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The Co Clare seismometer's reading of this morning's earthquake in Japan, which occurred 5,762 miles away. Irish National Seismic Network
Earthquake

New Co Clare seismometer detects 1.1-mag Donegal earthquake

The new seismometer at the Cliffs of Moher is also sensitive enough to have recorded this morning’s 6.9-mag quake in Japan.

DONEGAL WAS HIT by a mild earthquake last night, with a magnitude of 1.1, according to a seismometer newly installed in Co Clare.

The device, run by the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), has been installed at the Cliffs of Moher and is funded by the Geological Survey of Ireland.

The new equipment, installed last month, is sensitive enough to pick up mild activity near Ireland, as it did last night when a 1.1-magnitude quake struck the Buncrana and Milford regions of Co Donegal at around 9:23pm.

Thanks to high atmospheric pressure this morning, it was also able to record this morning’s earthquake off Japan, some 5,762 miles away.

INSN director Tom Blake said the quake was “clearly picked up by the Cliffs of Moher seismometer approximately 10 minutes after it struck at 9:08am local time”.

“High atmospheric pressure over Western Europe, which resulted in a reduction background seismic noise, helped to provide a very clear reading,” he said.

He added that Earth was “more elastic than one might think”, with the ripple effect of other recent quakes in Siberia and the Philippines being felt in North Clare when the energy travelled under the cliffs and was subsequently picked up by the seismometer.

The new seismometer joins similar equipment installed at geoparks in counties Fermanagh and Wexford.

The epicentre of this morning’s quake was almost exactly the same spot as the minor quake which struck the same area six weeks ago, though the magnitude of this morning’s shake was significantly less than the 2.2 recorded on January 26.

Read: Japan removes tsunami alert after 6.9-mag earthquake >

Jan 26: Minor earthquake strikes Co Donegal >

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