8.3 Earthquake in Kira, Kira -Solomon Islands

[captain58sailin]

This just in, there was an 8.3 earthquake in the Solomon islands, buckle up kiddies!

[JPA Cate]

Thanks for the headsup captain58. Lucky for us, the tsunami warning did not extend to this anchorage. The warning for PNG, Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu has been cancelled. (I googled it.)

Ann

[klmmicro]

These big quakes seem to be getting more frequent. Hope any damage is light.

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by klmmicro

These big quakes seem to be getting more frequent.

That is incorrect. On a geological time scale, which is only time scale that matters to the planet, quakes are getting less frequent (the movement of the tectonic plates is slowing down because the Earth is cooling down). Slower moving plates mean that more time is needed to build up the pressure which is released in a quake. On a human time scale, say, a generation, quake frequency is a mere coincidental number. We may have some years or decades with more, some with less, but it averages out over the millenia.


Onno

[StuM]

Originally Posted by klmmicro

These big quakes seem to be getting more frequent.

Possiibly:

Are large earthquakes increasing in frequency? | Earth | EarthSky

[Andrew Troup]

Downgraded to a 'mere' 7.6

Yikes. Not what they needed right now.

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by StuM

Possiibly: Are large earthquakes increasing in frequency? | Earth | EarthSky

Actually, the article states that the conclusion was that they are NOT increasing in frequency, at least that it cannot be proven statistically. This is to be expected, as 100 years of data on a geological time scale is about as accurate a measuring a persons heart beat for 10 seconds and trying to extrapolate if these beats are increasing or decreasing over the course of that person's lifetime.


Onno

[captain58sailin]

After I posted, this which I got from Bloomberg news, I went to the USGS site and they called it a 6, and the other news feeds call it a 7.6, who it right?

[BandB]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

After I posted, this which I got from Bloomberg news, I went to the USGS site and they called it a 6, and the other news feeds call it a 7.6, who it right?

It was a 9 if you were there and felt it and a 4 if you were on the other side of the world. Sort of like major vs. minor surgery. It's major when it's me and minor when it's you. Sometimes it's like the old parlor game to form a circle and whisper to the person beside you, then see how much the story had changed before it made it back around.

[delmarrey]

Actually there are earthquakes happening every day all day long. Some just bigger then others.

Earthquakes