Can Solar Flares Cause Missouri Earthquakes? Some Say Yes
As of today, scientists say that you cannot predict earthquakes in Missouri or anywhere else. However, there are some that are now claiming that solar flares could be connected to the shaking of the Earth and there is some data to back up their beliefs.
You might recall that a couple weeks ago there was a mini-swarm of 8 quakes along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri. They occurred around the same time as a huge solar flare as reported by Space Weather. It's not the first time that a large solar flare has been followed by a significant Missouri quake, but are they really related?
The official response from the USGS says "there is a causal relationship between space weather and earthquakes". They go on to say that there is no real data to connect what happens on (or from) the sun and earthquakes on Earth. Many do not agree with their conclusion.
Salon reported on a paper shared by Nature's Scientific Reports saying " clusters of protons from the sun may correlate to large earthquakes". The crux of the issue is whether the "motion of these charged particles" is enough to cause an earthquake fault to have an event.
Think about the ramifications if a real scientific connection can be made between a solar flare and earthquakes like the ones that happen along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri. It would make possible some (not all) earthquake watches or warnings if a major solar event occurred. That would be a game-changer for many places in America with major earthquake faults like Missouri and, of course, California.
As of now, the USGS is just saying "maybe". We'll see if new data can prove the sun and earthquakes really are connected so we can understand when an imminent earthquake threat is real.
Simulation Shows the Terror of a 7.7 New Madrid Quake in Missouri
Gallery Credit: EarthquakeSim via YouTube
