just said "The is no increase in natural disasters this years. please see posted replies." Then when I went to the webpage he didn't answer the question on there. Why didn't he go a little further into detail for me?? I told him in the email how worried I was by all of this and that was my answer??!?!?!?! I mean, I know he id probably burnt out on the 2012 stuff, but isn't the whole point of that site to help control fear and make people feel better and understand that it isn't real?

PS.. Where have Alene and AstroGeek been hiding??? :)

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Alene Y 30 May 2010 02:20

Hi Laura,
We're still around. In fact I answered this question in detail higher up on this page. See my answer to Angel. I imagine your answer from David Morrison was rather abbreviated because he has answered the same question countless times and he was directing you to his previous answer. I guess I'm sort of doing the same thing, but mine is on this page and I don't want to reconstruct it since it was just written yesterday.

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Astrogeek 30 May 2010 02:55

Hello again, Laura;

We're right here, but sometimes we have other things going on too. I spent the day today rebuilding a fence in my front yard. I'm tired, and sunburnt.

In reference to your question to David Morrison, I used the search box for "natural disasters" and found the following links:

http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=5452
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=10939
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=10682
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=5603
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=10609
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=10571

Hope these help you.

---

"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Alene Y 30 May 2010 03:12

Hey Astro! It looks like we've both been hard at it today. I was trying to set some concrete blocks with mortar at the side of my patio. I learned that they are a lot heavier (at least to me) than they used to be. I don't think I got it sealed well enough to stop the rainwater from running across the patio and into the garage.

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Astrogeek 30 May 2010 05:11

Yah…

I'll bet my day was more exciting. My son wanted to help. 4-year olds and hammers are not a good combination.

---

"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Alene Y 30 May 2010 05:31

Yes, yours sounds more exciting. I only had my two little dogs out there. They weren't much help and, fortunately, they didn't try. That does remind me of when my son was about 5 years old and was watching me fix the fence. He picked up the hammer and said, "I'm gonna hit myself in the head with this hammer." I said matter-of-factly, "It's going to hurt," and continued what I was doing. He didn't do it. I knew he wouldn't. He just wanted to see my reaction.

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Kevin (guest) 01 Jun 2010 07:20

So yesterday, May 31, there were 3 magnitude 6.0 earthquakes. I am aware of the fact that we haven't reached the "usual" amount of earthquakes per year yet. But if 3 magnitude 6 earthquakes happen in one day, we would soon exceed the annual average… I hope this is pure coincidence! I was also wondering if any one had an estimate of how often magnitude x.x earthquakes happen. For example, I remember seeing something like "one magnitude 7.0 - 7.9 earthquakes usually occur every 23.1231241 (i for got the exact number) days.

Thanks!

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 01 Jun 2010 08:38

But if 3 magnitude 6 earthquakes happen in one day, we would soon exceed the annual average…

Averages are routinely both exceeded and not met. That's why they're called averages. Three 6+ mag quakes in a day is not altogether unusual.

I hope this is pure coincidence!

Coincidence … how? I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Do you think three 6+ mag quakes in a day is somehow significant?

I was also wondering if any one had an estimate of how often magnitude x.x earthquakes happen.

You can see USGS table of averages here:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

Keep in mind that these are averages. By definition, some years will be higher while others will be lower.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Kevin (guest) 01 Jun 2010 10:50

I did think that 3 6+ mag earthquakes in a day is significant because of what's been talked about a lot these days. I am kind of worried or even scared, after all I do live in a earthquake prone area, Pacific west coast. I guess I'm just trying to find some sort of assurance that nothing related to the "end of the world" is going on! It seems to me that everytime I've finally convinced myself that nothing is wrong, something new pops up and makes me start worrying again. :(

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Richard (guest) 01 Jun 2010 17:08

I kind of have a follow up question on Kevins. I have came across numerous sites that claims that seismic activity is increasing, and just recently found this one: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/18/tech/main4191556.shtml. I know that CBS news pehaps isn't the most reliable source, but is there any truth to that claim? But even if there was an increase in seismic activity, isn't it likelly that this could be due to perfectlly normal tectonic movement that increases as polar ice etc melts? Oh perhaps that was a tad far-fetched but you know what I mean, even if we where to see an actual increase in seismic activity in the future there's probably no need to worry. Even I am having a hard time connecting this to an impending doomsday, it seems to me that this is something that perhaps is bound to happen eventually (increase in seismic activity that is). I am sorry that this post came of as speculative as usual, and perhaps we aren't seing an increase in seismic activity after all. But all that I am saying is that even IF we where to have an increase in M6 earthquakes in the comming years I don't see in what way that might be of importance to us, other than regarding earthquake awarness and such. I say, when we see an drastic increase in M7+ earthquakes (which we don't), or even M8+, that's when we should start to worry=)

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Richard (guest) 01 Jun 2010 17:25

Oh well, seems like I was quick to jump to conclussions again. Here is an more credible source (that doesn't inwoke global warming as the cause of seismic activity): http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/06/19/quake-n-bake-global-warming-causes-more-earthquakes/

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

TheGreatJuju 01 Jun 2010 20:26

Seismic activity increases and decreases all the time. As I explained to Kevin, an average means some totals will be higher while others will be lower. That's just how it is. You can view the totals here:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

Numbers don't lie, unless a liar makes up the numbers, but I have no reason to suspect the USGS of lying (and I'm a crazy libertarian who questions whether they should even exist). Their data can be too easily falsified.

That CBS article claims that earthquakes are more powerful, not more frequent. I'm not entirely sure how that conclusion was drawn, because the numbers of large quakes have remained in the vicinity of the mean, along with smaller ones, over this twenty-year span. Here is the same chart with numbers from the 1990s:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/info_1990s.php

The CBS article claims, "The research proves that destructive ability of earthquakes on Earth increases alarmingly fast and that this trend is set to continue, unless the problem of 'global warming' is comprehensively and urgently addressed."

Yet the USGS data shows no such rise in the numbers of powerful quakes, just totals distributed in the vicinity of a mean. Chalko seems to think "planetary overheating" is the cause of the energy increase, so maybe he's measuring something other than magnitude. I really don't know. I'm not a geologist. But you can see the numbers for yourself.

Also, I did some Googling in regard to Dr. Tom Chalko:

http://newsbusters.org/people/tom-chalko
http://selfhealing.net/
http://www.thiaoouba.com/seeau.htm
http://www.bioresonant.com/freedom.html
http://thefreedomofchoice.com/

Notably: "Dr Tom Chalko holds Master degree in engineering and a Ph.D. in physics (laser holography)."

He's not a geologist or geophysicist, either, and make what you will of his auras, astral travel and such.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Richard (guest) 02 Jun 2010 10:47

It seems that of all people, including Lieder and the others, this scientist acctually takes the cake when talking about falsified evidence. In the article it's stated that he used NASA's meassurments to reach his conclusion, which he didnt (he used a very flawed computer model made by another proponent of this theory). One other thing worth mentioning is that earthquakes, and overall temperature, seem to have been higher in early 1900 than it is now (according to USGS data). But that isn't something that Chalko want to acknowledge=) Overall, this theory has been so thouroghly debunked in credible science sites that it holds even less water than most 2012 theories…

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Kevin (guest) 02 Jun 2010 06:26

This maybe a little offtopic, but are sinkholes and earthquakes related?

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

seen2009 02 Jun 2010 16:04

but are sinkholes and earthquakes related?

Good question.

Sink Holes predominantly relates to water saturation and the type of geologic features are in the area/Mining and destabalizing water tables in Aquifers/Oil extraction.

Hm, I'd like to look into your question before specifically answering it.

Re: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Alene Y 02 Jun 2010 17:35

Hi Kevin,
Earthquakes can cause fissures, but I haven't found anything indicating that they can cause sinkholes. Most sinkholes occur where an empty area has been left underground without enough support left to hold it up permanently. This often happens where mines have been. My niece had a small sinkhole open up in her yard. It was where a coal mine had been underneath it. At a salt plant where I worked as Plant Chemist, a sinkhole more than 100 feet across (we never found out how deep) opened up behind the plant. It was a result of the entire salt dome having been removed many years before.