Saudi Quakes Oil Drilling Activity Related?

Two Quakes Strike Arabia

A Large Swarm of Earthquakes May Follow

Two quakes measuring 4.6 and 4.9 struck Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Tuesday receptively. The two seismic events may be followed by a large swarm of earthquakes in the coming days.

Moderators are watching the events with interest because the quakes are concentrated close to Harrat Lunayyir, a basaltic volcanic field located in NW Saudi Arabia with some 50 volcanic cones. According to USGS record, “Harrat Lunayyir is one of the smallest of the Holocene lava fields of Saudi Arabia,” which last erupted about 1,000 years ago.

FEWW is carefully analyzing the likelihood whether the quakes were caused by petroleum drilling activity, and will post its findings soon.

Earthquake Details:

Magnitude: 4.9
Date-Time:

• Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 06:38:33 UTC
• Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 09:38:33 AM at epicenter

Location: 25.105°N, 37.788°E
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region: WESTERN SAUDI ARABIA
Distances:

• 115 km (70 miles) NNW of Yanbu` al Bahr, Saudi Arabia
• 185 km (115 miles) SE of Al Wajh, Saudi Arabia
• 195 km (120 miles) WNW of Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia
• 915 km (560 miles) W of RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 12.6 km (7.8 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters:  NST= 20, Nph= 20, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=0.86 sec, Gp=155°, M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7
Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID:  us2009gvaj

Earthquake Details:

Magnitude:  4.6
Date-Time:

• Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 19:50:07 UTC
• Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 10:50:07 PM at epicenter
• Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location: 25.356°N, 37.632°E
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region WESTERN SAUDI ARABIA
Distances:

• 145 km (90 miles) NNW of Yanbu` al Bahr, Saudi Arabia
• 155 km (95 miles) SE of Al Wajh, Saudi Arabia
• 220 km (135 miles) WNW of Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia
• 930 km (570 miles) W of RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Location Uncertainty:  horizontal +/- 12 km (7.5 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters: NST= 21, Nph= 21, Dmin=546.8 km, Rmss=0.81 sec, Gp=144°, M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7

Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID:  us2009gtbi

How Hot Is Your Ocean?

Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans Daily Sea Surface Temps – POES Composite

Atlantic Ocean Daily Sea Surface Temps – POES Composite. Source: NOAA

East Pacific Ocean Daily Sea Surface Temps – POES Composite. Source: NOAA

For real-time global sea surface temperature (SST) analysis see:  Reynolds SST Analysis