Earthquake in Alaska

"A major earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 has rocked remote portions of Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The USGS issued, then canceled, a tsunami warning for Alaska's Aleutian Islands. It also lowered the magnitude to 6.8."

Click here for more details.

ASTOUNDING INFORMATION!

"The quake was a global-scale event, shifting the axis of the entire earth by four inches." Click here for details.

The earthquake moved the Japanese coast eight feet. Click here for more information.

8.9 Earthquake Hits Japan, Tsunami Warnings Issued for U.S.A.

Click here for details of Earthquake.

Click here for U.S. Tsunami Warning.

Did you feel it map:

New Zeeland Earthquake

Click here for more details.
And here.

Earthquakes Continue in South Pacific

Santa Cruz Islands Earthquake



"Another large earthquake in the Vanuatu region. This 7.7 earthquake occurred near the Santa Cruz Islands on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 9:18 AM local time. It was located on the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates. A tsunami watch was issued but canceled."

Click here for details.


Vanuatu Earthquake



"A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Torres Islands, Vanuatu area on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 09:03 AM local time. The earthquake occurred near the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates."

Click here for details.


CNN Reports on South Pacific Earthquakes



Click here for details.

USGS Podcast on Samoa/Sumatra Earthquakes

"Two large earthquakes have hit the Pacific. Harley Benz, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, talks about the quakes' damage, their relationship to one another, and what USGS scientists are doing in the aftermath."

Click here for USGS Podcast about the earthquakes.

Click here for more CoreCasts.

Click here for CoreFacts - a shorter version of a CoreCast.

Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone

"There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking."

Click here for the details.

Click here for the new August 2009 Fact Sheet.

Can a Large Earthquake Trigger Global Seismic Activity?

Indonesian Quake 9/30/09

In case you've been wondering just that as multiple Ring of Fire Earthquakes occur this week:

Click here for a World Map of this week's Earthquakes.

"U.S. seismologists have found evidence that the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. The results, which appeared in the journal Nature, suggest that the Earth's largest earthquakes can weaken fault zones worldwide and may trigger periods of increased global seismic activity."

Click here for details.

Click here for another article on how large quakes trigger more smaller quakes.

AND AS ALWAYS! I hope you are having your students chart worldwide earthquakes and volcanic eruptions during your school year! Take a few moments once a week to chart the week's tectonic activity. This one activity can unify many of your Earth Science course objectives!

IN THE NEWS:

Earthquakes with related Tsunamis in the Pacific Ring of Fire area. Here's a YouTube Fox News Update:



It's important to note that loss of life is now being reported.

Click here to read more about it in the New York Times.

Seattle Earthquake Video

From CNN:

Strong Gulf of CA Earthquake

How strong? 6.9, which is a HUGE quake by any standard.


Click the image for details.

Don't forget to go to the Did You Feel It? webpage of the USGS!

This shows what people felt in terms of both Richter and Mercalli scales.

Have your students record some recent ones and then use a Mercalli Scale to record what types of things they could have noticed in their area. Record on a Map.

Teachable moment! Grab it!

New Sensors along San Andreas Fault

A series of 17 earthquake sensors will soon be installed along the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault. The intent of this $670,000 project is to detect vibrations and transmit warning signals to cell phones, computers and other communication devices.
Click here for details.

World Stress Map

Neat world stress map available as a Pdf Poster. Great visual of major earthquake zones, volcanic regions, and best of all, where mountains are forming as well! See the stress in the US in the eastern and western mountain regions.

Click here to download the World Stress Map.

Los Angeles Earthquake

I figure you all know about the 4.7 earthquake that rattled the LA area yesterday.

Do you know about the "Did You Feel It?" page from the USGS Volcano website?

Click here to see how many people went to this page and reported having felt the quake. Apparently several thousand people reported to the USGS “Did you feel it?” page within twenty minutes of the earthquake.

Several maps show the intensity felt and the location of each "reporter." Fun to see if the maps indicate the location of the epicenter!

So, next time you feel a quake, go to this page and report what you felt!

And be sure to visit if you know a quake has occurred. Show your students what's going on in the World of Quakes!

Can Earthquakes Be Predicted?

USGS has a new Podcast on their site titled, "Can We Predict Earthquakes?"
Click here to download the mp3.
Might be worth listening to with your class and having them write a response.




Here is their Podcast on the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Italy last week.
(Click the above image to get info about this quake!)
Click here to download the mp3.





Also another neat USGS Podcast about the 2008 Illinois Earthquake.
(Click the above image to get info about this quake!)
Click here to download the mp3.

Earthquake Movie

Just found a fabulous Flash Movie on the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, called "Shock Waves."

Click here for a link.

This can be viewed Full Screen and would be wonderful to show on your SmartBoard. Right before I got a SmartBoard in my classroom, I had a computer hooked up to the Internet and a projection machine with a very large screen and I used that in a similar manner.

Would work great either way!

The movie is 46 minutes long. You could show parts each day. Or all at once.

From the USGS Site:

"This 46-minute film includes dramatic historical footage, colorful animations, and interviews with earthquake experts. The catastrophe of the great 1906 quake spurred a century of progress in earthquake science and engineering. Current and future research includes drilling through the San Andreas Fault at depth in the SAFOD Experiment. Learn what you can do to reduce the risk to yourself and family.

Shock Waves received recognition as an outstanding documentary at the 2006 Telly Awards and has been nominated for an Emmy."

CONSIDER THIS: Add this USGS Earthquake Film, "Shock Wave" to your Earthquake Unit.

FUN LINK: Click here for the main USGS video/animation page. Many wonderful things to project on your Smartboard or Big Screen.