Seismologists investigate a ‘mysterious’ earthquake swarm near Gnowangerup in southwestern Australia

Farming communities in southwestern Australia have been hit by more than 70 earthquakes since the beginning of February.

The city of Ganwangrup, located about 345 kilometers southeast of Perth, recorded dozens of earthquakes on Monday alone, followed by a 3.1-magnitude quake on Tuesday.

Several tremors were identified on a plot of land near the property of local farmer Tim House.

“I think there were quite a few early on that we didn’t realize that’s what they were, we just thought maybe it was the house creaking,” he said.

“Then you get the heavier ones that make a good noise and [Monday] At night, all the cutlery shook in the sink, and it was as heavy as ours.”

The earthquakes caught local residents in nearby farming communities by surprise. (Supplied: Australian Geosciences)

Mr House said they were happening all the time.

“There was one around 10:00 [Monday] In the morning I think his strength was three degrees; “We definitely felt it,” he said.

“Then at 1.30 [Tuesday] The morning was another 2.9 or three [magnitude] “That woke us up, and then there were 10 or 11 more after that in the next few hours.”

The magnitude of the earthquakes was largely between 2 and 3 magnitude, and no damage was reported.

People reported feeling the tremors as far away as Katanning, about 60 kilometers from Gnawangrup.

Tim House witnessed the earthquake swarm on his farm. (ABC Great South: Rosemary Murphy)

Cause a mystery

Phil Cummins, senior seismologist at the Australian Geosciences Centre, said it was most likely a swarm of earthquakes, rather than a series of initial tremors that would likely lead to a larger quake.

During a typical earthquake swarm, a series of small to medium-sized earthquakes occur before activity subsides.

“The frequency has increased in the last month, but I’m not really seeing the sharp increase that one would expect from a foreshock sequence,” Dr Cummins said.

A graph showing 24-hour earthquakes from the Gnowangerup monitoring toolkit. (Supplied: Geological Survey of Western Australia)

“We always have to be careful about this, but I don’t see any reason to expect a really big earthquake any time soon.

“But I expect this [earthquake swarm] “To continue at least a little longer.”

There was another earthquake swarm in 2022 in nearby West Arthur.

It is not clear how long this swarm will last, or what it will trigger.

“Swarms are a bit mysterious, and we don’t really know what causes them,” Dr Cummins said.

“My preferred explanation is that it probably has to do with some kind of fluid production in the Earth’s crust, but no one really knows.”

Phil Cummins says earthquake swarms can last for years. (Supplied: Australian Geosciences)

More information needed

Western Australia is more prone to earthquakes than other states, but the Great Southern region is now in the spotlight.

The Geological Survey of Western Australia is deploying more monitoring equipment to Gnowangerup after the swarm to get a better understanding of what is happening.

A label on earthquake monitoring equipment urges people to watch their step. (ABC Great South: Rosemary Murphy)

Dr John Paul O’Donnell of the GSWA said the swarm was puzzling.

“We sometimes have earthquakes within continental plates, so here in Australia, this is not unusual in itself,” he said.

“But the occurrence of earthquakes in the central Yilgarn Craton, one of the oldest and most powerful geological units here in Australia and the engine block of the continent, is unusual and puzzling.

“The pressure is being released within the craton, rather than some other geological unit on its margins or boundaries, which is a younger, weaker unit, and that’s something we don’t fully understand.”

Monitoring will help determine the center of the Gnowangerup swarm. (ABC Great South: Rosemary Murphy)

When “major” events like this occur, additional monitoring stations are installed, he said.

The information they recorded would enable the team to more accurately pinpoint the epicenter of the earthquake, a few hundred meters away.

“Anecdotally, people feel multiple earthquakes a day here, but our instruments are very sensitive, so they will pick up a very large number, hundreds if not thousands of smaller earthquakes.”

He said it was impossible to predict whether there would be any bigger shocks.

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