How many freaking earthquakes have we had this year?
Apr 25, 2010
in
Earthquake Questions
It’s one after another……..the latest one was China.
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6 comments
No One Puts Baby In The Corner on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
yeah I know the Earth is splitting, there is a hole in the North pole
jo on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
I know, seems crazy…
Janellta on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
Too many and ice bergs melting.Lets keep green house gases down…
jelly ♥ вean on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
I know, I just ask my mom that question.
Fieq R on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
A lot.
They’re getting more frequent
Aj on April 25, 2010 at 1:47 am
The number and intensity of earthquakes is not increasing. Our ability to detect them is greatly increasing. They are also being reported by the news media more rapidly and covered more widely.
Earthquakes of the magnitude of the Haiti and Chile quakes happen on the average 2 to 3 times per year. It is just coincidence that these two occurred closely together. Disaster makes more exciting news than "Everything was calm and quiet today."
"The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant.
A partial explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to locate each year. This is because of the tremendous increase in the number of seismograph stations in the world and the many improvements in global communications. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more than 8,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by electronic mail, internet and satellite. This increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has allowed us and other seismological centers to locate earthquakes more rapidly and to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier years. The NEIC now locates about 20,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 50 per day. Also, because of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in the environment and natural disasters, the public now learns about more earthquakes.
According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 17 major earthquakes (7.0 – 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year."