Deep Earthquake In Spain Something of An Enigma



2010 April, 13th
Phil Butler
Phil Butler
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In environmental news, something of a seismic anomaly occurred yesterday in Spain. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck deep beneath Granada. While no damage or even significant ground shake were noted, the depth at 616 kilometers is a little enigmatic even according to the USGS. Deep quakes in this region have been recorded in the past, but this is 2010 – a time for anomalies.

Seismologists in Spain, and at the USGS associate this very deep seismic activity with a powerful earthquake which struck Spain in 1954. Besides that magnitude 7.1 event, earthquakes at this depth, in this region, are not all that common. One Spanish geologist, Spanish Geologist Luis Eugenio Suarez, predicted a month ago that a quake like that which devastated Chile would strike this region of Spain.

If you look at the occurrence map (above)  from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre you can see, not only is yesterday’s quake the largest in recent days, but it occurred deeper and a little outside other significant events. The depth being the most interesting variable. Several studies (PDF) have been conducted with regard to very deep, high magnitude quakes in the Mediterranean basin.  Counting yesterday, there have only been 4 such quakes in something like the last 125 years.

Other experts negated his theory based on the fact the Chilean event occurred in a high seismic occurrence area. However, the same geologists noted that Spain is struck about every 100 years or so with a forceful event. The last was over 120 years ago. So far no aftershocks have been felt by the people in the region, or registered at monitoring stations. We will keep you appraised via our USGS notification alerts.

About the Author

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Phil Butler is editor-in-chief of Everything PR and senior partner at Pamil Visions PR. He’s a widely cited authority on beta startups, search engines and public relations issues, and he has covered tech news since 2004. Phil wrote in the past for ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, Profy, SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, AltSearchEngines. Follow Phil on Twitter or send him an email at phil [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.

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There Are 4 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by sipnu2012 on 13 April 2010:

    could this be more evidence of 2012, please believe i want as many people to survive, believe.

    PS: 2012 is not the end just an era of great transformation, dont expect 2012 to be the end of the transformation (June 2012-June 2013)

  2. Comment by Heron232 on 14 April 2010:

    No, its not evidence of ’2012′, and its tiring to see alarmists jump at every quake the media mentions.

    Newsflash, we live on an active planet, with hundreds of earthquakes over 6.0M each year. Perhaps it seems like a lot more to the laymen due to the increased media scrutiny (and our ability to monitor such quakes better than ever before), but its business as usual for geologists around the world. Stop embarrasing yourselves.

  3. Comment by lossy on 14 April 2010:

    could this be a prelude to another offshore lisbon earthquake?

  4. Pingback by Steve Quayle’s World: It’s a Blast! | The Ruthless Truth blog on 25 April 2010:

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