Earthquake swarms..

Summary:

I've been extremely worried about the number of earthquakes here in the US.

Earthquake swarms..

Amanda (guest) 17 Feb 2011 02:18

Hello,

I've recently been reading a few news articles, as well as hanging around forums that include great detail about New Madrid Fault Line. I'm not quite sure you all could answer this, or if anyone could even answer this regardless of the amount of knowledge; There have been massive swarms of earthquakes in Arkansas, I'm just worried if that will trigger the New Madrid Fault to let out "the big one" or possibly even a massive Yellowstone eruption? Apparently the amount of earthquakes was hardly even recognizable, and now there's like 500 coming out of nowhere! Could you tell me if this is a sign of anything..? I can't stop panicking.

Re: Earthquake swarms..

TheGreatJuju 17 Feb 2011 05:05

There have been massive swarms of earthquakes in Arkansas

Earthquakes in Arkansas aren't unusual, especially around the New Madrid region. The recent quakes have been around a small town called Guy, which is in the north-central part of the state, some distance from New Madrid, most of them very small. The tremors don't appear to have anything to do with any fault, but rather seem related to salt water disposal wells in the area. Investigation is ongoing, but this is hardly a concern aside from bothering the people in the area who aren't used to this sort of thing.

FWIW, I live in Arkansas, and it's not a big deal here except around that one town.

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

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Earthquake swarms..

Alene Y 18 Feb 2011 06:02

Hi Amanda,
The Arkansas Geological Survey thinks that these earthquake swarms may be caused by injection wells operating in the area. To get rid of the frack water from natural gas wells, they force it into the ground. They say that the quakes may be caused by this or they may just be the normal quake swarms that happen from time to time. When specifically asked if this could cause quakes in the New Madrid Fault, they said no, it couldn't.
As for a massive Yellowstone eruption being caused by quakes in Arkansas, no. Earthquakes don't cause volcanic eruptions, especially in a volcano probably 1500-1800 miles away (that distance is just an estimate off the top of my head). Volcanoes can cause quakes in the area immediately around the volcano, not 4 states away. You need to stop taking perfectly normal occurrences and trying to make them mean something. They don't. The Earth is doing what it's always done. You just weren't aware of it before.

Re: Earthquake swarms..

Emperor Palpatine 17 Feb 2011 03:08

Hello Amanda,

There is nothing unusual about the earthquakes going on. The reason there seem to be more is because they are recorded more often nowadays. I don't know much about the New Madrid Fault (I will let someone else answer that) but Yellow Stone isn't expected to erupt until a long time.

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Everything is proceeding as I have forseen. Wait… when did that happen?

Amanda (guest) 17 Feb 2011 04:11

I understand that we have far better technology now, therefore we hear about earthquakes and natural disasters more often now.. It's truly not a matter of it being recorded and broadcast-ed, I suppose. There have been many speculations, and people claiming that the area around New Madrid is acting a bit strange. (Although, I know you said you wouldn't really be able to answer things about the fault) Is there any way to tell if there is any signs we can look for to determine if "the big one" is coming - if it is..? (Regarding earth quakes) I appreciate anyone taking the time to answer my questions.

TheGreatJuju 17 Feb 2011 05:07

and people claiming that the area around New Madrid is acting a bit strange.

What people? I've seen a lot of people on this board and in other places getting hysterical over earthquakes in general, but I haven't heard anything in particular about New Madrid. Since I live nearby, you'd think I would have if that were true, never mind that I would probably notice firsthand.

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

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Tomy2011 17 Feb 2011 15:10

There have been many speculations, and people claiming that the area around New Madrid is acting a bit strange.

No, it's not. Since 1974 (when they installed instruments in New Madrid), more than 4000 earthquakes have been recorded, with an average of one earthquake per year is large enough to be felt.¹

Is there any way to tell if there is any signs we can look for to determine if "the big one" is coming - if it is..?

In 1811-1812 many strong earthquakes happened in New Madrid (~7.2-8.2, 7.0-8.0 and 7.4-8.6), with hundreds of aftershocks. USGS is pretty concerned with the possibility of a earthquake like 1811-1812, within the next 50 years, but the probability is pretty small (10%).

¹. New Madrid Seismic Zone - Wikipedia.org

Last edited on 17 Feb 2011 15:11 by Tomy2011 Show more

Amanda (guest) 17 Feb 2011 23:42

Thank you for that article, I found it helpful. Although it says there's only a 10% possibility, could that.. be wrong? I'm sorry for all the questions, I've just confided in this site quite a bit to help ease my fears. I know it's not a very good reference, but I know people in the area where the earth quakes have been taking place, and they've noticed that there's hardly any animals (birds, deer, etc) plus there's been crazy weather. Referring that this could possibly be the "quiet before the storm"…. :(

Tomy2011 18 Feb 2011 00:02

Although it says there's only a 10% possibility, could that.. be wrong?

Of course, it could be 5% or… 2%. But could be 20% or 30%… nothing is for sure, but the probability of a strong earthquake within the next year is very low. Do you live near New Madrid Seismic Zone? Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee or Mississippi?

there's been crazy weather. Referring that this could possibly be the "quiet before the storm"….

Sometimes the weather gets crazy, it's normal. The weather doesn't follow a pattern.

Amanda (guest) 18 Feb 2011 00:18

That's the really.. retarded part of this whole thing, no I don't live in that area. I live in Virginia. I just feel like there's something wrong with this picture..

TheGreatJuju 18 Feb 2011 01:13

I live in the area, and there's nothing wrong here. Well … nothing wrong related to earthquakes, at least.

The bizarre weather we've had across the U.S. lately is due to a phenomenon called La Niña. It can have a number of different effects on conditions, and they aren't always the same from cycle to cycle. It's a completely normal aspect of our planet, even if the weather it causes can seem unusual.

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/44401/year-of-extremes-strongest-la.asp

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

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Last edited on 18 Feb 2011 01:14 by TheGreatJuju Show more

Alene Y 18 Feb 2011 06:15

Hi again, Amanda,
I live in Eastern Missouri and my daughter lives in North Central Arkansas. I'm not worried. I lived down there for about five years, so I don't remember what year it was, but we had a few quakes. I only felt one of them, while my husband and daughter were sitting there with me and felt nothing. It was reported on the news, otherwise they might have convinced me that it was my imagination. Anyway, that is just so you can see that quakes in Arkansas are nothing new.