Are there really more earthquakes these days?

Let's have a look:

Here's a nifty table from the USGS www.usgs.gov



Not really, apparently. So much for that...

The only difference is there happened to be a very densely populated spot where a big one happened

Wasn't there a huge Earthquake a few years back, but on the seafloor?

dozens of times here on DU. In fact, I seem to read it in every earthquake thread.

There are earthquakes occurring all the time. Only a few are memorable enough to become part of everyone's knowledge. Most go unnoticed and unremembered. That's why each new one seems like it's really, really unusual.

Having lived in California, I know that earthquakes are common. This USGS table just provides the evidence.

Some will be long presently, I am sure.

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl: :tinfoilhat:

We know that when the snow melts off mountains, there is small rise in elevation of the surrounding upper crust. It's not out of the question for changes in the weight of ice at the caps will cause the crust around it to react. We just don't know how much it will react.

Additional rainfall can lubricate a fault. A drought could have the opposite effect.

Correlation/causation is a bitch.

First, it is silly to discern geological trends based on a mere decade.

Second, if you were silly enough to do so, the chart would support the contention that there has been an overall upward trend in the number of earthquakes over the past ten years (excluding the partial current year, of course).

BTW, what does the red asterisk in 09 and 10 mean?

table and read the footnote there. At least, that's what asterisks usually mean in tables like this one.

As for your other question, you can find earthquake average counts, by magnitude, since 1900, here:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

earthquakes?

And averages do not reflect trends, particularly if those 'averages' are drawn from incomplete data, as the link itself admits to.

That's why they put that note there. Full disclosure.

2011 is on target to record the largest number of earthquakes in a single year for at least 12 years.

Research by Irish Weather Online, using data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), has found that earthquake activity (5.0-9.9 magnitude) from 01 January to 19 June 2011 is already exceeding the total annual seismic activity for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. 2011’s total number of recorded earthquakes is also expected to exceed the most seismically active year of the past 12 years, 2007.

A total of 1,445 earthquakes, ranging in magnitude from 5.0 to 9.9, have been recorded in the year up to 19 June. The total number of earthquakes recorded globally for the entire of 2007 was 2,270.

http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/earthquakesvolcanos/number-of-recorded-earthquakes-rises-sharply/20688.html


However, it's very important to note that the earth has cycles it goes through, and that includes increases and decreases in seismic activity. We are entering an active phase, but there are no indications that it will be a hyper-active phase.