OMEN: Plagues & Pestilences - Is It Alien, Fish Or Just Foul, "MUTANT" Sea Creature With A Nose, Feet, Tail And WING Baffles Caribbean Island?!

While it has scales, the fish (shown upside down) also has two strange feet, complete with toes.
(Photo: The Sun/Wessex News)

February 4, 2016 - CARRIACOU - An “alien-looking” creature likened to “something out of a sci-fi horror film” has caused a stir in the Grenadine island of Carriacou.

The fishy story began when the strange-looking specimen was caught in the port of Windward, reportedly giving some seasoned fishermen quite a fright.

The foot-long fish reportedly had humanoid “feet” complete with toes, which allowed it to walk across the ocean floor, a “perfect human nose,” wings and scales.

And the apparent hybrid, whether fish or fowl, had disbelieving fishermen stumped.

One islander said “Everyone crowded round to look – nobody had ever seen anything like it.

“Quite a few people were pretty scared and thought it looked like something out of a sci-fi horror film.”

Veteran fisherman Hope McLawrence, 74, who found himself eyeball to eyeball with the “alien” creature when he hauled in his nets, admitted he was baffled.

He said the foot-long beast had two feet with toes, no fin, a long bone on its back and “a perfect human nose immediately above its mouth.”

“I have never discovered anything like this before. The wings and tail look extremely complicated,” he noted.

McLawrence, a master fisherman with more than fifty years’ experience in the industry, added: “By the look of the creature it cannot swim but apparently walks on the sea bed.

“This has shocked me to a considerable extent since I never thought that a creature like this even existed, much less in the harbour of these shallow, friendly waters.

“This is like a mystery and breathes a chill with this discovery,” he indicated.

The 'alien fish' was caught on the island of Carriacou, a few miles from Grenada (stock image)

The attention-grabbing creature is believed to be a frogfish, an ambush predator that can eat almost anything that will fit into its mouth, which can expand to 12 times its normal size to accommodate prey such as fish, crabs and shrimp, as well as other frogfish.

Frogfish, a type of anglerfish, are masters of disguise and have a textured exterior that aids in their camouflage. They vary in colour and often have unique spines or bumps that change with their surroundings.

Their amazing ability to camouflage themselves serves as protection from predators and may explain why they have not been spotted by Carriacou fishermen before.

Unlike the Carriacou discovery, however, frogfish do not have scales.

According to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), frogfish lack a swim bladder and use their modified pectoral fins to walk or run across the seafloor.

They can be found in tropical and subtropical oceans and seas off the coasts of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. - Caribbean 360.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 4.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits East Of St. Lucia - 13 Tremors In The Region Since The Start Of The Year!

USGS earthquake location map.

May 14, 2015 - CASTRIES, ST. LUCIA - There has been another earthquake in the region.

ADVERTISEMENT

A 4.7 magnitude tremor was recorded east of St Lucia around 10:16 a.m. today, according to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre.

The tremor occurred 64 kilometres east of the capital, Castries, 100 kilometres southeast of Fort-de-France, Martinique and 132 kilometres northeast of Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines at a depth of 21 kilometres.

 USGS shakemap intensity.

The National Emergency Management Organization said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

On May 2, a 4.5 magnitude quake was recorded off Barbados, following a 3.9 magnitude tremor on April 27.

The UWI Seismic Research Centre has reported 13 quakes in the region since the start of the year. - Caribbean 360.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate. This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

 USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Colombia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake.

References for the Panama Fracture Zone:
Molnar, P., and Sykes, L. R., 1969, Tectonics of the Caribbean and Middle America Regions from Focal Mechanisms and Seismicity: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 1639-1684.

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Uptick Along The Caribbean Region - Trinidad Rattled By Second Earthquake Within Six Days! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location map.

April 20, 2015 - PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Trinidad and Tobago was jolted by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 on Monday, the second tremor to affect the oil-rich twin island Republic within six days.

The Seismic Unit of the University of the West Indies (UWI) said that the quake, which was felt at 3.11 am, had a depth of 10 kilometers and was located 85 kilometers west, north west of the capital and was also felt in neighbouring Venezuela.

It was located 10.87 degrees north, 62.25 degrees west. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

 USGS shakemap intensity.

Last Wednesday an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 rocked the island and was also felt in Venezuela and as far north as St George’s in Grenada. It was focused at an epicentre around 34 kilometres north-northeast of Irapa in Venezuela and about 105 kilometres west-northwest of Port of Spain in Trinidad.

The quake, which struck at around 10:24 local time, was felt across Trinidad and Tobago, with light to moderate shaking the norm. Many people took to social networks to report on the tremor, but disaster officials here said there were no immediate reports of damages to infrastructure or injuries.

UWI officials have in the past warned the country to be prepared for a much stronger earthquake. - Caribbean 360.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate. This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

 USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Colombia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake.

References for the Panama Fracture Zone:
Molnar, P., and Sykes, L. R., 1969, Tectonics of the Caribbean and Middle America Regions from Focal Mechanisms and Seismicity: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 1639-1684.

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong 5.4 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Trinidad And Venezuela! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location map.

April 17, 2015 - CARIBBEAN - An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 rocked Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night but there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake was also felt in Venezuela and as far north as St George’s in Grenada. It was focused at an epicentre around 34 kilometres north-northeast of Irapa in Venezuela and about 105 kilometres west-northwest of Port of Spain in Trinidad.

 USGS shakemap intensity.

USGS map indicating reports of the locations across Trinidad where the earthquake was felt. (Credit: USGS) The quake, which struck at around 10.24 (local time) was felt across Trinidad and Tobago, with light to moderate shaking the norm. Many people took to the social networks to report on the tremor, but disaster officials here said there were no immediate reports of damages to infrastructure or injuries.

Much of the Caribbean region is located in a seismically active zone. - Caribbean 360.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate. This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

 USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Colombia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake.

References for the Panama Fracture Zone:
Molnar, P., and Sykes, L. R., 1969, Tectonics of the Caribbean and Middle America Regions from Focal Mechanisms and Seismicity: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 1639-1684.

More information on regional seismicity and tectonics

- USGS.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Kick'em Jenny - Could Dangerous Underwater Volcano In The Caribbean Cause A U.S. Tsunami?!

May 15, 2014 - CARIBBEAN - A team of scientists is exploring the darkest corners of a huge underwater volcano in the Caribbean in hopes of better understanding the mysteries of earthquakes and tsunamis, ultimately saving lives.

Kick'em Jenny is a dangerous and active volcano sitting roughly 6,000 feet below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, and located off the coast of the island of Grenada, south of St. Lucia.

Robert Ballard, famous for discovering the Titanic 12,000 feet below the surface of the icy North Atlantic in 1985, set his sights on exploring the Kick'em Jenny to study its eruption history and learn more about how underwater volcanoes can pose a threat.

Ballard, the president of The Ocean Exploration Trust and the director of the Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, said the Kick'em Jenny volcano has a history of explosive eruptions, which could have the potential to trigger tsunamis, the effects from which could be felt as far away as the northeastern United States.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Kick'em Jenny volcano has erupted 10 times since 1939 with the most recent eruption in 1990.

“This is the most hazardous part of our planet, where [tectonic] plates are head-on,” Ballard said, noting that the devastating 2011 Japanese earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami were both underwater earthquakes.

“Nightline” accompanied Ballard and his team of 40 explorers aboard their exploration vessel Nautilus during the final 48 hours of their 90-day voyage, which was documented for an upcoming National Geographic special, "Caribbean's Deadly Underworld," which premieres Sunday on Nat Geo WILD.

The conditions around the Kick'em Jenny volcano are so dangerous to humans that Ballard and his team relied on the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) “Hercules,” a 5,000-pound submersible, to be their eyes and ears inside the volcano. As Hercules descends into the volcano, Ballard and his team watch the robot’s live cameras from a control room aboard the Nautilus.

After hours of searching, the team made a startling discovery: life.

“It means that places that we thought there was very little life existing on our plant, we’ve just opened up a whole other area where life seems to be thriving,” Ballard said. “A lot of the deep sea is sort of like you know you can think of it as a desert. We just found an oasis in that desert.”


WATCH: Could Underwater Caribbean Volcano Threaten U.S.?

On its journey, Hercules took pictures of its surroundings, made maps and collected samples, including organisms living inside the volcano and even reaching inside the volcano’s bubbling plume to gather materials.

Such discoveries on Ballard’s trip could allow scientists to better understand the threats posed by underwater volcanic eruptions.

“And there’s no reason to stop, there’s 72 percent of the planet hardly explored,” Ballard said. “I like to tell children that their generation is the generation that will explore more of earth than all previous generations combined.” - ABC News.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Powerful 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off The Coast Of Venezuela - Felt Throughout The Caribbean Region; Most Powerful Tremor To Hit Near Trinidad & Tobago In 6 Years!

October 11, 2013 - CARIBBEAN - A brief temblor said to be of around 6.2 on the Richter Scale struck around 10.13 pm tonight off Venezuela and was felt in Trinidad, Georgetown and other parts of Guyana.

City residents felt around a three-second tremor which had many asking questions about the source of the earth-shaking.

USGS earthquake location.

The earthquake was said to have occurred 33km N of Gueiria, Venezuela, according to the website www.volcanodiscovery.com. The website featured reactions from Trinidadians, Venezuelans and Guyanese about what they had felt.

Moderate shaking was experienced in many parts of Trinidad, according to the website, and the duration of the temblor closer to the epicentre was between 15 and 20 seconds.

The US Geological Survey is reporting that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 79.4 km. The quake was fifty-three miles west of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, sixty-two miles west of Port Fortin and sixty-three miles west of Tunapuna as well.

A news item in today’s Trinidad Express follows:

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad was rattled by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake (preliminary data) Friday night, causing fear and unease among citizens concerned that it was intense enough to have caused damage, or trigger a tsunami.

However, there were no immediate reports of damage, and no tsunami warning was issued.

The earthquake was strong enough to cause disruption of the electricity supply, with T&TEC reporting issues at its sub stations in Carenage, Pt. Cumana and Santa Flora.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management issued a statement to advise citizens that it has put all first responder agencies on alert so that immediate assistance can be rendered if any adverse impact occurs. “Citizens are reminded to contact 511 if they have been adversely affected”, the ODPM stated.

According to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre , at 10:10pm local time, an earthquake occurred north of the Paria Peninsula, Trinidad. The event was located at 10.86°N 62.12°W. The magnitude was 6.4 and depth 60km.

Social media immediately lit up, with people sharing their experiences following the shake which lasted for a lengthy period and which occurred during the local government campaign meetings of the United National Congress in Debe, the Movement for Social Justice in Point Fortin and the Independent Liberal Party in Princes Town.
Some reported pictures becoming dislodged from walls, and objects toppling from cupboards and cabinets. Others said they screamed and took cover under door frames. Many said they paused and prayed.

The quake is the latest in a series, the last occurring on Monday 9th September, at 9:54am, west of Trinidad in the Gulf of Paria. The event was located at 10.25°N and 61.75°W. The magnitude was 3.8 and the depth 76km. There were felt reports from St. James and Diego Martin, Trinidad.
On Tuesday 27th August, 2013 at 7:59am local time an earthquake occurred North-west of Trinidad. The event was located at 10.76°N and 61.79°W. The magnitude was 3.9 and the depth 57 km. There were felt reports from Cocorite and Maraval, Trinidad”.
.
At 10.45 a.m on August 8,an earthquake occurred north of the Paria Peninsular, which is off Trinidad northwest coast.

“The event was located at 10.72N 62.33W. The magnitude was 3.8 with a depth of 77km. This event has been reported to be felt in Port of Spain Trinidad”, the SRC stated.

At 10:56a.m on August 6, a quake was recorded north of Paria Peninsula.

The SRC gave the location as 10.75°N 62.13°W. The magnitude was 4.1 and depth 54km. No injuries or damage were reported.

- Stabroek News.


A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Venezuela on Friday evening and was felt in Trinidad and Tobago, according to the United States Geological Survey.

There were reports of moderate shaking across the region, including Trinidad, Guyana, Grenada Venezuela.

The University of the West Indies rated the quake at a magnitude of 6.4, although UWI frequently has readings higher than those of the USGS.

USGS earthquake shakemap intensity.

The tremor’s epicentre was about 33 kilometres north of Gueiria, Venezuela, and about 86 kilometres west-northwest of Port of Spain, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It occurred at around 10:10 PM in Trinidad at a depth of about 79 kilometres, according to the USGS.

It was the strongest earthquake in the Caribbean region in several years.

In a statement, Trinidad’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management said there were no reports of damages thus far. There have been reports of issues with the power grid, however. - Carib Journal.


A tremor rattled Guyana at approximately 10:12 PM (local time) around the same time a quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale shook north-eastern Venezuela.

There were no immediate reports of damage. Persons in Georgetown as well as far away as Corriverton, Berbice, Linden, Bartica, Mahdia and the North West District felt the earth shiver. 

Around the same time, the United States Geological Surveys (USGS) reported a 6.0 earthquake at 10:10 PM about 27 kilometers North North East of Gueiria, Venezuela to a depth of 86 kilometers. The location was 10.818°N 62.233°W. - Guyanese Online.


An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 jolted several Caribbean countries, including Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana on Friday night, the Trinidad-based Seismic Unit of the University of the West Indies (UWI) confirmed Saturday.

It said that the quake, which was also felt in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines occurred at 10:10 pm and was located north of the Paria Peninsula in Trinidad.

USGS earthquake location.

The Guyana-based Demerara Waves website said that the tremor was felt as far away as Corriverton, Berbice, Linden, Bartica, Mahdia and the North West District.

There were no immediate reports of damage or death caused by the quake which had a depth of 60 kilometres and was located 10.86 degrees north, 62.12 degrees west.

Media reports in Trinidad made reference to electricity power cuts but no serious damage or injuries. The quake is the most powerful felt in Trinidad and Tobago since 1997 when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck the twin island republic causing damage in the sister isle of Tobago. - Jamaica Observer.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Caribbean Region and Vicinity.

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

USGS plate tectonics for the region.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate. This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Columbia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake. - USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Trinidad & Tobago!

March 25, 2013 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The United States Geological Survey is reporting that a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Northeast of Roxborough in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this afternoon.

USGS earthquake map and location.

The quake was 81km Northeast of Roxborough and had a depth of 46km.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

USGS earthquake shakemap intensity.

USGS earthquake - Magnitude 4.9 in the Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

The earthquake follows this morning's 4.9 magnitude quake which struck east of Grenada at 1:28 am. - OG.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics Of The Caribbean Region And Vicinity.

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics.

Along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate, the North America plate moves westwards with respect to the Caribbean plate at a velocity of approximately 20 mm/yr. Motion is accommodated along several major transform faults that extend eastward from Isla de Roatan to Haiti, including the Swan Island Fault and the Oriente Fault. These faults represent the southern and northern boundaries of the Cayman Trench. Further east, from the Dominican Republic to the Island of Barbuda, relative motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate becomes increasingly complex and is partially accommodated by nearly arc-parallel subduction of the North America plate beneath the Caribbean plate. This results in the formation of the deep Puerto Rico Trench and a zone of intermediate focus earthquakes (70-300 km depth) within the subducted slab. Although the Puerto Rico subduction zone is thought to be capable of generating a megathrust earthquake, there have been no such events in the past century. The last probable interplate (thrust fault) event here occurred on May 2, 1787 and was widely felt throughout the island with documented destruction across the entire northern coast, including Arecibo and San Juan. Since 1900, the two largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the August 4, 1946 M8.0 Samana earthquake in northeastern Hispaniola and the July 29, 1943 M7.6 Mona Passage earthquake, both of which were shallow thrust fault earthquakes. A significant portion of the motion between the North America plate and the Caribbean plate in this region is accommodated by a series of left-lateral strike-slip faults that bisect the island of Hispaniola, notably the Septentrional Fault in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the south. Activity adjacent to the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault system is best documented by the devastating January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti strike-slip earthquake, its associated aftershocks and a comparable earthquake in 1770.

USGS earthquake historic seismicity.

Moving east and south, the plate boundary curves around Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles where the plate motion vector of the Caribbean plate relative to the North and South America plates is less oblique, resulting in active island-arc tectonics. Here, the North and South America plates subduct towards the west beneath the Caribbean plate along the Lesser Antilles Trench at rates of approximately 20 mm/yr. As a result of this subduction, there exists both intermediate focus earthquakes within the subducted plates and a chain of active volcanoes along the island arc. Although the Lesser Antilles is considered one of the most seismically active regions in the Caribbean, few of these events have been greater than M7.0 over the past century. The island of Guadeloupe was the site of one of the largest megathrust earthquakes to occur in this region on February 8, 1843, with a suggested magnitude greater than 8.0. The largest recent intermediate-depth earthquake to occur along the Lesser Antilles arc was the November 29, 2007 M7.4 Martinique earthquake northwest of Fort-De-France.

The southern Caribbean plate boundary with the South America plate strikes east-west across Trinidad and western Venezuela at a relative rate of approximately 20 mm/yr. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central Range Fault and the Boconó-San Sebastian-El Pilar Faults, and shallow seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes to occur in this region were the October 29, 1900 M7.7 Caracas earthquake, and the July 29, 1967 M6.5 earthquake near this same region. Further to the west, a broad zone of compressive deformation trends southwestward across western Venezuela and central Columbia. The plate boundary is not well defined across northwestern South America, but deformation transitions from being dominated by Caribbean/South America convergence in the east to Nazca/South America convergence in the west. The transition zone between subduction on the eastern and western margins of the Caribbean plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity involving low- to intermediate-magnitude (Magnitude less than 6.0) earthquakes of shallow to intermediate depth.

The plate boundary offshore of Colombia is also characterized by convergence, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath South America towards the east at a rate of approximately 65 mm/yr. The January 31, 1906 M8.5 earthquake occurred on the shallowly dipping megathrust interface of this plate boundary segment. Along the western coast of Central America, the Cocos plate subducts towards the east beneath the Caribbean plate at the Middle America Trench. Convergence rates vary between 72-81 mm/yr, decreasing towards the north. This subduction results in relatively high rates of seismicity and a chain of numerous active volcanoes; intermediate-focus earthquakes occur within the subducted Cocos plate to depths of nearly 300 km. Since 1900, there have been many moderately sized intermediate-depth earthquakes in this region, including the September 7, 1915 M7.4 El Salvador and the October 5, 1950 M7.8 Costa Rica events.

The boundary between the Cocos and Nazca plates is characterized by a series of north-south trending transform faults and east-west trending spreading centers. The largest and most seismically active of these transform boundaries is the Panama Fracture Zone. The Panama Fracture Zone terminates in the south at the Galapagos rift zone and in the north at the Middle America trench, where it forms part of the Cocos-Nazca-Caribbean triple junction. Earthquakes along the Panama Fracture Zone are generally shallow, low- to intermediate in magnitude (Magnitude less than 7.2) and are characteristically right-lateral strike-slip faulting earthquakes. Since 1900, the largest earthquake to occur along the Panama Fracture Zone was the July 26, 1962 M7.2 earthquake. - USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Moderate 4.9 To 5.0 Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Region - Felt In Jamaica, Trinidad And Grenada!

February 11, 2013 - CARIBBEAN - Reports are that an earth tremor shook sections of western Jamaica early Sunday morning.

USGS earthquake map and location.

The tremor was felt in Westmoreland at 6:10am and lasted for approximately three seconds. There were also reports of it being felt in other sections of the island. There were no reports of damage related to the tremor. Meanwhile, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 and depth of 110 km was confirmed in Trinidad early Sunday morning. The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) said the quake occurred at 1:27 (local time). The quake occurred north of the Paria Peninsula in Trinidad. It’s reported that the tremor was also felt in Grenada. - Jamaica Observer.

The location of Sunday’s earthquake. UWI graphic.

On Sunday at 1:27am local time an earthquake occurred north of the Paria Peninsula, Trinidad, with an epicentre 89 kilometres (51 miles) northwest of Port of Spain.  According to preliminary reports from the Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies in St Augustine, Trinidad, the magnitude of the quake was 4.9 and the depth 110km.  Corresponding data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicated a magnitude of 5.0 and a depth of 94 kilometres.  There were reports of minor shaking in St George’s, St David’s and St Andrew in Grenada, and Glencoe, Trinidad.  No damage or injuries were reported. - CNN.

USGS Historic Seismicity of the Jamaica Region.

A magnitude-5 earthquake has rattled Trinidad & Tobago during its popular Carnival celebrations, but no damage or injuries have been reported.  The quake struck shortly after midnight some 55 miles (89 kilometres) from the twin-island nation's capital of Port-of-Spain. It also shook Grenada and parts of Venezuela's Caribbean coast.  The U.S. Geological Survey says the offshore quake's epicenter was 94 kilometres (58 miles) beneath the earth's surface.  In Port-of-Spain, some jittery people lingered outdoors after the ground rattled buildings and hotels. Police say they received numerous calls from residents about the quake.  The quake rattled the Caribbean country as tourists and local revelers have filled the capital for Trinidad's hip-shaking Carnival, the biggest and most lavish of all Caribbean celebrations. - Vancouver Sun.

Massive Earthquake Coming to Jamaica - on the Same Scale as the One That Sank a Section of Port Royal More Than 300 Years Ago!

Jamaica is due to experience an earthquake on the same scale as one that sank a section of Port Royal more than 300 years ago, according to the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies. "The past is a key to the future, so what has happened before will happen again," Dr Lyndon Brown, research fellow and head of the Earthquake Unit, told The Gleaner yesterday. Brown said that although he was certain the island would be hit by another major earthquake, he could not give an accurate time frame for his prediction. "There have been some calculations about 144 years after the 1904, some about 84 (years), but it's really not accurate," he told The Gleaner. "We believe these are cycles but we don't know the recurrent intervals. Some calculations have been done based on the history of earthquakes, we don't know what has happened before, we have not done enough research to understand the history of earthquakes prior to this. So any calculations that have been done or any recurrent interval that is calculated is just based on a short history, so it's really not accurate."

Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Superintendent in charge of operations of the Kingston and St Andrew Fire Department, Maxwell Hinds, says his division is not prepared to manage anything of the magnitude that hit the island in 1692, claiming the lives of more than 3,000 people. "The Kingston and St Andrew division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade is, I would say, equipped to respond to fires and some search and rescues, but in a major disaster, we would have problems," Hinds said. Speaking with The Gleaner at the National Simulation and Training Exercise Programme (NSTEP), Hinds said: "If it becomes a mass situation, we might have to seek multi-agency assistance but if it's just confined to a section, we might be able to manage and we would get resources from neighbouring parishes, so it all depends on the extent of the situation." NSTEP was established by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and yesterday held its National Simulation Exercise, on the challenges that would affect the education sector in the aftermath of a major earthquake, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. - Jamaica Gleaner.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake Strikes the Barbados Region in the Windward Islands!

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake has struck the Barbados Region, Windward Islands at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

The quake hit on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 07:19:04 UTC and was located at 12.388°N, 60.164°W.

The epicentre was 98 km (60 miles) southwest of Bridgetown, Barbados; 141 km (87 miles) southeast of Kingstown, St. Vincent and Grenadines; 147 km (91 miles) northeast of Scarborough, Tobago; and 177 km (109 miles) northeast of Saint George's, Grenada.

No tsunami warning was issued and there are no reports of any damage or injuries at this time.