Everything's overdue (morbid interests category)

[sff_corgi_lj]

For some reason, overdue natural catastrophes kept coming up in conversation yesterday. Help me make a list here:

• Yellowstone hotspot blowing the caldera


• Asteroid over 1 kilometer diameter, direct strike


• North American Pacific-coast tsunami


• Atlantic Ocean tsunami


• The Mississippi Valley's New Madrid fault


• SoCal's part of the San Andreas fault


• Cat-5 hurricane strikes


• Pandemic (not quite the same category of disasters, but rather uncontrollable all the same)


• Avoids political snark that would be WAY too easy to insert here *wink*

Hmmm... these are kind of New-World-centric. Hazards of my locational mindset. Other than another part of the Ring of Fire blowing up spectactularly, what else can we add to dread?

But as a sort of reassurance, I provide for you:

Cascade Range Current Update

U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, Washington
University of Washington, Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network, Seattle, Washington

Friday, June 23, 2006 09:15 am PDT (1615 UTC)

MOUNT ST. HELENS UPDATE

Current status is Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2); aviation color code ORANGE: Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens continues, accompanied by low rates of seismicity, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases, and minor production of ash. During such eruptions, changes in the level of activity can occur over days to months. The eruption could intensify suddenly or with little warning and produce explosions that cause hazardous conditions within several miles of the crater and farther downwind. Small lahars could suddenly descend the Toutle River if triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks with snow and ice. These lahars pose a negligible hazard below the Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) but could pose a hazard along the river channel upstream.

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds rising above the crater today would be transported to the east-southeast.

Potential ash hazards to aviation: Under current eruptive conditions, small, short-lived explosions may produce ash clouds that exceed 30,000 feet in altitude. Ash from such events can travel 100 miles or more downwind.

Recent observations: Seismicity accompanying steady lava dome extrusion continues unabated, with small earthquakes occurring every 1-2 minutes. With clear and warm weather forecast through early next week it is possible that ash clouds from large rockfalls will on occasion be visible from the Portland area, and views of the crater and ongoing eruption should be excellent from the US Forest Service’s visitor’s centers at Coldwater Ridge and Johnston Ridge. Field crews yesterday completed a campaign GPS survey of benchmarks in the National Volcano Monument, spent several hours doing geological reconnaissance on the eastern (older) side of the new dome complex, and serviced several remote cameras on the crater rim. More fieldwork is planned for today, with field crews retrieving a number of temporary seismometers deployed last fall and exploring potential locations for a new remote camera station on the crater rim.

For additional information, background, images, and other graphics:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Eruption04/

For seismic information:
http://www.pnsn.org/HELENS/welcome.html

For a definition of alert levels:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Cascades/CurrentActivity/volcano_warning_scheme.html

For a webcam view of the volcano:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

Telephone recordings with the latest update on Mount St. Helens and phone contacts for additional information can be heard by calling (360) 891-5180.

OTHER CASCADE VOLCANOES

All other volcanoes in the Cascade Range are all at normal levels of background seismicity. These include Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams in Washington State; Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry, and Crater Lake, in Oregon; and Medicine Lake, Mount Shasta, and Lassen Peak in northern California.

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington, and the USGS Northern California Seismic Network and Volcano Hazards Team in Menlo Park, California, monitor the major volcanoes in the Cascade Range of northern California, Oregon, and Washington.

Comments

[kit-the-brave.livejournal.com]

The Hayward Fault in Northern California is due for an earthquake. I was watching a show about it in which a geologist walking through Hayward (just across the bay from SF), and pointing out the fault, and a guy walking by on the street stopped and said, "I didn't know it was that close!"

"Yes," the geologist said. "It's right here."

"That makes me feel safe," the guy said. "How active is it?"

"We're worried," the geologist said.

"Oh, great," the guy said. "Thank you for calming my fears."

And for a total change of subject, thanks for friending me! I friended you back.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~shirschf/tour-1.html !

[cerrberus.livejournal.com]

AFAI remember, New Madrid may be the biggest, most potentially dangerous US fault- potentially far more destructive than the San Andreas [Cathy was relieved when we moved from the Pacific to the North American tectonic plate tho']. The Hayward's been regularly active but nothiong major for awhile.
On Friday night I watched tv for the first time in weeks [save my daily morning Weather Channel viewing before working outdoors]. Kept seeing an advert for Matt Lauer hosting some kind of widely-encompassing natdisaster show upcoming. Is it in the aether? For the record, misspent my time watching some SG eps, with a bit of channel surfing [hey, there's loads of commercials on SciFi, and I'm a guy].

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's because of the structure of the fault(s) it/themselves, working in a couple of directions simultaneously, and because of the structure of the surrounding plate - there's far less 'wiggle room' and the energy'll have to go somewhere....

In the æther, eh? Hmmm.

(I miss TV, I really do.)

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I can see that from my house!"

(Not really. :) But I bet I'd have beachfront property if it suddenly split the continent like in that horrible movie. :P

Also, did you see the really cool movie/documentery about the Yellowstone Caldera? Supervolcano or something? It was FUN.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Not so sudden, but yeah - it looks like you'd have to drive an hour at the most if the Embayment got wet again. I'm still Googling to see if the thing's ever likely to go active enough again to split for real, not that we'd have to worry about it.

Supervolcano! was good because it was a British (BBC) production in Canada. There's nothing like British writing for 'Oh God, it's awful, the world is ending, doom and devastation' - but with an upbeat ending. I don't know quite how they do it, but it's distinctly theirs.

Americans, on the other paw, make something like 10.5: Apocalypse [roll eyes].

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Well.. if we had a giant earthquake and my house was an hour from the beach, do you think it'd be worth more? I think Missouri'd be even prettier, actually, if that happened. Or at least, the unflooded part would- kind of like the Carolinas.

Oh, and too bad about the place where the Evil Ex Roomies getting covered with an ocean. *evil*

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

You'd... hmm... have a better chance at hurricanes! :D

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

I'd better say something here, just to avoid the accusation of a Gratuitous Icon Post...

Oh, there's more stuff to worry about as long as Lex Luthor is still working toward possession of good shoreline property! [snerk]

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Ah, how appropriate! [golf clap]

And [snerk] right back atcha. I just found/rediscovered that Florida was actually floating around for quite some time before getting stuck onto Laurentia. [!] That sort of explains things.

[parke-matru.livejournal.com]

*stares*

So very much icon love. Dorothy Parker rocks.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

And we'll all go together when we go. Ah, where is Tom Lehrer when you need him? He really needs to rewrite that song. Look at all the new goodies - Global Warming, Natural Disaster. Who needs nukes?

At least the global warming has slowed down for today. 87 degrees so far today, down from 99 yesterday, here in San Jose, CA. That's the local outdoor thermometer not the official.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's more pleasant here today, too... somehow.

[offers paw] I don't recognise your username, croeso. How'd you happen by here? You pique my curiosity. :)

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Mundane is Lisa Deutsch Harrigan, San Jose, Ca SF Fan. I think you are the friend of a friend. But ran into a post of yours in someone's journal, liked your journal and user info and added you in. You know how it goes around here. :)

If we lived in the same neck of the woods, we would probably be friends. And probably have seen each other at SF Cons. Note the Harry Potter outfit in my default picture, my alter ego as a teacher at the Salem Witches Institute (I am American after all, so probably would not be teaching at the British Hogwarts).

The first picture I used was my "Ensign on Vacation" picture. Still a target after all these years.

Just keep writing. You are a very interesting person!
And thank you for letting me drop in.

[annechen-melo.livejournal.com]

Heya!

Years ago, I was curious abiout the damage estimate from the New Madrid fault. Locally, we are at a 1 or 2 severity, while 40 miles north, they are at danger level 6 to 7.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

The bestest part is that they're calling it 'reactivated'! [eg]

[annechen-melo.livejournal.com]

Blast! They wern't supposed to find out until I had finished - heh, heh, heh.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Very flattering of you! Thank you very much.

Alas, for all the times I've been to SoCal, the furthest north has been Antelope Valley. Never managed the Bay Area somehow.

If you've been to various WorldCons, I was the one trailing around w/ Mike Jittlov, usually. ;) That's my greatest visibility.

You might like to take a look at Dogstar Academy some time. You might be interested. :D

[nakedkali.livejournal.com]

I find the Las Palmas report suspect. California's coast has sudden collapses like that all the time. The turbidity currents are very strong indeed and have destroyed/instantly buried our instruments, but they don't make huge waves.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Sudden collapses, but huge landslides associated w/ volcanic activity? I doubt the likelihood myself, I also think there'd be mitigating factors, but it's worth taking a closer look at.

[camwyn]

May I suggest Exit Mundi for your natural catastrophe (and unnatural catastrophe) needs of all kinds?

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

[goes]

Ahhh... somehow you knowing this does not surprise me. :)

[camwyn]

It's fun reading.

This is coming from someone who, when she was seven years old, decided she wanted to try to read the entire encyclopedia. Being easily distracted, though, I decided the first entry of A was too boring and pulled out one of the middle volumes- and wound up reading and rereading the first entry ("Heart") so often that I could've told you what Fallot's Tetraology entailed from memory by the time I was eight.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

I did the hop-skip-jump thing throught the World Book myself, but I never memorised Fallot's Tetralogy. :)

[camwyn]

Things that can go horribly wrong with the human anatomym things that can go horribly wrong with the planet- same diff, sooner or later, really.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

BTW, nice sword. :)

[rozberk.livejournal.com]

This is the only fault line I have around my area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_fault

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

My dear sir, that's not just a fault, that's a bloody failed rift. As in 'oh look, a new ocean just moved in next door'. Look up 'Mississippi Embayment', you'll see it used to be opened up enough to be wet all the way to the bottom of Illinois or thereabouts. Got shoved shut, though. Cracks go all the way through, nonetheless. Better not drop any meteors on your street....

[rozberk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, while California may fall into the ocean, if this one goes off again like the last time it did there will be a whole lot of new ocean-front property.

[cerrberus.livejournal.com]

The Cali thing, not geologically possible; no matter how much the East Coast and religious fundamentalist types wish & pray. Tho' in a longish period of time ::exudes research-laziness:: San Diego will show up off the coast of San Fran. 8>)
Haven't checked out the rebirth of Mississippi Embayment, but can only imagine concommittant ecological problems after the fact. Likely that'll all happen about the same time San Diego arrives up north, probability willin'.

[rozberk.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't't believe that California would - it's just become part of the mythos.