5.0 Earthquake Hits Cuba As Geomagnetic Storm Hits Earth

Saturday, January 11, 2014

5.0 Earthquake Hits Cuba As Geomagnetic Storm Hits Earth

Published on Jan 9, 2014

These are the latest quake updates for the US!

http://spaceweather.com/
http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

.....
Spaceweather.com
by Dr. Tony Phillips.
GROWING QUIET?
Giant sunspot AR1944 has not unleashed a significant flare in more than 48 hours. The growing quiet could be the calm between storms. AR1944 has an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class flares.

CME IMPACT:

As predicted, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 9th (20:00 UT). The impact was weaker than expected, however, and it failed to produce widespread geomagnetic storms. Nevertheless, some beautiful auroras appeared around the Arctic Circle. Harald Albrigtsen sends this picture from Tromsø, Norway:

It was dark in Norway when the CME arrived, so observers there witnessed a nice display. By the time night fell over North America, however, the lights had faded. US observers saw nothing remarkable.

More auroras are possible on Jan. 10th as Earth passes through the magnetic wake of the CME. NOAA forecasters estimate a 85% chance of polar geomagnetic storms before the day is over.

.....

Massive Solar storm strikes Earth following monster flare

Published on Jan 10, 2014

A large coronal mass ejection has reached Earth -- days after the Sun sent a massive burst of solar wind and electromagnetic radiation towards our planet. While causing no major geomagnetic storm, it has produced spectacular auroras in northern Europe.

The coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived near Earth at 2:32pm EST (7:32pm GMT) on Thursday, with its effects expected to continue throughout Friday, according to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a warning of a geomagnetic storm with "minor disruptions to communications and GPS."
While the world's economies braced for possible blackouts in high-frequency airline and military communications, disruptions to GPS signals and power grids, enthusiasts in the northern hemisphere rushed outdoors in the hope of viewing the stunning aurora borealis as far south as Colorado.
However, American aurora spotters have been disappointed, as, according to spaceweather.com, the CME's impact was "weaker than expected" and failed to produce widespread storms. Some frustrated Twitter users also blamed cloudy skies for not being able to see the northern lights.
Observers were luckier around the Arctic Circle in Norway, where a dark and clear night at the time of impact, as well as more favorable latitude, put an aurora on display.
NOAA forecasters still estimated an 85 percent chance of polar geomagnetic storms before the end of Friday, and media cheered the sky watchers by saying there remains a chance of some clear aurora sightings Friday night.
The CME that stroke the Earth has been associated with the large X1.2-class solar flare that was unleashed from a giant sunspot AR1944 on January 7. The flare has been described as the most powerful this year so far, with X-class denoting the most severe intensity.

,,,,,

Solar storm strikes Earth following monster flare (VIDEO)

This January 7, 2014 handout image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a false-color composite image from a blast of activity originating from an active sunspot region at the center of the sun's disk (AFP Photo)

Published time: January 10, 2014 18:14

A large coronal mass ejection has reached Earth – days after the Sun sent a massive burst of solar wind and electromagnetic radiation towards our planet. While causing no major geomagnetic storm, it has produced spectacular auroras in northern Europe.
The coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived near Earth at 2:32pm EST (7:32pm GMT) on Thursday, with its effects expected to continue throughout Friday, according to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a warning of a geomagnetic storm with “minor disruptions to communications and GPS.”

While the world’s economies braced for possible blackouts in high-frequency airline and military communications, disruptions to GPS signals and power grids, enthusiasts in the northern hemisphere rushed outdoors in the hope of viewing the stunning aurora borealis as far south as Colorado.

However, American aurora spotters have been disappointed, as, according to spaceweather.com, the CME’s impact was “weaker than expected” and failed to produce widespread storms. Some frustrated Twitter users also blamed cloudy skies for not being able to see the northern lights.

Wow RT @EdPiotrowski: Harald Albrigsten captures the #aurora in all its glory tonight in Kvaløya, Norway. pic.twitter.com/BMlfgm2Yap
— Maninder Dhaliwal (@dhaliwalmk) January 10, 2014

Observers were luckier around the Arctic Circle in Norway, where a dark and clear night at the time of impact, as well as more favorable latitude, put an aurora on display.
NOAA forecasters still estimated an 85 percent chance of polar geomagnetic storms before the end of Friday, and media cheered the sky watchers by saying there remains a chance of some clear aurora sightings Friday night.

The CME that stroke the Earth has been associated with the large X1.2-class solar flare that was unleashed from a giant sunspot AR1944 on January 7. The flare has been described as the most powerful this year so far, with X-class denoting the most severe intensity.

Read More and Watch Videos Here
.....

M 5.1 - 24km NNW of Corralillo, Cuba

2014-01-09 20:57:43 UTC

Event Time

2014-01-09 20:57:43 UTC
2014-01-09 15:57:43 UTC-05:00 at epicenter
2014-01-09 14:57:43 UTC-06:00 system time

Location

23.189°N 80.677°W depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities

24km (15mi) NNW of Corralillo, Cuba
36km (22mi) NE of Marti, Cuba
51km (32mi) N of Los Arabos, Cuba
56km (35mi) ENE of Cardenas, Cuba
174km (108mi) E of Havana, Cuba

....

Tectonic Summary

The January 9, 2014 M5.1 earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico occurred along the northern coast of west-central Cuba at shallow crustal depths, ~28km from Corralillo, Cuba and ~172 km east of Havana, Cuba.

The island of Cuba lies within the North American plate and is bounded by the Bahamas Platform and Florida Straits to the north and the North America-Caribbean plate boundary to the south. The plate boundary, a left-lateral transform, defines the southeast coast of the island and causes uplift of the Sierra Maestra. In the vicinity of the January 9 earthquake, a former plate boundary suture and several faults, collectively termed the Nortecubana Fault system, bound the northern coast of Cuba. Additionally, several smaller crustal faults, including the left-lateral Hicacos Fault and Las Villas fault are located in the general vicinity of the January 9 earthquake. The region of the January 9 earthquake is relatively quiet seismically. Only 6 documented events ranging from M3.0-5.6 occurred over the past 75 years within 200 km of the epicenter. The M5.6 event, which occurred in 1939, also took place along the northern coast of Cuba in the vicinity of the Nortecubana Fault system. The January 9 event occurred 686 km ESE of the September 2006 M5.8 Gulf of Mexico earthquake.

.....

Contributed by USGS National Earthquake Information Center