Seismicity
My family and friends know that I have always been fascinated by earthquakes. First, it was an interest born of fear. For years, I always had a ready supply of tranquilizers to ease my panic when the ground shook. That changed after the Loma Prieta quake in 1989.
After that quake, I learned about a geologist named Jim Berkland through a relative who had been thoroughly traumatized by the shaking she experienced as she drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Berkland had predicted the quake three days before it shook the World Series. A former member of the USGS, he had developed a system for earthquake prediction involving the phases of the moon, tides, and animal behavior. You can read about his theories in more detail on his “Syzygy” website here. http://www.syzygyjob.com/ He also publishes a monthly newsletter with his forecasts for the coming month. I’ve been a subscriber since 1989. (He is no longer welcome around the USGS.)
For years, I kept track of lost pet numbers in the local papers. Berkland theorizes that animals, subject to the fight or flight response, will tend to run away from home before an earthquake hits, assuming they are aware of precursor phenomena that humans can’t detect. He is hardly the first to use animals for earthquake predictions. The Chinese have been studying animals pre-quake behavior for many years with interesting results.
Even before Berkland, my husband and I noticed that earthquakes and significant aftershocks tended to occur at the full or new moons. This effect seemed to be amplified by both lunar and solar eclipses.
After months and months of recording the lost pet ads, I predicted an earthquake. I was hooked. From that point on, I was not afraid of earthquakes. Mostly, I was excited because I knew the shaking was coming and jubilant when I was right.
Through Berkland, I heard about an engineer in Northern California who had created a device he called a Magnetic Stress Indicator. He believed the electronic/magnetic properties of a local area change just before a quake and created the MSI to track those changes. I had some birthday money in my pocket and contacted the engineer who agreed to make two for me. Why two? Because it is best to have one oriented north/south and the other east/west.
Every day, I checked my MSIs and recorded the readings in the morning and evening. And for years, I was never surprised by an earthquake. I could often tell 3 weeks in advance that one was about to pop. My friends all knew of this and demanded to be informed. So for years, I sent out Seismic Alerts, usually a few days before I thought it would happen.
Some years ago, I entered a period when I battled serious health problems, one after another. Many things I enjoyed had to be put on hold, including my earthquake observations. Also during that time, my cleaning lady kept trying to clean my MSIs, despite explicit instructions to never touch them. I even had a framer make locking acrylic cases to protect their delicate workings from drafts and from my cleaning lady’s determined assaults. But to no avail. They were broken.
I’m feeling better and I’m still fascinated when the ground shakes. This weekend, I cleaned the cases and the inner workings. My husband is going to work on stabilizing the fragile balance and soon I will be back in business.
The timing for my re-entry into Seismic Awareness is appropriate. Our recent large earthquakes to the south, in my opinion, are the start of a period of heightened seismic activity that could last a couple of years. I think the activity will move north.
I want to be ready.
After that quake, I learned about a geologist named Jim Berkland through a relative who had been thoroughly traumatized by the shaking she experienced as she drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Berkland had predicted the quake three days before it shook the World Series. A former member of the USGS, he had developed a system for earthquake prediction involving the phases of the moon, tides, and animal behavior. You can read about his theories in more detail on his “Syzygy” website here. http://www.syzygyjob.com/ He also publishes a monthly newsletter with his forecasts for the coming month. I’ve been a subscriber since 1989. (He is no longer welcome around the USGS.)
For years, I kept track of lost pet numbers in the local papers. Berkland theorizes that animals, subject to the fight or flight response, will tend to run away from home before an earthquake hits, assuming they are aware of precursor phenomena that humans can’t detect. He is hardly the first to use animals for earthquake predictions. The Chinese have been studying animals pre-quake behavior for many years with interesting results.
Even before Berkland, my husband and I noticed that earthquakes and significant aftershocks tended to occur at the full or new moons. This effect seemed to be amplified by both lunar and solar eclipses.
After months and months of recording the lost pet ads, I predicted an earthquake. I was hooked. From that point on, I was not afraid of earthquakes. Mostly, I was excited because I knew the shaking was coming and jubilant when I was right.
Through Berkland, I heard about an engineer in Northern California who had created a device he called a Magnetic Stress Indicator. He believed the electronic/magnetic properties of a local area change just before a quake and created the MSI to track those changes. I had some birthday money in my pocket and contacted the engineer who agreed to make two for me. Why two? Because it is best to have one oriented north/south and the other east/west.
Every day, I checked my MSIs and recorded the readings in the morning and evening. And for years, I was never surprised by an earthquake. I could often tell 3 weeks in advance that one was about to pop. My friends all knew of this and demanded to be informed. So for years, I sent out Seismic Alerts, usually a few days before I thought it would happen.
Some years ago, I entered a period when I battled serious health problems, one after another. Many things I enjoyed had to be put on hold, including my earthquake observations. Also during that time, my cleaning lady kept trying to clean my MSIs, despite explicit instructions to never touch them. I even had a framer make locking acrylic cases to protect their delicate workings from drafts and from my cleaning lady’s determined assaults. But to no avail. They were broken.
I’m feeling better and I’m still fascinated when the ground shakes. This weekend, I cleaned the cases and the inner workings. My husband is going to work on stabilizing the fragile balance and soon I will be back in business.
The timing for my re-entry into Seismic Awareness is appropriate. Our recent large earthquakes to the south, in my opinion, are the start of a period of heightened seismic activity that could last a couple of years. I think the activity will move north.
I want to be ready.