Earthquake Activity Has Increased 157%


The Number and Strength of Earthquakes Has Increased Substantially Over the Last Decade January 29, 2011
Sherwood Ensey

From the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009 the number of earthquakes increased substantially, when compared to the previous ten years. This is fact and not fiction.

From January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009 there were 22,270 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 and greater.

From January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999 there were 14,193 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 and greater.

This represents a 157% increase in earthquake activity over the previous decade.

The standard argument against the increase in earthquake activity has been that there are more seismic instruments. More instruments equates to it looking like there is more earthquake activity. This is a falsehood, but it is an argument which gets a lot of play and that many people buy into, quickly dismissing the facts themselves.

Seismic instruments are extremely sensitive and can pick up seismic activity from around the planet, especially those that are over 5.0 in magnitude. This is the main reason the magnitude of 5.0 was chosen for this study. The addition of more seismic instruments is primarily used to breakdown the quality of the seismic activity itself, such as the depth, the location, and other factors related to the earthquake. More seismic instruments equates to better quality seismic readings. Sometimes this applies to the magnitude of an earthquake, but most of the time more instruments are used to better qualify the different factors of an earthquake. This is an explanation that is rarely if ever offered to the public by the so-called earthquake experts who downplay the increase in earthquake activity; they go with the standard argument that more instruments equals more earthquakes in order to bolster their argument that there has not been an increase in earthquakes, when in actuality the numbers clearly show there has been an increase in earthquake activity.

The numbers presented in this study also show that the strength of earthquakes has also increased.

Magnitude 7.0 and above earthquakes have increased by an even greater percentage. From 2000 to 2010 earthquakes over 7.0 in magnitude increased by 197%.

From January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009 there were 227 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater. Over the same time span, a decade earlier there was only 115 earthquakes of the same magnitude, 7.0, or greater.

So not only have earthquakes increased in number, they have also increased in strength. Both by an alarming number!