Southwestern Poland magnitude 4.3 earthquake (6:19 AM, 5 February 2022)

James St. John
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Southwestern Poland magnitude 4.3 earthquake (6:19 AM, 5 February 2022)
Southwestern Poland magnitude 4.3 earthquake (6:19 AM, 5 February 2022)

This is a seismogram from the Ruedersdorf seismic station in Germany. The noise was caused by a magnitude 4.3 earthquake that occurred in southwestern Poland at 6:19 AM, local time, on 5 February 2022. The epicenter was about 10 kilometers northwest of Żelazny Most Reservoir, near the towns of Rudna and Lubin, Poland. The hypocenter was about 11 kilometers deep.

Poland's Rudna-Lubin area has extensive underground mine workings. The mining complexes target a Late Permian-aged copper ore horizon known as the Kupferschiefer ("Copper Shale"), which is widely distributed in northern Europe, from Poland to Germany to Britain (e.g., see: www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/51116259777 ). Minor to moderate earthquakes have occurred in the vicinity of the Polish copper mines, apparently due to changes in stress conditions in & near mined-out areas. Natural earthquakes in Poland are rare. Inferred induced earthquakes are fairly common in Poland's mining districts. Some of them cause localized mine roof collapses or sidewall rock bursts.

See info. at:
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000gi6t/exec...
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudna_mine
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An earthquake is a natural shaking or vibrating of the Earth caused by sudden fault movement and a rapid release of energy. Earthquake activity is called "seismicity". The study of earthquakes is called "seismology". The actual underground location of an earthquake is the hypocenter, or focus. The site at the Earth's surface, directly above the hypocenter, is the epicenter. Minor earthquakes may occur before a major event - such small quakes are called foreshocks. Minor to major quakes after a major event are aftershocks.

Most earthquakes occur at or near tectonic plate boundaries, such as subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges, collision zones, and transform plate boundaries. They also occur at hotspots - large subsurface mantle plumes (Examples: Hawaii, Yellowstone, Iceland, Afar).

Earthquakes generate four types of shock waves: P-waves, S-waves, Love waves, and Rayleigh waves. P-waves and S-waves are body waves - they travel through solid rocks. Love waves and Rayleigh waves travel only at the surface - they are surface waves. P-waves are push-pull waves that travel quickly and cause little damage. S-waves are up-and-down waves (like flicking a rope) that travel slowly and cause significant damage. Love waves are side-to-side surface waves, like a slithering snake. Rayleigh waves are rotational surface waves, somewhat like ripples from tossing a pebble into a pond.

Earthquakes are associated with many specific hazards, such as ground shaking, ground rupturing, subsidence (sinking), uplift (rising), tsunamis, landslides, fires, and liquefaction.

Some famous major earthquakes in history include: Shensi, China in 1556; Lisbon, Portugal in 1755; New Madrid, Missouri in 1811-1812; San Francisco, California in 1906; Anchorage, Alaska in 1964; and Loma Prieta, California in 1989.

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Taken on: February 5, 2022
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