The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake at a depth of 135.8 km in the southeast Carpathian Mountains slightly after 4.35 am local time (slightly after 1.35 am GMT) on Sunday 6 October 2013. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, but it was felt over a wide area of eastern Romania as well as in neighbouring Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.
The approximate location of the 6 October 2013 Romanian Earthquake. Google Maps.
The Carpathian Mountains form part of the suture formed when the Tethys Ocean closed during the Mesozoic, joining the continents of Laurasia (to the north) and Gondwana (to the south). The area is now internal to the Eurasian continent, but the area to the south, known as the Moesian Platform, has a separate origin to the rest of Europe. This system is once again being stressed by the impact of Africa into Eurasia from the south, with the Anatolian Plate (which underlies Anatolian Turkey), Aegean Plate (which underlies southern Greece) and Adriatic Plate (which underlies eastern Italy and the western Balkan Peninsula) caught between the two larger units, leading to a more complex interplay of stresses across southeastern Europe. The Antatolian and Aegean Plates are located to the south of the Moesian Platform, and are being pushed to the west, while the Adriatic Plate lies to the west of the Aegean Plate and Moesian Platform, and is being pushed to the northeast.
See also Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in western Romania, Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake in northwest Turkey, Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake in northeast Turkey, Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake in Montenegro and Earthquake in western Bulgaria.
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