February 2, 2013 – EARTH – An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck off the coast of the Solomon Islands (Santa Cruz) in the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Friday. The quake was later downgraded by the USGS to a 6.3 magnitude event. The depth of the quake was 10 km (6.2 miles) and the epicenter was 68 km southwest of Lata. The quake hit at 9:16 a.m. local time on Saturday. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not immediately issue any alerts on its website. This quake was underscored by an even  stronger 6.9 magnitude earthquake that just struck the Hokkaido region of East Japan on February 2nd. This is the ninth major earthquake to strike the planet in the last five days. The present cluster of earthquakes began with a 6.0 event in Eastern Kazakhstan on January 28th, following a full moon on January 27, 2013. Perhaps, it may not be readily apparent to most that our planet appears to now be inching towards the spectrum of some major cataclysmic event. This approaching black swan occurrence is characterized by the gradual escalation of geological activity of a violent seismic and volcanic nature. 44 volcanic eruptive events have already been recorded for the month of January; where there was only 77 chronicled for the entire year of 2012. The on-going volcanic activity in Kamchatka also provides compelling testament that massive changes are now taking place within the planet’s interior. No less than 4 volcanoes on the Far Eastern peninsula of Kamchatka are erupting simultaneous, though all the volcanoes lie in relative close proximity to each other (with a 110 km radius). Even more interesting, the magma flow fueling each volcanic system appears to emanting from a separate magma source. However, what’s even more disconcerting is the fact that  Plosky Tolbachik volcano awakened from 40 years of dormancy and is now ejecting massive rivers of lava across the landscape of Kamchatka. Russian scientists attest this is the first time rivers of lava have ever flowed from one of the Kamchatka volcanoes during the Holocene period. Large-scale protracted effusive eruptions, such as these, are generally fueled by a deep magma source. Most originate from a magma plume from deep inside the planet’s crust. Both of the planet’s volcanoes, which have had large effusive eruptions in the past, Kileaua (Hawaii) and Mount Etna (Italy) both lie over magma plumes- Kamchatka’s Plosky Tolbchik volcano does not. Kamchatka peninsula, which has a total land mass that is slightly larger than Germany, is one of the most active parts of the infamous “Ring of Fire,” the zone of volcanic and seismic activity that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Three tectonic plates — the North American Plate, the Okhotsk Plate, and the Pacific Plate — collide beneath Kamchatka, with the peninsula’s coastal range boasting 30 active volcanoes. The crust is thinning here, and is becoming more fractured, as seismic stresses increase.

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