Geologists grapple for answers to explain Ohio’s recent bout of tremors

October 1, 2011 – OHIO – Thursday night’s earthquake sent shock waves through most of Mahoning County. The quake wasn’t strong enough to create any damage, but it likely felt a lot stronger than a regular magnitude-2.5 rumble, said Michael Hansen, senior geologist at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. That’s because rocks underneath the ground of river valley areas are mostly made up of unconsolidated sediments that amplify ground movement. “That makes it feel higher intensity,” Hansen said. That could explain the booming and crashing noises heard by some throughout the Valley. And although the initial magnitude registered a 2.5, Hansen said follow-up data could revise that number slightly higher. “It may be 2.6 or a little bigger than 2.6, but not by much,” he said. Geologists have recorded earthquakes with epicenters in Mahoning County just six times — and all happened in the past 61/2 months. All have occurred west of the Mahoning River, in close proximity to Salt Springs Road. The six earthquakes registered magnitudes ranging from 2.2 to 2.6. But why, after a lifetime with no earthquakes centered in Mahoning County, is the area averaging a quake per month? Experts say there are a few reasons. The source of the Mahoning County quakes are a buried fault of basement rocks, which Hansen estimated could be 800 million to 1 billion years old. Jeffrey Dick, Youngstown State University Geology Department chairman, said small earthquakes on ancient fault lines aren’t unique, but what’s unusual in Mahoning County is the frequency. Other geologic movement could be the cause of the Valley’s recent quakes. “You can get a triggering effect from a large event,” Hansen said, referencing the magnitude-5.8 earthquake registered in Virginia on Aug. 23. “But we had some before that earthquake, so I don’t think that necessarily correlates.” Hansen also said that the North American Plate is under constant pressure and has “zones of weakness.” –Vindy

“For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in different places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these things are the beginnings of sorrows.” Mark 13:8   We highlight the fact of different or divers used in the Bible meaning places that never had a history of earthquakes. And the beginning of “sorrows” or “travail” from the Greek word “ōdinōn” meaning “contractions” or “birth pangs.”  –The Extinction Protocol