Tectonic Activity

(Newser) - Wary scientists are keeping a close eye on developments in Yellowstone National Park after some 250 small quakes jolted the park within three days, AP reports. Yellowstone is no stranger to seismic activity but experts say the number of the quakes is hghly unusual and could signal something bigger brewing in the vast lake of magma that lies beneath the park. More »

(Newser) - Colossal, repeated volcanic eruptions in India 65 million years ago released sulfuric gases that sent the dinosaurs, well, the way of the dinosaurs, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A group of scientists at a Bay Area conference this week is questioning the decades-held theory that a meteor killed off dinosaurs. Crater theory proponents, meanwhile, say the Deccan volcanoes may have had an "interesting contributory role," but weren't the prime cause of extinction. More »

(Newser) - An estimated 5 million volunteers and emergency personnel participated in a huge earthquake drill in Southern California today, the Los Angeles Times reports. The “ShakeOut,” as it is known, was designed to raise awareness of the continued need for earthquake preparedness. California will almost certainly get hit with a quake of 6.7 magnitude or higher in the next 30 years, the Orange Country Register adds. More »

(Newser) - Geologists are hoping a huge party will shake some earthquake awareness into jaded Angelenos, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Great Southern California ShakeOut—an earthquake drill followed by a huge rally—is scheduled for Thursday morning and 5 million people have signed up so far, putting the event on course to be the biggest earthquake-preparedness event in history. More »

(Newser) - A 6.4 quake rocked southwest Pakistan early this morning, killing more than 135 people, AFP reports. Pakistan has sent troops to the region to provide assistance and expects the death toll to rise steeply. Most of the deaths were in remote villages in the Afghanistan border region, where mud huts collapsed and tremors sent boulders crashing down slopes. More »

(Newser) - On Surtsey, off Iceland's coast, scientists take life one species at a time, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Since the island erupted from the ocean in 1963, only researchers have been permitted to visit and catalog its colonization by external species. With 2½ acres of land eroding each year, they’re likely to be the only humans to see its wonders before the ocean reclaims it. More »

(Newser) - Seismologists have found a way to harness the power of a built-in feature of many laptops and create a new wide-ranging earthquake-detection system, the Economist reports. The "Quake-Catcher Network" capitalizes on laptops' accelerometers, little devices that detect when the computer is falling or shaken, to provide widespread—and highly sensitive—recordings of the earth's vibrations. More »

(AP) - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Canada's west coast today near Vancouver Island. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. The quake was the latest in a series of coastal tremors since Monday. Two quakes rattled the area yesterday, both with magnitudes of around 5. There have been 18 quakes with a magnitude greater than 4 in the region this week. More »