Earthquake: Coincidence or a Corporate Oil Tragedy?

[Synnical]

http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10211&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported

December 27, 2004

By: Andrew Limburg
Independent Media TV

Now I don’t claim to be an expert on seismic activity, but there has been a series of events which led up to the 9.0 earthquake of the coast of Indonesia which can not be ignored. This all could be an enormous coincidence, but one must look at the information and choose for themselves whether there is anything to it.

On November 28th, one month ago, Reuters reported that during a 3 day span 169 whales and dolphins beached themselves in Tasmania, an island of the southern coast of mainland Australia. The cause for these beachings is not known, but Bob Brown, a senator in the Australian parliament, said "sound bombing" or seismic tests of ocean floors to test for oil and gas had been carried out near the sites of the Tasmanian beachings recently.

According to Jim Cummings of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, Seismic surveys utilizing airguns have been taking place in mineral-rich areas of the world’s oceans since 1968. Among the areas that have experienced the most intense survey activity are the North Sea, the Beaufort Sea (off Alaska’s North Slope), and the Gulf of Mexico; areas around Australia and South America are also current hot-spots of activity.

The impulses created by the release of air from arrays of up to 24 airguns create low frequency sound waves powerful enough to penetrate up to 40km below the seafloor. The “source level" of these sound waves is generally over 200dB (and often 230dB or more), roughly comparable to a sound of at least 140-170dB in air.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, these 200dB – 230dB shots from the airguns are fired every few seconds, from 10 meters below the surface, 24 hours a day, weather permitting.

These types of tests are known to affect whales and dolphins, whose acute hearing and use of sonar is very sensitive.

On December 24th there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake more than 500 miles southeast of Tasmania, with a subsequent aftershock 6.1 a little later in the morning that same day.

On December 26th, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck at the intersection of the Australian tectonic plate and the India tectonic plate. This is the devastating tragedy that we have all heard about. The UN is estimating that the death toll from the tidal waves will reach 44,000 souls.

On December 27th, 20 whales beached themselves 110 miles west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.

What is interesting about this is that the same place where the whale beachings have been taking place over the last 30 days is the same general area where the 8.1 Australian earthquake took place, and this is the same area where they are doing these seismic tests. Then 2 days after the Australian tectonic plate shifted, the 9.0 earthquake shook the coast of Indonesia.

A great deal of interest and seismic testing has been taking place in this area, as the government of Australia has given great tax breaks to encourage the oil exploration.

We will be following up on this story as more information is gathered.

[HEyHEY]

1. Breaks one of the first rules of Journalism in the first sentence

"Now I don’t claim to be an expert on seismic activity"

If you don't know what you're talking about - don't talk let alone make accusations.

Indy media is often a joke.

[JVS]

19. "I claim to be an expert on seismic activity, and..." would be much better

[shady lane]

2. This earthquake released as much energy as a million atomic bombs

Are we really going to believe that soundings for oil are going to set off an earthquake that has enough force to wobble the earth in its orbit?

Is that were this is going because I just don't think that is plausible. Look at all the earthquakes that have happened before we were looking for oil.

If in fact there is some evidence that we set them off, others will argue that setting these earthquakes off early prevents a larger more damaging earthquake down the road.

It is one of those "there is no winner" arguments.

Bottom line: mankind is here, we are dominant, we will impact the world, the world goes on.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

10. Just playing Devil's advocate - "a million atomic bombs"

is that right?

[The Magistrate]

36. Pretty Much, My Friend

The amount of energy involved in a level nine Richter event would make the simultaneous detonation of all nuclear weapons extant today seem a sizeable firecracker by comparison. Somewhere else on this forum someone has been trying to argue nuclear testing caused this, which sufficiently absurd, but now we have someone attempting to convince others it was done by "sound gun" detonations, which is beyond absurd.

One point worth mentioning about beached whales. While seismic echo mapping gear doubtless does them harm, major earthquakes are generally preceeded by a good deal of vibration in the rock, and this might well set up vibrations in the water the delicate hearing of the animals would find maddening and intolerable and disorienting.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

39. Are you suggesting that observation of cetacean behavior could be a sign

for tsunami detection? That would be VERY interesting indeed.

[InvisibleBallots]

I wonder about the nuclear tests just done by Russia

I wonder if an underground nuclear test could produce just enough to trigger a quake?

[Ian David]

4. UC Berkeley Seismological Lab: Nukes and Earthquakes

Can a nuclear explosion trigger an earthquake?
On January 19, 1968, a thermonuclear test, codenamed Faultless, took place in the Central Nevada Supplemental Test Area. The codename turned out to be a poor choice of words because a fresh fault rupture some 1200 meters long was produced. Seismographic records showed that the seismic waves produced by the fault movement were much less energetic than those produced directly by the nuclear explosion.

Analysis of local seismic recordings (within a couple of miles) of nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site shows that some tectonic stress is released simultaneously with the explosion. Analysis of the seismic wavefield generated by the blast shows the source can be characterized as 70-80 percent dilational (explosive-like) and 20-30 percent deviatoric (earthquake-like). The rock in the vicinity of the thermonuclear device is shattered by the passage of the explosions shock wave. This releases the elastic strain energy that was stored in the rock and adds an earthquake-like component to the seismic wavefield.

The possibility of large Nevada Test Site nuclear explosions triggering damaging earthquakes in California was publicly raised in 1969. As a test of this possibility, rate of earthquake occurrence in northern California (magnitude 3.5 and larger) and the known times of the six largest thermonuclear tests (1965-1969) were plotted and it was obvious that no peaks in the seismicity occur at the times of the explosions. This is in agreement with theoretical calculations that transient strain from underground thermonuclear explosions is not sufficiently large to trigger fault rupture at distances beyond a few tens of kilometers from the shot point.

The Indian and Pakastani test sites are approximately 1000 km from the recent Afghanistan earthquake epicenter. The question that has been asked is whether or not the occurrence of these nuclear tests influenced the occurrence of the large earthquake in Afghanistan. The most direct cause-effect relationship is that the passage of the seismic waves, generated by the thermonuclear explosion, through the epicentral region in Afghanistan somehow triggered the earthquake. For example, following the occurrence of the magnitude 7.3 Landers earthquake in southern California on June 28, 1992, the rate of seismicity in several seismically active regions in the western US, as far as 1250 km from the epicenter, abruptly increased coincident with the passage of the earthquake generated seismic wavefield through each site. The abrupt increases in seismicity occurred primarily in regions of geothermal activity and recent volcanism. The mechanism by which this occurred remains unknown.

The Afghanistan earthquake occurred at 06:22:28 UT on May 30, 1998 and the thermonuclear test most closely associated in time occurred at 06:55 UT or after the occurrence of the earthquake. The other nuclear tests occurred 2-20 days before the earthquake. The elastic strains induced in the epicentral region by the passage of the seismic wavefield generated by the largest of the nuclear tests, the May 11 Indian test with an estimated yield of 40 kilotons, is about 100 times smaller than the strains induced by the Earth's semi-diurnal (12 hour) tides that are produced by the gravitational fields of the Moon and the Sun. If small nuclear tests could trigger an earthquake at a distance of 1000 km, equivalent-sized earthquakes, which occur globally at a rate of several per day, would also be expected to trigger earthquakes. No such triggering has been observed. Thus there is no evidence of a causal connection between the nuclear testing and the large earthquake in Afghanistan and it is pure coincidence that they occurred near in time and location.

One last point. The largest underground thermonuclear tests conducted by the US were detonated in Amchitka at the western end of the Aleutian Islands and the largest of these was the 5 megaton codename Cannikin test which occurred on November 6, 1971. Cannikin had a body wave magnitude of 6.9 and it did not trigger any earthquakes in the seismically active Aleutian Islands.

Suggested reading: "Nuclear Explosions and Earthquake, the Parted Veil", by Bruce A. Bolt, W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 1976.

http://www.seismo.berkeley.edu/seismo/faq/nuke_2.html

[Maple]

8. Rubbish

The Philippines and China just had quakes, and yet we're told they're 'not connected' to the Sumatra one.

Of course they are. It's all one planet.

One Sumatra earthquake can affect the planet's tilt...but not earthquakes in nearby countries??

Trigger points are touchy things...some don't work, others are hair triggers.

Scientists can't even predict them. They're just being silly by insisting large explosions, or other quakes can't set them off. They simply don't know.

[jdj]

26. yes we can believe in cause and effect when it comes to the

economy, but not when it comes to the physical properties of matter...the market is guided by an invisible hand, but waves traveling through the earth aren't real.

and so on.

[Tinoire]

29. Yep: Vibrations From Indonesian Quake Felt In Oklahoma

Vibrations From Indonesian Quake Felt In Oklahoma
Geological Survey Records Shockwaves From Massive Quake

POSTED: 1:36 pm CST December 28, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Jolts from the enormous earthquake in Indonesia that killed thousands were felt in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey in rural Tulsa County recorded shock waves from the 9.0-magnitude quake beginning at 7:13 p.m. Saturday, 15 minutes after the temblor occurred beneath the Indian Ocean.

The largest waves, with a .12-inch vertical movement in Oklahoma, were logged at 7:36 p.m., local time.

(snip)

The large waves felt in Oklahoma may have caused water in Oklahoma ponds and lakes to slosh back and forth slowly, a motion called a seiche, Lawson said. It also may have caused some tall buildings in the state to sway slightly, he said.

Neither phenomenon had been reported as of Monday afternoon, Lawson said.

"If it had been in the middle of the day, I'm sure there would have been hunters and farmers out seeing their ponds moving around a little bit," Lawson said. "It's probable that it happened."

(snip)

http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/4030044/detail.html

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

34. Duh.

Earthquake waves, like... travel through the earth... and stuff.

[Tinoire]

40. and stuff

:eyes:

Would a poster of your eloquence kindly elaborate on "stuff"?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

41. Sarcasm.

I was merely suggesting that the fact that the earthquake was felt in Oklahoma was irrelevant to, well, pretty much any discussion of the causes of the earthquake.

[Tinoire]

42. Whew

I'm getting a little touchy right now. My apologies and thank you for dealing with that gracefully!

[rustydad]

43. How about a fart?

Every earthquake is preceded by something. The truth is it take hundreds or thousands of years for the stress between plates moving in different directions, either up/down or side to side or both, to produce the stress that eventually has to be expressed by a dramatic movement along a fault. Just stomping your foot could be the trigger. In any case the quake was inevitable. Nothing coud stop it and nothing could cause it to happen prematurely. Bob

[Maple]

5. How about North Korea

No one knows what they're doing most of the time

[Ian David]

3. Oh, come on. That's just silly.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. This quake was caused by long-range planetary plate movement

Not by global warming or pollution or man-made explosions. All of those are separate disasters.

[Maple]

9. Not separate...it's one planetary system

Everything affects everything else.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

35. That's just babble.

Sure, everything has an effect on everthing else. However, you chose not to quantify those effects, but to make a silly blanket statement which offers no proof. So... ?

[evolvenow]

7. Excellent post! When I saw the beachings I began to search for Sonic Tests

in the area. Beachings are horrific and anomalous behaviour for whales and dolphins...so that is a huge indication that something is disturbing the ocean environment on a massive level.

You can look at natural causes + all of the man-made insanity= sonic testing, nuclear testing, global warming, melting of Antartica putting huge pressure on plates, and easily see that it is all responsible for the devastation that has happened.

Enough with the @#$%^!!! oil industry...can we please begin acting like this is the planet we live on and STOP Destroying everything on it!!!!!!

[Ian David]

11. The one thing we can't screw-up are the tectonic plates

The rest of it we are guilty as charged.

[Lenape85]

12. I agree

We need to consider what consequences can come from such things.

[Lenape85]

13. I agree

We need to consider what consequences can come from such things.

[jdj]

27. another beaching today. but these animals were dead, I

think they were sperm whales already expired.

Mid-frequency navy sonar or something, because human scuba divers survived the tsunami in s.e. asia...what is the effect of m.f. sonar on humans?

[EC]

14. Well, I've had several ?'s about it

where does the vault line start? Could all the bombing in Iraq have cracked open parts of the vault? And one no-one takes seriously, what fills the void when the oil is removed or does it remain a hollowed out cavern under the earth?

[pmbryant]

15. 500 miles. Ludicrous.

That's not exactly next door.

And the Sumatra earthquake is much farther away from Tasmania than even that. (Several thousand miles, likely).

This is ludicrous.

EDIT: It is perhaps plausible that the acoustic soundings near Tasmania have some impact on the whale beachings on Tasmania. But bringing up far-away earthquakes just destroys any credibility the author may have had.

--Peter

[Egalitariat]

22. He didn't start with much credibility...

"I don't claim to be an expert on Seismic Activity" means stop paying attention when this guy starts talking about seismic activity.

There are enough "experts on seismic activity" in all of the world's developed countries that this guy could have easily called one of them to check his story.

This is a joke.

[jubatus]

44. 500 miles not ludicrous

As a scientist myself I would like some further information about the potential effect of infrasonic waves on seismic activity from experts in this field. Obviously sound bombing for oil on the sea floor may have infrasonic effects 1000's of km away from the original source (see excerpt below) however the question is how do these infrasonic waves compare to those produced by natural phenomenon (other than seismic events) on a regular basis? This information is needed before you can speculate that the sound bombing might have been a catalyst for a catastrophic cascade effect resulting in the seismic event that produced the tsunami. AS for the effect of the sound bombing on cetacea species - yes infrasonic waves resulting from underwater explosions will have a detrimental effect on their ability to navigate.
Below is from a web article
"Due to very favourable transport properties in the large ocean basins the detection of explosions in the oceans is very effective. The sound velocity minimum in the oceans, along which the sound waves are trapped, is called the SOFAR channel (Sound Fixing And Ranging).
...... Explosions of only a few kilograms of chemical explosives can be detected over thousands of kilometres. Experiments have demonstrated this extraordinary fact. Many states make use of it to detect and locate submarines. ....

It is relatively easy to identify an explosion under water because the signal is characterised by a clear oscillation called bubble-pulse. The bubble-pulse is caused by the evaporated water, expanding and contracting, under the influence of hydrostatic pressure. The noise that might influence the system are explosive signals of short duration originating from earthquakes and chemical explosions at sea, such as explosions detonated during geophysical surveys to determine crustal structure for oil"

[illflem]

16. Now I don’t claim to be an expert on seismic activity either

but it's long been my feeling that oil is where it is in order to lubricate the continental plates as they slide. Mankind's continued removal of this lube oil will cause more violent earthquakes as the plates catch and grind to eventually give way all at once, much like a rusty hinge.

How's that? better than Andrew Limburg?

[toymachines]

17. now i like that idea

but anything to back it up with?

[uncle ray]

20. does this help?

i consider it food for thought. i'm not suggesting we purposly caused sunday's earthquake. i post this as something to make you think.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBVV280K1E.html

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - A federal facility that pumps salty water 14,000 feet into the Earth's crust probably is associated with a magnitude 3.9 earthquake that struck the Utah-Colorado border this month, an official said.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation facility removes salt from the Dolores River, then pumps 230 gallons of brine per minute into deep wells in Utah's Paradox Valley Area.

The process is intended to decrease the salt content of the Colorado River downstream, but scientists say it also lubricates faults.

The facility has caused thousands of earthquakes in the area since 1991, but most have been too small for people to feel. The 3.9 quake, which struck Nov. 6, was felt in Grand Junction, some 60 miles away. No damage was reported.



make of it what you will, call me a tinfoil hatter, but if a few hundred gallons of brine being pumped into the earth can cause earthquakes, well then, what else can?

[evolvenow]

21. Agree, plus I guess thermal qualities are being disturbed too. Oy!!

[yardwork]

18. Blame overdevelopment of the coastline for the deaths

The crust of the earth moves around. Always has and always will. What's new is that development interests are jamming resorts, high-rise hotels, roads, and strip shopping centers right on the beach all over the world. This means enormous human and environmental tragedy when a tsunami occurs.

[illflem]

23. People like living next to water

most often the most dangerous places to be. Look around and you'll find the highest land values are often next to lakes, rivers and oceans.

[nascarblue]

24. With all that Bush has done, I'm not surprised...

..That people would be suspicious. If there was an unnatural reason, you know we'll never hear about it. If you go to this link and watch this documentary, I guarantee you won't put it past Bush and Co.

http://911busters.com/911-Commission.html

And watch this US banned documentary " The Oil Factor" narrated by Ed Asner.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/22/143233&mode=thread&tid=25

[Tinoire]

32. Thanks for those links. n/t

[Minstrel Boy]

25. SF Chronicle, Dec 10: "Puzzling vibrations baffle researchers"

Tremors rock earth deep beneath San Andreas Fault -
Puzzling vibrations baffle researchers

Mysterious tremors deep beneath the San Andreas Fault near the quake-prone town of Parkfield are shaking the earth's brittle crust, far below the region where earthquakes normally strike -- and scientists say they can't understand what's happening or what the motions mean.

Seismic researchers are monitoring the strange vibrations closely. But whether the faint underground tremors -- termed "chatter" by some seismologists -- portend an increased likelihood of a major quake in the area is an unsolved puzzle.

Robert Nadeau, a geophysicist at the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, charted more than 110 of the faint vibrations since they were first detected by the lab's High Resolution Seismic Network in Parkfield three years ago. What concerns Nadeau and his colleagues is that the epicenter of the great 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, whose magnitude has been estimated at 7.8 to 8, was located almost exactly where the deep tremors are now occurring -- beneath the San Luis Obispo County village of Cholame, some 17 miles south of Parkfield.

The episodes of chatter last from four to 20 minutes and are being recorded from as deep as 40 miles beneath the surface -- up to four times the depth of normal earthquakes, which originate in what scientists call the "seismogenic zone." That zone reaches no deeper than 9 or 10 miles below the Earth's surface. What's most striking is that deep tremors like the Cholame series have never been recorded before on a strike-slip fault such as the San Andreas, Nadeau said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/12/10/TREMORS.TMP&type=science

[EC]

28. That's it

They're testing those new bunker nukes they wanted so badly....

[Tinoire]

30. Don't even joke

I honestly put nothing past First World governments and don't like to think of it.

You don't develop these toys and not test them. That's like asking Julia Childs to bake a cake and not taste it.

[Tinoire]

31. 12/27 not unconvinced Don't even want to think about it n/t

[Dover]

33. Question: do large oil deposits act like a lubricant between plates?

I've always wondered what the effects of extracting so much oil was.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

37. Oil and water can act as lubricants...

...but in general, they don't make much of a difference unless they're injected into places where they previously didn't exist. There's no correlation between the location of oil and fault boundaries. The type of plate boundary that caused the recent unpleasantness is already full of water anyway, carried down into the trench by the subducting plate. It's not really relevant in this case.

[Dover]

38. Thanks for explaining that!