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World War II-era oil pumping under Los Angeles likely triggered a rash of mid-sized earthquakes in the 1930s and 1940s, potentially leading seismologists to overestimate the earthquake potential in the region, according to new research published in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
Six independent earthquakes and two aftershocks of magnitude 4.4 to 5.1 shook L.A. between 1935 and 1944, a rate of about one every two years. The area also experienced a higher rate of low-intensity earthquakes during that time frame. After 1945, the rate dropped to one moderate earthquake every seven years.
The new study re-examined historical information about the earthquakes from archived newspaper reports of earthquake damage, postcard questionnaires collected by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and other sources pulled from old files and the dusty corners of cyberspace.
The authors used this information to refine the earthquake locations identified by early earth-motion sensors. The first seismometers in the United States began monitoring earthquake activity in the L.A. region in 1932. It is known that these early instruments could err in locating earthquake epicenters by tens of miles because of the limitations of their clocks, and because the low-sensitivity instruments were so few, according to the study's authors. Extrapolation of earthquake location from seismometer recordings relies on accurate time measurements.
The oil companies active at the time associated their activities with increased earthquakes, because the quakes would often sever pipes and shutdown production for months.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Tuesday November 20 2018, @06:32PM (8 children)
So California isn't going to fall into the sea then?
Personal anecdote: although I have lived in CA for 20 years, the most powerful earthquakes I have actually felt have been in other countries.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday November 20 2018, @06:53PM (4 children)
Possibly not, but t there is still a 0.00014% [express.co.uk] chance the Yellowstone supervolcano will cover most of the US in ash.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Archon V2.0 on Tuesday November 20 2018, @07:12PM
> Possibly not, but t there is still a 0.00014% [express.co.uk] chance the Yellowstone supervolcano will cover most of the US in ash.
Aw, man, and today would be the day I forgot to bring my d714285.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Tuesday November 20 2018, @07:14PM
Ah, the Supervolcano. The thing about that is that it will equally affect Red-state hell-holes just as much (if not more than) as liberal paradises.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday November 20 2018, @07:20PM (1 child)
0.00014% chance over what timespan? If that's for the next hundred years then, cool. If that's for the next million years, I call B.S. and if that's for the next second, we're all doomed.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 22 2018, @04:33PM
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Tuesday November 20 2018, @07:52PM (1 child)
Only 20 years? That means you missed the Loma Prieta Earthquake by only 9 years, and if you are in Southern California, the Northridge Earthquake by only 4 years. There are several smaller quakes almost every day in the state. Just go to https://earthquake.usgs.gov/ [usgs.gov]
There you can use the interactive map to see latest quakes and quakes in the last week, month or year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Northridge_earthquake [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake [wikipedia.org]
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Tuesday November 20 2018, @08:02PM
Actually, by only a week or so: I travelled to the Bay Area for a business trip just a week or so after the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
I did feel the Napa earthquake in 2014, but it was not the largest that I have felt ("largest" measured by how much the ground moved where I was).
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Wednesday November 21 2018, @06:34AM
Well, with all the recent efforts by the energy industry and right-wing jackoffs to start up new drilling and injection fracking here in California, we're not safe yet.
In my little Central Coast town, Chevron just spent $11,500,000.00 in a district of maybe 150,000 voters to kill an anti-fracking measure. They've got all the guns out now. We can't sleep on these bastards.
You are still welcome on my lawn.