Super seismo-sonic earthquakes are real

[Still Waters]

The inner workings of bizarre and potentially dangerous earthquakes that break the seismic sound barrier creating a sonic boom have been confirmed in laboratory experiments.

And these events -- known as supershear earthquakes -- may be more common than previously thought, report scientists in today's issue of the journal Science .

While scientists have previously investigated supershear earthquakes using plastics, the lack of experiments in real rocks limits our understanding of how these events happen in nature, they write.

http://www.abc.net.a...tm#.UbTMCdhCodU

[Ashotep]

Wonder if that is what I was hearing one night right before the ground started shaking.

[NatureBoff]

The mystery booms worldwide are another contender.

[paperdyer]

I wonder if these supershear quakes caused the continental drift to start.

[Blink4567]

Does anyone not remember "Pangea"? Think of earth like a huge grandfather clock. If you ever get a chance, look inside one. The cogs, the springs, the batteries or power system all work together. Sometimes there are just parts we don't know how they work, but now it seems were getting a better understanding. Maybe this clock is about to strike midnight...

[Andami]

I wonder if these supershear quakes caused the continental drift to start.

It's the opposite. Without plate tectonics, earthquakes couldn't exist.

[NatureBoff]

It's the opposite. Without plate tectonics, earthquakes couldn't exist.

But the painfully slow tectonic plate movement envisioned from Pangea *wouldn't* be enough to start mountain building. A child could see that the rate of erosion would degrade any uplift at this pace of events. That's why dark matter comets are an obvious contender which can deliver much more energy and go straight through the crust to the inner core. It's this type of mega-energy which is required for mountain building imv.

[-M7]

Well thats just another "cataclysm" on the list.