CAPE COD MAY SEE MASS WHALE BEACHINGS BETWEEN 17th - 24th FEBRUARY 2014

The following warning was issued on January 30, 2014:

On January 28, 2014, the following series of pod-dangerous earthquakes occurred along the Reykjanes Ridge, a known habitat South of Iceland for pods of long-finned pilot whales and for other dolphin species.

If a pod of whales or dolphins were injured by this series of seaquakes, they should beach themselves somewhere downstream of this area between the 17th and 24th of February 2014.

Since the injury knocks out their sense of direction, where the lost/injured pod might beach depends solely of the flow of the surface currents.

2014-01-28   23:17:41.0 56.64 N   34.29 W   10 5.0   REYKJANES RIDGE
2014-01-28  22:22:16.0 56.82 N   34.47 W 01 5.3   REYKJANES RIDGE

2014-01-28   22:10:48.0 56.77 N   34.40 W   10 4.8   REYKJANES RIDGE

2014-01-28   21:33:33.0 56.82 N   34.39 W   10 4.6   REYKJANES RIDGE

2014-01-28   21:11:32.0 56.91 N   34.35 W   15 4.5   REYKJANES RIDGE

2014-01-28   20:48:00.0 56.68 N   34.29 W   10 4.8   REYKJANES RIDGE

2014-01-28   20:34:05.0 56.75 N   34.34 W   10 4.9   REYKJANES RIDGE

The motion in the seafloor of the Mag. 5.3 event was vertical thrusting. The focus was extremely shallow at 1 km. This quake would indeed generate pod-dangerous pressure oscillations.

VARIABLES THAT DETERMINE WHETHER WHALES WILL BEACH

(a) The danger zone above the epicenter might not contain any whales. 

(b) The quake or quakes might have induced ambient pressure changes too weak to overcome the counterbalancing mechanisms these animals have evolved to deal with earthquake activity. This would explain why earthquakes below 4 magnitude are not associated with strandings. Moreover, because water does not transfer shearing motion, strike/slip events with predominate side-to-side motion are not nearly as whale-dangerous as events with mostly vertical jerking. The energy that generates rapid and intense pressure changes is not the magnitude of the quake. Rather, what causes whale-dangerous quakes is the speed of the vertical shifting in the seafloor (peak ground acceleration). In other words, scientists can not claim the seaquake solution is invalid just because there were no strandings following a particular earthquake.

(c) There might have been a series of smaller fore-shocks hours before the main shock that scare the whales from the area. These fore-shocks might not have been detected or recorded in the earthquake data if the main shock was more than 1000 km from the nearest seismic station.

(d) Whales are believed to be able to sense geomagnetic precursor signals and scamper away hours to days before the major shocks occur. Most quakes above ~6.5 mag. are known to emit these signals, which explains why whales rarely beach after big earthquakes. This geomagnetism remains fairly high in the area for many days after the shock and would signal whales to avoid the area until the seafloor is more stable.

(e) Seaquake-injured whales might recover if their injuries are minor. Whether or not recovery is possible depends on the degree of their injuries and on how lucky they are to catch a meal on the surface to sustain them while they heal. Several hundred years ago, most pods recovered because the surface waters were teaming with schools of small fish. These pods held no acoustic memories of the seabed trail between the time of their injury and recovery so they were not able to back tract to their previous feeding grounds. They were forced to find a new habitat. Thus, 200 years ago, seaquakes were evolutionary advantageous because they spread the species and prevented overgrazing on a particular feeding ground. This has all changed now due to overfishing by man. Not finding food on the surface to help them heal explains why more pods are beaching today than did at any time in the last several million years. Seaquakes along may wipe out pelagic species if man continues to ignore barotraumatic injury in whales.

(f) Seaquake-injured whales might be taken by sharks or killer whales before reaching the beach, especially if their injuries are severe. These top ocean predators feed on whales, not minnows. A potent seaquake would serve as a dinner bell for big sharks and killer whales.

(g) Surface currents might guide the pod away from shore and out into the open ocean where they eventually succumb to predation. Surface currents might also guide the non-navigating whales into the path of ocean-going vessels, navy ships using powerful sonar, oil industry seismic survey vessels, or into fishing nets. Unable to determine a safe path to avoid further injury, seaquake-injured whales would be vulnerable to additional injury and likely death. 

(h) The injured whales might strand on a remote beach and not be discovered.

(i) A storm at sea might split the pod into several smaller groups which will then strand at different beaches and different times. Smaller groups also make easier pray for sharks and killer whales.

(j) Native folks might harvest the stranded whales and not report them to the authorities. Eating live-stranded seaquake-injured whales was common up until a hundred years ago, and appears to be environmentally sound.

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Site Map for http://deafwhale.com  

Why Whales Strand: The Logical Truth   
Seaquakes kill 322 Baleen Whales in Chile   
Three Fin Whales Killed by Seaquake   
The Danger of Seaquakes   
How Seaquakes Cause Whale Strandings   
Scientists Lying About Whale Strandings   
Whale Scientists Spreading Propaganda Part II   
Scuba Divers Survive Seaquakes   
Surface Currents Guide Whales to the Beach   
Seaquake-Vessel Encounters from 1900 to 2015   
Seaquake-Vessel Encounters from 1800 to 1899   
History of Whale Drive Fisheries and Seaquakes   
Typical Seaquake Reported by a Ship at Sea   
Various Whale Beaching Theories   
Whale Stranding Solutions   
Variables in Seaquake-Induced Whale Strandings   
Narwhals Trapped in Arctic Ice   
Seaquake Causes Whale Beaching   
1988 article why whales and dolphins strand (PDF)   
2013 Science Article - seaquakes cause whale strandings (PDF)   
Seismic Airguns Kill Endangered Sea Turtles    
Nuclear Submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) sunk by seaquake   
1966 US Navy verifies seaquakes sinks ships and kill marine life   
Ghost Ship Mary Celeste abandoned during seaquake    

Site Map for http://deafwhale.blogspot.com   

2015

Dec 09: Whale Dangerous Earthquake South of Perth 
Dec 09: Seaquake causes dolphins to strand Baja California   
Nov 23: Seaquakes kill 322 baleen whales in Chile    (shocking)  
Aug 24: NOAA whale scientists dumbfounded   
Aug 14: stranded dolphin is determined to be deaf   
Aug 08: seaquake causes pilot whales to strand Nova Scotia   
Jul   27: is our stranding solution flawed as scientists claim   
Jun  01: pilots stranded Isles of Skye from Reykjanes Ridge   
May 22: dead whales washing ashore on the California Coast   
May 10: earthquake kills 20 Sei Whales near Chile Coast   
Apr  10: seaquake strands 150 melon-headed whales in Japan   

2014   
Dec 25: navigation failure in mass stranded whales  (most popular)   
Dec 08: seaquake causes 7 sperm whales to beach Australia   
Nov 24: seaquake beaches 3 sperm whales at Golden Bay   
Nov 04: seaquake beaches 60 pilot whales in Bay of Plenty   
Oct 29: nine pilot whales strand on Prince Edward Island   
Apr  11: 60 pilot whales beach in Bay of Plenty   
Mar 20: Cape Ray Newfoundland 37 dolphins beach   
Mar 14: undersea quakes louder than nuclear explosions   
Mar 13: seaquakes cause whale strandings 32 million years   
Mar 02: blue whale killed by seaquake in Kuwait   
Feb 27: seaquake kills young killer whale   
Feb 23: predicting mass beachings based on seaquakes   
Feb 21: lessons in understanding why whales beach   
Feb 18: seaquake Greenland Sea kills 3 sperm whales   
Feb 12: nine orcas killed by seaquake   
Jan 30: Cape Cod mass stranding predicted   
Jan 20: seaquake causes 39 pilot whales to strand Florida   
Jan 16: seaquakes beach 65 pilot whales in Golden Bay   
Jan 05: seaquake beaches 30 pilot whales in Golden Bay   

2013   
Dec 06: why did pilot whales beached in the everglades?   
Apr 30: seaquake beaches 6 killer whales in Iceland   
Apr 25: beached whales stop war games   

2012   
Dec 08: seaquake beach pilot whales South Carolina   
Nov 15: pilot whales beach at Golden Bay, New Zealand   
Nov 04: seaquake causes two pods to beach at King Island   
Oct 28:  pilot whales strand on North Andaman Island   
Oct 17: earthquakes cause New Zealand whale stranding   
Sep 09: earthquake kills pregnant sperm whale   
Sep 03: seaquake strands pilot whales in Scotland   
Aug 24: two quakes cause near beaching in Cape Verde   
Jul  28:  200 Pilot Whales Northwest of Iceland   
Mar 19: Four Sperm Whales Wash Ashore in China   

2011   
Dec  31: world's rarest whales killed by earthquake   
Mar 06: 52 melon-headed dolphins strand in Japan   

2008   
Nov 20: 52 Pilot Whales Stranded in Tasmania

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