Is the Northern Atlantic Ridge/Reykjanes Ridge building up for a "Big One"?

[Tsanten Eywa 'eveng]

It seems now that the Northern-Atlantic Ridge is building up for a big earthquake. There has been 5 moderate earthquakes in the past 48 hours, where the biggest one was at 5.4 magnitude, and were located 1200 km southwest of Iceland's capital Reykjavik. There has been large earthquakes in this area before, and that is for example in late October last year. The largest in October 2011 there was a 5.6 magnitude, but that one was at the north coast of Iceland, just around 200 km from the coast.

Yesterday, it started with a 4.6 magnitude, aftershocks where 2 earthquakes was 4.6 magnitude and one at 4.8 magnitude. 12 hours later, the 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the region.

USGS reported a 5.3 magnitude: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb000fpy9.php
EMSC reported a 5.4 magnitude: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=309049

It was first reported as a 5.1 magnitude, but was raised up as a 5.4 magnitude. And there has also been tons of earthquakes across the European continent the last 72 hours. Such as a 4.5 magnitude in southern Spain, a 4.5 in the Black Sea, a 4.7 in Poland where 19 mine workers got stuck, where the mine collapsed because of that earthquake, where it is very rare something like that happening on the European continent, except the southern part.

Poland earthquake: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/03/20133205028145547.html






What I fear is that it will occur a "Big One" in the Atlantic Ocean sometime. I have had it in a dream, more than one dream atleast.

This is the location, of where I had this dream about the big earthquake in Atlantic Ocean. But I had this dream a long time ago.

[Tìtstewan]

10,2 magnitude?

[Tsanten Eywa 'eveng]

10,2 magnitude?

I had a dream about it, but it was a long time ago. It were a devastating earthquake. From it's position, it created a tsunami over 100 meter high.

[Tìtstewan]

An earthquake of magnitude of 10.2 on a spreading zone is physically almost impossible, even if one considers the "supersonic" effect in the rock with. I can imagine something like this only in subduction zones.

[Tsanten Eywa 'eveng]

An earthquake of magnitude of 10.2 on a spreading zone is physically almost impossible, even if one considers the "supersonic" effect in the rock with. I can imagine something like this only in subduction zones.

9.5 magnitude is the largest one ever recorded on our planet. It was in the year 1960, in Chile. At least a magnitude 10 is possible.

[Tìtstewan]

An earthquake of magnitude of 10.2 on a spreading zone is physically almost impossible, even if one considers the "supersonic" effect in the rock with. I can imagine something like this only in subduction zones.

9.5 magnitude is the largest one ever recorded on our planet. It was in the year 1960, in Chile. At least a magnitude 10 is possible.

This was in a subduction zone, not in a spreading zone like Northern-Atlantic Ridge.

[Tsanten Eywa 'eveng]

An earthquake of magnitude of 10.2 on a spreading zone is physically almost impossible, even if one considers the "supersonic" effect in the rock with. I can imagine something like this only in subduction zones.

9.5 magnitude is the largest one ever recorded on our planet. It was in the year 1960, in Chile. At least a magnitude 10 is possible.

This was in a subduction zone, not in a spreading zone like Northern-Atlantic Ridge.

This earthquake was actually where 3 tectonic plates meet. You can see the tectonic ridges on the map. There is a corner there, where the Eurasian, the African and the American tectonic ridge meet eachother.

[Taronyu Leleioae]

I would never say it's impossible to have a 10+.  But Tìtstewan's correct.  The energy released would not be a focused point of energy.  It would be dispersed in different directions.  In actuality, having multiple plates together actually would likely buffer the energy release and act as a dampener/shock absorber.  And, again, Tìtstewan is right in that this is in a spreading zone which infers pressure from below and new crust.  A subduction zone is far more of a concern.  However..., if there were a known volcano/island, then it could certainly cause issue.  IE when Iceland blew a few years ago and completely disrupted air traffic throughout Europe causing aircraft engine damage.

As that country depends completely on geothermal.  The loss and damage to their geothermal plants would destroy their power and heating delivery systems. 

That a big release is possible?  Certainly.  We live on a living planet that continuously shifts and moves.  My concern would not be the quake itself.  Even if it creates a new island with an eruption resulting from a gap in the floor, that's not a big problem.  It would be more of an issue of a tsunami slamming the low shoreline villages in Ireland, UK, northern europe (not to mention pushing water like a funnel into the Netherlands).  Then there's the northeast US.  Boston could easily be a direct hit with the water being collected to Cape Cod (south of Boston).

[Tìtstewan]

Here I scetch the continental plates borders: