Are the U S G S and the British Geological Survey trying to hide something ?

[David Banks]

The "rumour mill" has it that an earthquake of over 5 magnitude has occurred just off the west coast of Scotland, with the epicentre only 12 miles west from a headland which has the characteristics of a dormant volcano.

Apparently the European EMSC-CSEM does have the data.

I shrug-off the vast majority of "conspiracy theories" but this is close enough to a certain naval base to make one wonder.

Date was October 9th., 19:00 UTC, at coordinates 56.70 N, 6.39W. From what I can find from here, the headland is virtually due west of Fort William (a wee bittie south of true west), and the first piece of the mainland just south of Eigg.

As I remember it, there used to be a seismometer in the basement of the Chambers Street museum. Any news from there?

I hope this topic is not too "hot" for the org to handle.

[golach]

Only Earthquake reported near Fort William is this one apparently, but the Groat does not cover that area

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28155679 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28155679)

[smithp]

Anagram of ship.

[David Banks]

Anagram of ship.

Yea.
You're in homophone.

When they used the term "dormant" instead of "extinct" for a volcano, I should have remembered that Edinburgh castle rock and Arthurs Seat are both volcanic plugs. "Goofie" would have been annoyed with me.

[golach]

Yea.
You're in homophone.

When they used the term "dormant" instead of "extinct" for a volcano, I should have remembered that Edinburgh castle rock and Arthurs Seat are both volcanic plugs. "Goofie" would have been annoyed with me.

Edinburgh Castle Rock is not a volcanic plug, but carved out of Granite by the ice age

[Blazing Sporrans]

Edinburgh Castle Rock is not a volcanic plug, but carved out of Granite by the ice ageIf I remember my secondary Geography lessons correctly, Edinburgh Castle Rock, Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags are all dolerite, which is indeed volcanic. If my memory serves, we were told that a subsequent eastbound glacier excavated much of the sedimentary rock around the Castle Rock, but the much harder dolerite resisted, leaving the classic crag and tail formation and downhill slope of what is now the Royal Mile, towards Holyrood. The Castle Rock would be the plug of a pipe or vent from a long extinct volcano, the crater cone being somewhere near Arthur's Seat.

[sids]

P
If I remember my secondary Geography lessons correctly, Edinburgh Castle Rock, Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags are all dolerite, which is indeed volcanic. If my memory serves, we were told that a subsequent eastbound glacier excavated much of the sedimentary rock around the Castle Rock, but the much harder dolerite resisted, leaving the classic crag and tail formation and downhill slope of what is now the Royal Mile, towards Holyrood. The Castle Rock would be the plug of a pipe or vent from a long extinct volcano, the crater cone being somewhere near Arthur's Seat.

They told us that at school too. It's probably just what THEY want us to think.

[Kenn]

Sniff, sniff am I smelling a conspiracy theory here?
"The Seismology Code," by Eartha Quake .

[benji]

UK based earth quake monitoring stations here:

http://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/monitoring/home.html

Last 50 days earthquakes measured in UK and UKCS here:

http://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/home.html

Nothing on the European EMSC-CSEM database for that date or time:

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/?view=21

[David Banks]

Edinburgh Castle Rock is not a volcanic plug, but carved out of Granite by the ice age

From what I can find out, Edinburgh Castle Rock in not granite, and it has been described as a "plug."

Apparently, Arthurs Seat, Edinburgh Castle rock, and Calton hill are all of volcanic origin, probably from the same magma chamber.

The castle rock material is described as "microgabbro" and "igneous" and the material is 271 to 359 million years old.

Is there a geologist in the house?

[David Banks]

Is there a geologist in the house?

Apparently, there is. Thank you CMJB.


Here is the most trustworthy source I could find for the geology of Edinburgh Castle Rock. According to the British Geological Survey maps http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html?location=edinburgh Edinburgh Castle Rock is made of microgabbro which is a mafic (silica poor) igneous rock and therefore differs from granite which is felsic (silica rich). The microgabbro is from the carboniferous and is therefore approximately 360-300 million years old. Microgabbro is also known as dolerite.

[golach]

Looks like I stand corrected, so be it, shame I spent 4 years as a tour guide in Edinburgh telling visitors that the castle rock and the Royal Mile were made of the same material carved by the Ice Age.