Did you know that some earthquakes have been associated with changes in well water level thousands of miles from their epicenters? No kidding. Now, who would even have thunk it?
Whether or not such a phenomenon has entered your thoughts is irrelevant now that you know. What’s significant here is that there are people who monitor well water levels precisely to discover their relationship to earthquakes. Why? Well, wells might serve someday as earthquake predictors. You might not have thought it, but others have.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) even has a fact sheet on the subject. The three authors, Michelle Sneed, Devin L. Galloway, and William L. Cunningham, write that “Earthquakes affect our Earth’s intricate plumbing system—whether you live near the notoriously active San Andreas Fault…or far from active faults, an earthquake...can affect you and the water resources you depend on.” First, let me say that’s cute, referring to “our Earth.” Who else’s? Second, I’ll point out what the authors announce, that the “2002 M7.9 Denali Fault earthquake in Alaska caused a 2-foot water-level rise in a well in Wisconsin….”
In short, earthquakes affect both the solid crust and its water content. You probably knew about the former, but you might not have known about the latter unless you were directly affected by a change in water supply or quality. Some of the physical changes are highly noticeable, such as the seiches (sloshing) of Lake Pontchatrain in Louisana after that 2002 Denali Fault earthquake, seiches that lasted 30 minutes and broke lakeside moorings.
Why mention this? Under an increasing interconnectedness, all of us seem to undergo at least small changes when something happens elsewhere. We can’t live isolated lives without effort. Distant events and people can affect us both physically and qualitatively. Because of our ceaseless connections, we now respond emotionally to people and events we could not possibly have known about in real time. Much of what happened in the distance in the past was, for those who eventually learned, a matter of history. Not now. No. Instantaneous or near instantaneous effects make themselves both known and felt.
Maybe we could learn something from research into hydrogeological changes associated with earthquakes. The USGS authors write of “precursors” to earthquakes evident in water, such as the changes in chloride and sulfate content of well water measureable in Kobe, Japan, where a devastating earthquake destroyed buildings and took lives. The Japanese hope to develop predictors based on well monitoring and water quality.
Seems that we need some kind of advanced warning system about human quaking. But then, am I just dreaming? If we can’t predict actual earthquakes yet, how can we predict the actions caused by human faults? Will we always be stuck just examining consequences because we fail to read the signs in our basic makeup? We are, after all, mostly water.
*USGS fact sheet 096-03. Earthquakes—Rattling the Earth’s Plumbing System. Online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-096-03/
Whether or not such a phenomenon has entered your thoughts is irrelevant now that you know. What’s significant here is that there are people who monitor well water levels precisely to discover their relationship to earthquakes. Why? Well, wells might serve someday as earthquake predictors. You might not have thought it, but others have.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) even has a fact sheet on the subject. The three authors, Michelle Sneed, Devin L. Galloway, and William L. Cunningham, write that “Earthquakes affect our Earth’s intricate plumbing system—whether you live near the notoriously active San Andreas Fault…or far from active faults, an earthquake...can affect you and the water resources you depend on.” First, let me say that’s cute, referring to “our Earth.” Who else’s? Second, I’ll point out what the authors announce, that the “2002 M7.9 Denali Fault earthquake in Alaska caused a 2-foot water-level rise in a well in Wisconsin….”
In short, earthquakes affect both the solid crust and its water content. You probably knew about the former, but you might not have known about the latter unless you were directly affected by a change in water supply or quality. Some of the physical changes are highly noticeable, such as the seiches (sloshing) of Lake Pontchatrain in Louisana after that 2002 Denali Fault earthquake, seiches that lasted 30 minutes and broke lakeside moorings.
Why mention this? Under an increasing interconnectedness, all of us seem to undergo at least small changes when something happens elsewhere. We can’t live isolated lives without effort. Distant events and people can affect us both physically and qualitatively. Because of our ceaseless connections, we now respond emotionally to people and events we could not possibly have known about in real time. Much of what happened in the distance in the past was, for those who eventually learned, a matter of history. Not now. No. Instantaneous or near instantaneous effects make themselves both known and felt.
Maybe we could learn something from research into hydrogeological changes associated with earthquakes. The USGS authors write of “precursors” to earthquakes evident in water, such as the changes in chloride and sulfate content of well water measureable in Kobe, Japan, where a devastating earthquake destroyed buildings and took lives. The Japanese hope to develop predictors based on well monitoring and water quality.
Seems that we need some kind of advanced warning system about human quaking. But then, am I just dreaming? If we can’t predict actual earthquakes yet, how can we predict the actions caused by human faults? Will we always be stuck just examining consequences because we fail to read the signs in our basic makeup? We are, after all, mostly water.
*USGS fact sheet 096-03. Earthquakes—Rattling the Earth’s Plumbing System. Online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-096-03/
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