EGCS Scientists Provide Context for York, Maine Earthquake
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A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck near York, Maine on the morning of Monday, January 27, with reports of tremors felt as far away as western Massachusetts. To understand the science behind this and other quakes in the Northeast, several media outlets spoke with professor Michele Cooke and extension associate professor William P. Clement, both of the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences (EGCS).
Below, Cooke explains energy transmission in the Earth's crust found below the Northeast:
"Following the Maine earthquake, Western Mass News received several calls and social media comments from viewers, who said they felt the earthquake in western Massachusetts. Cooke told us that that’s very common in our area and explained that one of the characteristics of the earth’s crust in the northeast is that it is very cold and cold rocks tend to transmit energy very quickly, so it’s not surprising that we would feel an earthquake in Maine all the way in western Massachusetts. 'What’s so interesting is, if a similar size earthquake happened in California, it would not be as widespread. It would only be felt in the local region because the rocks are a lot hotter,' she explained."
— Western Mass News
Read more in Western Mass News, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, MassLive, and WWLP.