The Great Utah ShakeOut...

occurred today, a test of state and local response to a scenario involving a large earthquake along the Wasatch fault.  Here's the website that details the drill.

Indeed, there was a robo-delivered message on my answering machine when I returned from the day's outing, providing information about the drill and where to go for assistance had it been a real natural disaster.  I'm impressed.

You've been warned this would happen...

and this is just a tiny one: Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power.

Not to say I told you so, oh heck, yes I will.  You will find two previous posts about this serious hazard here and here.

Probability of a solar megastorm...

similar to the Carrington Event of 1859 is estimated at 12% over the coming decade.  That's not trivial, and the consequences would be catastrophic to the electrical infrastructure and the functioning of electronic gadgets that we increasingly rely upon in our daily lives.  There would be, however, spectacular auroras.

Here's a related previous post about this very serious and potentially crippling threat.

Gulp...

New research on Japanese quake ominous for Pacific Northwest.  The not-so-good news:

"Detailed analyses of the way the Earth warped along the Japanese coast suggest that shaking from a Cascadia megaquake could be stronger than expected along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, researchers reported Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"The Cascadia subduction zone can be seen as a mirror image of the Tohoku area," said John Anderson, of the University of Nevada.  Anderson compiled ground-motion data from the Japan quake and overlaid it on a map of the Pacific Northwest, which has a similar fault - called a subduction zone - lying offshore.

In Japan, the biggest jolts occurred underwater. The seafloor was displaced by 150 feet or more in some places, triggering the massive tsunami. But in the Northwest, it's the land that will be rocked hardest - because the Pacific coast here lies so close to the subduction zone.

"The ground motions that we have from Tohoku may actually be an indication that there could be much stronger shaking in the coastal areas of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon," Anderson said."

Read the whole thing at the linked article.  Then get prepared.

Shape-memory alloys tested...

for use in earthquake-resistant structures.  Remember, earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do.

El Hierro still churning the Atlantic...

as the submarine eruption continues unabated, seen in this satellite image acquired on 10 February 2012 (click to enlarge):

More information about this image can be found at NASA's Earth Observatory, and here's a days-old video of the activity.  The summit is reportedly "now only 120 meters beneath the ocean surface - 10 meters higher than it was in mid January."

RELATED:  I'll be in the Canary archipelago in early May with Zegrahm Expeditions and, if there are no maritime restrictions, we'll anchor here and explore the plume in a Zodiac, and maybe take a sample of the floating pumice.  Big fun ahead.

California seismologist testifies...

against scientists in Italy quake manslaughter trial.

Buckle up fellow earthlings...

Earth in for bumpy ride as solar storms hit.

Volcanoes seen from space...

in an image gallery summarizing recent global activity.

Meanwhile, El Hierro in the Canary Islands maintains a low level of sub-sea activity. Cool.  I'll be there in about three months time as I've just confirmed my itinerary to west Africa!

What if a cruise ship...

wrecked in Alaska?  Although I take the point of the linked article, the example used is not strictly appropriate in a number of ways.  But moreover, this caught my attention because I worked aboard the Clipper Adventurer in 2009 in the Arctic Ocean as the geologist lecturer/guide for Zegrahm Expeditions.

Here's the Adventurer at anchor at Poolepynten on Prins Karls Forland on Svalbard while we went ashore to observe walrus.  I had a nice moment with these two (click to enlarge):

NOTE:  The Adventurer was placed back in service in 2011 and is presently exploring the Antarctic Peninsula as I type this post.

RELATED:  Here's the blog post I wrote this day in 2009.

Volcano observatories...

around the world.  Interesting, but not an exhaustive list.

Break out the hard hats...

again because here comes another out-of-control chunk o' space junk.  This time it's a failed Russian spacecraft originally intended to travel to Mars, tumbling in from low Earth orbit: Phobos-Grunt Expected To Return To Earth This Weekend.

Bicentennial anniversary of enormous quakes...

that rattled the Midwest occurs today, and over the next two months:  The New Madrid earthquake events.

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

An excellent visual comparison...

of the energy released by recent earthquakes (best viewed full screen):

What would you do...

if you were facing a similar situation?

It's a volcano-palooza...

with this series of links that I've accumulated the last several weeks:

• Beautiful Destruction: 11 Gorgeous Geological Maps of Volcanoes
• Vulcan’s View: Eruption News and Volcanoes From Space
  
• Hydrovolcanism: When Magma and Water Mix

Will a new volcano emerge...

from the sea at El Hierro?  Here's the latest information:

• Canary Island volcano: A new island in the making?
• El Hierro volcano (Canary Islands): news and activity updates

If this activity continues I will certainly be communicating with the ship's captain of the Clipper Odyssey to see how close we might be able to approach this interesting site on our upcoming Zegrahm Expedition to the Canary Islands in mid-April 2012.

Here's one scenario...

for a great quake and tsunami in the Cascadia subduction zone:  Totally Psyched for the Full-Rip Nine.

Petrologic potpourri...

boiling and bubbling in the Atlantic: Mixing Magmas at the Ongoing El Hierro Eruption. Very interesting.

Eruption at El Hierro...

creeping towards the surface.