Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Reprint of Volcanic Article related to March 2011 japanese tsunami and quake

When I originally compiled this article I was fascinated by how the tectonic plates from Japan are connected to the U.S. off of Oregon. Since I live in California when the Santa Cruz, Harbor area was destroyed by the tsunami wave from Japan I could see how interconnected we all are in the Pacific region. Now, as debris piles up on shores from Alaska to California and possibly even points further south into Mexico and beyond I can see even more how interconnected we all are regarding what happened in the Japan quakes in March 2011 and all the aftershocks that continue to this day in Japan. Check out the plate map of the pacific region at the bottom of this page and you will see more of what I'm talking about here.

begin reprint:

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Recent Volcanic activity within the Cascadia Subduction Zone off of Oregon

The Silverthorne Caldera (see article Silverthrone Caldera British Columbia) in reference to the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

http://www.katu.com/news/tech/127335048.html

OSU scientists predict undersea volcanic eruption

By KATU News Published: Aug 9, 2011 at 2:37 PM PDT

CORVALLIS, Ore. – In the scientific quest to predict when and where a volcano will erupt, Oregon State University scientists say they have scored what essentially is a volcanic bull’s-eye.
According to a post on the OSU website, in 2006 a geologist at OSU and another at Columbia University predicted in a published article that the eruption of an undersea volcano off the Oregon Coast would take place by 2014.
Recent follow-up investigations at the site, known as the Axial Seamount, located 250 miles off the Oregon Coast, indicated an eruption had indeed taken place, albeit a bit before the 2014 deadline. Instruments indicated the eruption took place July 28, 2011.
“It’s funny,” OSU Geologist Bill Chadwick said on the website. “When we first arrived on the seafloor, we thought we were in the wrong place because it looked so completely different. We couldn’t find our markers or monitoring instruments or other distinctive features on the bottom. Once we figured out that an eruption had happened, we were pretty excited.
The last eruption at the location was in 1998. WATCH OSU VIDEO | WATCH IN HD
The two scientists predicted that when the sea floor returned to conditions noted previous to the 1998 event, another eruption would take place. Sensors and other equipment were placed at the site to monitor the sea floor.
Some of the sensors are identical to those used to detect tsunami, according to the team conducting the study. They predicted the sea floor would rise about 10 feet before the next eruption as magma below the ocean rose towards the opening at the Axial Seamount. Their prediction was borne out by the latest discovery.
The region off the Oregon Coast where the discovery took place is near the much larger “Cascadia Subduction Zone,” a highly volcanic region that many scientists say has the potential to trigger a massive earthquake measuring 9 or more that could trigger tsunami waves similar to those that devastated Japan last March.
The waves could reach the Oregon coast in minutes, leaving coastal residents little time to get to higher ground before many communities are inundated.
Chadwick and his associates will continue to monitor the area both for more volcanic activity and for the life forms that tend to congregate around the hot vents in the ocean that are heated by pools of liquid magma below the earth’s surface.
The exotic life that lives in the water near the vents, which can reach hundreds of degrees in temperature, include tube worms, fish, crabs and other creatures that have no exposure to regular sunlight. end quote.

I found it fascinating that researchers from Oregon State University were able to witness through their undersea robot and cameras and arms how there had been an eruption right around their instruments there 250 miles out to sea. As I researched all this more through referencing the Cascadia Subduction Zone info at Wikipedia and also the Silverthorne Caldera information at Wikipedia also, I was amazed how there has been an eruption undersea 250 miles off the coast of Oregon after the time of the Japanese plate shift and Tsunami this year and maybe even in reaction to it. "Instruments indicated the eruption took place July 28, 2011". It was great to see all the new undersea cooled lava there next to their research equipment and to see hot water spew from underground and deep under the ocean there venting unusual microbial life from deep within the earth that lives in very hot water usually deep within the earth and yet also under the ocean.

When I went to the OSU website (word button OSU) I found the following quote:

"It is now the only volcano on the seafloor whose surface deformation has been continuously monitored throughout an entire eruption cycle,” Nooner added.
The discovery of the new eruption came on July 28, when Chadwick, Nooner and University of Washington colleagues Dave Butterfield and Marvin Lilley led an expedition to Axial aboard the R/V Atlantis, operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Using Jason, a remotely operated robotic vehicle (ROV), they discovered a new lava flow on the seafloor that was not present a year ago." end quote.

To me, this means that the quake and volcanic activity could have occurred at the same time as the Japanese megaquake and Tsunami. This is possible because the Japanese megaquake and Tsunami were on the western side of the same "Pacific Plate". Since the plate shifted from Japan on the western side of the Pacific Plate it could have also created a shift at the Eastern side of the Pacific plate and caused this volcanic activity that is witnessed in this article. In other words the change was noticed on July 28th 2011, but it happened at an unknown date much before this date. So the actual date of the eruption could have been the day the plate moved during the Japanese Megaquake.

note: After reading further into the OSU update at OSU website I found that their hydrophones had discovered that the eruptions had occured on April 6th 2011. begin quote from above website:
"The scientists recovered seafloor instruments, including two bottom pressure recorders and two ocean-bottom hydrophones, which showed that the eruption took place on April 6 of this year. A third hydrophone was found buried in the new lava flows." end quote.
Since the Japanese Megaquake was March 11th and the Axial Seamount quake was April 6th it is likely that since they are both on the same plate (the Pacific Plate) that there is some plate movement or relationship between the two quakes.

Also, the Japanese Earthquake and Tsumami was caused by the Pacific Plate going over the Plate Japan is resting upon and lowering the elevation of Japan by 3 or more feet near Fukushima permanently (or until the next Earthquake there or Tsunami). So, this eruption at the place known as the Axial Seamount, located 250 miles off the Oregon Coast, indicated an eruption had indeed taken place in possible reaction or response to the Earthquake and Tsunami on the other side of the same Pacific Plate that can be seen on this plate map at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg or below: