Canary Islands: El Hierro Earthquake Swarms Increasing, Now Exceeds 4200 Quakes During the Past Five Weeks

“The number of daily earthquakes recorded on the smallest of the Canary Islands (Spain), El Hierro, has increased considerably in recent days. The Instituto Volcanologico de Canarias has also reported a 1cm inflation over part of the island’s volcano following on from GPS analysis.

The total number of tremors recorded during the past five weeks has now exceeded 4200, according to the Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN).

The majority of the earth tremors range between 1 and 3 magnitude. More than 431 earthquakes, including one measuring 3.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale, were recorded on Monday (22 August) alone.

The vast majority of the tremors have been recorded in the northwest of the 278.5-square-kilometre island at El Golfo, the location of a massive landslide that created a 100-metre high tsunami almost 50,000 years ago.

The earthquake swarm, prompted the Canary Islands Government to convene the first ever meeting on 22 July of the Steering Committee and Volcanic Monitoring, reflected in the Specific Plan Protection Civil and Emergency for Volcanic Risk, given what it described ‘the significant increase in seismic activity’. The Committee met again on Friday 29 July to discuss the low magnitude seismic activity. It reported that it had stepped up its seismic monitoring operations to identify the source of the earthquakes.

It remains unclear if the unprecedented seismic activity on El Hierro is a precursor to a possible future increase in earthquake or volcanic activity. However, the latest surge in recorded earthquakes and the inflation of the volcano could indicate magma rising underneath El Hierro.” Read more.

Strong 6.8 Earthquake Strikes Northern Peru

Fortunately, this one is rather deep …

Richter Magnitude 6.8 – NORTHERN PERU
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 12:46:11 PM
7.644°S, 74.506°W
Depth: 145.1 km (90.2 miles)
Read more.

Park Service: Washington Monument Now Closed Indefinitely After Crack Also Found On Lower Portion

“WASHINGTON — The National Park Service says engineers have found a crack near the top of the Washington Monument presumably caused by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the East Coast.

Park service spokesman Bill Line said Tuesday night that structural engineers found the crack where the 555-foot landmark narrows considerably.

He says the lower portions checked out fine earlier but later they found the crack. He says the monument will be closed indefinitely to keep the public safe.

An outside engineering service will study the crack on Wednesday. He says it’s too early to say what would be involved in fixing it.” Read more.

BP Oil Well Spewing Oil Again? Some Are Saying Yes, And It Cannot Be Stopped …

By Heidi Stevenson – “At the time BP finally capped the Macondo Well in the Gulf of Mexico, there were concerns that the process had damaged the seafloor. That fear is now materializing. BP’s Gulf Gusher may be spewing again—and if so, there is no way to stop it. It will continue until seafloor pressure and oil pressure have been equalized, which may take decades.

BP is aware. They’ve hired 40 fishing boats to string boom around the Deepwater Horizon site.

BP, of course, denies it. They claim to have sent several remote-controlled mini submersibles and concluded that the leak could not have come from their well. However, a United State Coast Guard undersea inspection at the site of the Macondo Well found that it was, indeed, leaking. They say that they have video footage of it. BP says it wasn’t oil—it was silt.

Oil is washing ashore in the same areas that were hardest hit last year. It has been tested and is clearly fresh oil from the Macondo well.” Read more.

Indonesia: Volcano Agency Warns of Likely Mount Papandayan Eruption

“Indonesia’s highly active Mount Papandayan volcano is in imminent danger of erupting, the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency warned on Wednesday.

The agency, known as the PVMGB, said it was likely the volcano in Garut, West Java, would erupt either before or just after Idul Fitri, which marks the end of Ramadan.

The prediction was based on the increasing activity of the volcano, the agency said on its Web site.

‘The volcano has more energy compared to its last eruption in 2002,’ agency head Surono said in Bandung, the provincial capital, on Tuesday.

Papandayan has shown an alarming increase in activities since the volcano’s status was raised to standby. Between Aug. 19 and 20, there were 45 earthquakes.

‘If the quakes increase to 60, an eruption will happen,’ he said. ‘If Papandayan erupts, the annual exodus [mudik] routes will be blocked and 16 subdistricts in Garut will be isolated.'” Read more.