7.9 Earthquake in Chile

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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I just got an email from the USGS about a 7.9 earthquake that happened about a half hour ago in Chile (South America). That's not good down there... the local/national media here is not covering it, but I found a Chilean Newspaper site that says in Spanish that there are landslides and great material damage, but no reports on loss of life yet, emergency services are overwhelmed.

http://www.elmostrador.cl/ Anybody speak Spanish?
 
Jeff Oslick said:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/uszgbu/

That's one big one and one local moderate (5.2 south of Palm Springs yesterday morning) since I started teaching earth science again last week.

Jeff
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Focus was 68+ miles deep, which is pretty deep. Other than local slumping I wouldn't expect significant wave beyond the area. But, waddaIknow?
 
Since the 7.0 on 12/22/04 < 7 sm from here we've had on average five 2.4 quakes/day with the bimonthly 4.0 or larger thrown in. Two 5.5 in the last 30 days. As long as it keeps shaking the less chance of a truly big one.
 
Richard said:
Focus was 68+ miles deep, which is pretty deep. Other than local slumping I wouldn't expect significant wave beyond the area. But, waddaIknow?
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It looks to me like this one was under the continent, not the ocean, but these can still potentially generate a significant tsunami if the quake causes a big offshore landslide.

Jeff
 
Richard said:
Since the 7.0 on 12/22/04 < 7 sm from here we've had on average five 2.4 quakes/day with the bimonthly 4.0 or larger thrown in. Two 5.5 in the last 30 days. As long as it keeps shaking the less chance of a truly big one.
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And I'll be camping next to the ocean next week....maybe. :eek:
 
Jeff Oslick said:
It looks to me like this one was under the continent, not the ocean, but these can still potentially generate a significant tsunami if the quake causes a big offshore landslide.

Jeff
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That's my point, it doesn't matter continental or oceanic the right combination of wave propagation from the quake and local stratigraphy or overlying terrain can produce slump. The fact that this one was deep greatly negates all that. Anchorage '64 was continental but focus was shallow.

The recent quake on the Mendocino escarpment (N CA coast) just proved my other point that I didn't mention. That about the type of fault involved. Strike/slip faults, while they usually feature shallow foci, are typically lateral, therefore are less inclined to produced slump which result in the devastating tsunamis which may result from thrust faults which may produce a more vertical subsidence. Either type will produce local damage but shallow focus on a thrust fault will produce largest amount of damage over a distance. Indo quake last December is an example of that.

In summary, all quakes are not the same; even quakes of the same Richter. This points to an inherent deficiency of the Richter Scale.

For you geologists, ametuer or professional, I invite you to come to my area. I'll give you a field tour of our world reknown subduction zone. You'll see Eocene volcanized shale and greenstone embedded in a Miocenic fine grain granitic matrix; you'll witness fractional crystallization of Cenezoic benthic sedimentary rock in Mesozoic feldspathic occlusions with graywacke schistose quartzites overlain by Jurassic clastic flows; you'll delight in Miocene pyroxene dikes intercalated with Recent breccia. I'll throw in the pillow basalt and volcanite outcroppings for free. If you can deduce a unifying theory of what has happened here you'll be greater than K.H. Tsu, whom I met right here on the melange.
 
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Richard said:
Where?

Wait a minute, you mean like AZ ocean front...after CA falls off?
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No, taking the new camper to Oceanside for work/play week.

If you're looking for me, I'll be the guy driving real slow in front of you. :D
 
Brian Austin said:
No, taking the new camper to Oceanside for work/play week.

If you're looking for me, I'll be the guy driving real slow in front of you. :D
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Nah, you're worst fear down there will be lack of parking space. (['round about midnight, sound of nightstick against aluminum] tap, tap, tap... Hey, buddy move it or I got to run you in.) You'll be coming over Hwy 8, I suppose. Mebbe 15, I don't know, but last time I went 15 to Feenix it scared the crap outta me.

Y'all be safe. School just let out, summer in SD County...have fun....and lot's of patience with the hordes.
 
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