Is a 10.0 earthquake actually possible?

[davenn]

A M10 is 5 times more powerful than the strongest quake on record, which was a 9.5 in San Francisco, which happened in 1906.

this is incorrect
The 1906 San Francisco quake was only around a 7.9

You really meant to say the Chilean quake of 1960 which was the Mw 9.5Dave

 

[RonL]

After reading through this article, I'm left wondering if there might be tremendous sized voids inside Earth's mantle, that if displaced in some way could allow major shifts in rock formations. Does anyone have ideas about this?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...ntains-taller-everest-lurk-deep-inside-earth/

 

[phinds]

After reading through this article, I'm left wondering if there might be tremendous sized voids inside Earth's mantle, that if displaced in some way could allow major shifts in rock formations. Does anyone have ideas about this?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...ntains-taller-everest-lurk-deep-inside-earth/

Given the pressure, it's hard to see how "voids" of any significant size could be sustained.

 

[DaveC426913]

Given the pressure, it's hard to see how "voids" of any significant size could be sustained.

Indeed. The fact that Earth's interior is heterogenous (like: having interior mountains) doesn't mean these structures are rigid and surrounded by voids. They simply are embedded in other likewise very dense - but perhaps more pliable - media.

Instead of ice cubes in a tumbler, think crunchy peanut butter.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Okay: re relieving pressure by making small quakes does NOT work to prevent bigger ones:
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/megaqk_facts_fantasy.php

PLEASE read the link before you post any more suppositions. Thank you.
Further ad hoc assertions will be moved the Earth's core.

Parts of this thread reminded me of why the USGS published this pop science version. Note 'facts and fantasy'

Have a nice day.

 

[BillTre]

Further ad hoc assertions will be moved the Earth's core.

Nice. Purgatory for posts!

 

[AndromedaRXJ]

Thinking historically about the most powerful earthquake causing events on Earth, I found this:

source:https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2010/03/04/asteroid-terminated-dinosaur-era-in-a-matter-of-days/

What about The Great Dying (Permian-Triassic extinction event)?

 

[jim mcnamara]

End Permian extinction.

Long term massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia which lasted for long periods:
https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/understanding-extinction/mass-extinctions/end-permian-extinction/
$CO_2$ levels rose enormously: ocean and ambient surface temperatures soared. Temperatures would have been high enough to kill off almost all land and marine plants, algae, and phytoplankton. 95% percent of marine species died off.

No asteroid collisions to blame.

 

[AndromedaRXJ]

End Permian extinction.

Long term massive volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia which lasted for long periods:
https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/understanding-extinction/mass-extinctions/end-permian-extinction/
$CO_2$ levels rose enormously: ocean and ambient surface temperatures soared. Temperatures would have been high enough to kill off almost all land and marine plants, algae, and phytoplankton. 95% percent of marine species died off.

No asteroid collisions to blame.

But were there 10.0 earthquakes during the Permian extinction?

 

[jim mcnamara]

I do not know. Paging @Ophiolite he may know definitively one way or the other.

 

[DaveC426913]

...definitively...

How old is he?

 

[Ophiolite]

I do not know. Paging @Ophiolite he may know definitively one way or the other.

I'm not current on the consensus of probable cause of the Permian extinction. I lean to environmental changes related to continental distribution, shallow water extent, ocean currents, atmospheric composition (not just CO2) etc. , but not a bolide impact. However, it is an interesting question - I'll see what I can turn up.

How old is he?

I do recall giving CPR, unsuccessfully, to the last trilobite.

 

[BillTre]

I do recall giving CPR, unsuccessfully, to the last trilobite.

 

[davenn]

But were there 10.0 earthquakes during the Permian extinction?

Not that I have every read about or was taught about at university
Why do you think that there may have been ?

 

[jim mcnamara]

I think that the question reflects a little misunderstanding. For an M10 earthquake on a slip strike fault to happen, the fault would have extend almost all the way around the planet. No such fault is known to exist.

From
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-megaq...s_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

No, earthquakes of magnitude 10 or larger cannot happen. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs. That is, the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake. A fault is a break in the rocks that make up the Earth's crust, along which rocks on either side have moved past each other. No fault long enough to generate a magnitude 10 earthquake is known to exist, and if it did, it would extend around most of the planet.

The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 on May 22, 1960 in Chile on a fault that is almost 1,000 miles long…a “megaquake” in its own right.

For a subduction fault zone the size would be smaller because the energy released (the M10 thing) is proportional to the surface where the faulting plates overlap. It still would be really unlikely.

The scale is a logarithmic one, so each magnitude step is 10 times greter than the previous one. So an M11 would require a larger Earth than we have.

 

[davenn]

I think that the question reflects a little misunderstanding. For an M10 earthquake on a slip strike fault to happen, the fault would have extend almost all the way around the planet. No such fault is known to exist.

From
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-megaq...s_science_products=0#qt-news_science_productsFor a subduction fault zone the size would be smaller because the energy released (the M10 thing) is proportional to the surface where the faulting plates overlap. It still would be really unlikely.

The scale is a logarithmic one, so each magnitude step is 10 times greter than the previous one. So an M11 would require a larger Earth than we have.

Yes, exactly, as I was trying to get across to readers way back in post #19 Dave

 

[jim mcnamara]

Well, @davenn, I'm not sure our effort will work. We can try. But. Were are fighting:

This is about the San Andreas fault system:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3488056/ How many people have read the USGS site versus how many have seen movies like the above?

 

[davenn]

I'm not sure our effort will work. We can try. But. Were are fighting:

This is about the San Andreas fault system:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3488056/

How many people have read the USGS site versus how many have seen movies like the above?

uh huh, it's an uphill battle to get the truth out to the masses

Dave

 

[Physics4Eva]

As said by the following website, an earthquake of magnitude 10 would need a fault extending around most of the planet:
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-megaq...s_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

 

[davenn]

As said by the following website, an earthquake of magnitude 10 would need a fault extending around most of the planet:
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-megaq...s_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

yes, as stated in previous posts

 

[Physics4Eva]

yes, as stated in previous posts

Sorry didn't look at any previous quotes LOL Too many

 

[davenn]

Sorry didn't look at any previous quotes LOL Too many

Ahhh ... something for you to get used to doing

welcome to PF Dave