«Breaking News» Earthquake strikes in Surrey measuring 2.4 on Richter scale

An earthquake has struck yet again in a part of Britain that suffered a 'swarm' of tremors last summer - sparking scores of reports from worried residents.

Newdigate, a village near Dorking in Surrey, suffered a 2.4-magnitude tremor at 7.43am today - recorded by the British Geological Survey and felt by 80 residents.

Local residents and some further afield in West Sussex told the BGS that their 'furniture shook very gently' and 'everything moved forwards then backwards'.

Newdigate, a village near Dorking in Surrey, suffered a 2.4-magnitude tremor at 7.43am today

Stephen Hicks from the University of Southampton and David Hawthorn from the British Geological Survey install a monitoring station in Surrey last July to meisure seismic activity

Others told of 'a loud bang and strong impact and shake as though something had fallen on the house' and 'general rumble that lasted for a couple of seconds'.

Last year the area suffered 15 tremors between April 1 and October 9, but the BGS has insisted they were natural earthquakes - and not linked to local fracking.

How many quakes have hit UK in recent years?

Britain expected to have an earthquake measuring 5 or higher on the Richter scale about once every eight years.

Tremors between 1 and 1.9 are expected every two-and-a-half days.

The biggest earthquake in recent years was on February 27, 2008, with Market Rasen, Lincolnshire at its epicentre. 

It measured 5.2 on the Richter scale and was felt across much of Britain.

In the past five years there have been 14 earthquakes in the UK. 

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport.

BGS seismologist Davie Galloway said: 'It could be the start of another swarm, or it may just be a single event. Time will tell. With the past cluster or swarm we put it down to natural seismicity.

'We live on a dynamic planet. Plates move about all the time. They're bashing and moving away from each other.' 

There have been fears that the quakes are being caused by fracking, which sees water pumped into the ground to crack subsurface rocks, releasing oil and gas. 

But oil exploration company UKOG has previously insisted that there is no link with the quakes because of its work at its Horse Hill site.

The quake struck at 7.43am in an area hit by 15 tremors between April 1 and October 9 last year

Special monitoring equipment was installed last July to better understand what is happening beneath the surface of the area, which is near Gatwick Airport

The firm said this is because it does not involve subsurface drilling and so has little to no seismic impact on the surrounding area. 

Does fracking cause earthquakes? 

Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault.

This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake, and in extreme cases can even split the Earth's crust up to its surface.

Fracking works by injecting huge volumes of water into the rocks surrounding a natural gas deposit or hydrothermal well.

The water fractures the rocks, creating dozens of cracks through which gas and heat can escape to the surface.

Fracking can cause earthquakes by introducing water to faultlines, lubricating the rocks and making them more likely to slip.

When two blocks of rock or two plates rub together, they catch on one another.

The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving, building pressure that is only released when the rocks break.

During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again.

Mr Galloway added: 'Last year there were 15 tremors from April 1 to October 9. They are a natural earthquake - and not linked to fracking or any other similar activity.'  

A report from the Oil and Gas Authority in November 2018 also found there was 'no causal link' between oil activity and the earthquakes in the area last summer. 

However, scientists from Edinburgh University have concluded that the release of pressure at the Horse Hill site could be a contributing factor to the tremors. 

There are roughly 200 to 300 quakes in Britain every year, but the vast majority are so small that no one notices them.

However, between 20 to 30 are over a magnitude of 2, which can be felt over a wider area. Quakes are most often attributed to glacial rebound.

Until about 10,500 years ago, much of the north of the UK was covered by a thick layer of ice - which pushed the rocks down into the underlying mantle.

These rocks have been slowly rising back up ever since the ice melted, causing occasional earthquakes in the process.

The UK is also subject to tectonic stresses caused by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean, which is slowly pushing the entire of Eurasia to the east.

Britain is also affected by the northward motion of Africa, which is pushing into Europe from the south.

WHAT ARE EARTHQUAKES? 

Catastrophic earthquakes are caused when two tectonic plates that are sliding in opposite directions stick and then slip suddenly.

Tectonic plates are composed of Earth's crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle. 

Below is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride.

They do not all not move in the same direction and often clash. This builds up a huge amount of pressure between the two plates. 

Eventually, this pressure causes one plate to jolt either under or over the other. 

This releases a huge amount of energy, creating tremors and destruction to any property or infrastructure nearby.

Severe earthquakes normally occur over fault lines where tectonic plates meet, but minor tremors - which still register on the Richter sale - can happen in the middle of these plates. 

The Earth has fifteen tectonic plates (pictured) that together have molded the shape of the landscape we see around us today

These are called intraplate earthquakes. 

These remain widely misunderstood but are believed to occur along minor faults on the plate itself or when ancient faults or rifts far below the surface reactivate.

These areas are relatively weak compared to the surrounding plate, and can easily slip and cause an earthquake.

Earthquakes are detected by tracking the size, or magnitude, and intensity of the shock waves they produce, known as seismic waves.

The magnitude of an earthquake differs from its intensity.

The magnitude of an earthquake refers to the measurement of energy released where the earthquake originated.

Earthquakes originate below the surface of the earth in a region called the hypocenter. 

During an earthquake, one part of a seismograph remains stationary and one part moves with the earth's surface.

The earthquake is then measured by the difference in the positions of the still and moving parts of the seismograph. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/14/earthquake-strikes-in-surrey-measuring-2-4-on-richter-scale/
Main photo article An earthquake has struck yet again in a part of Britain that suffered a ‘swarm’ of tremors last summer – sparking scores of reports from worried residents.
Newdigate, a village near Dorking in Surrey, suffered a 2.4-magnitude tremor at 7.43am today – recorded by the...

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