Ten-year-old girl killed in mudslide in North Yorkshire, UK.

A ten-year-old girl has been killed by a mudslide while on a forest walk at Carlton-in-Cleveland on the edge of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England, on Wednesday 22 May 2024. Leah Harrison from Darlington, was on a week-long residential school trip to the Carlton Adventure activity centre to celebrate the completion of SAT Tests (Standardised Assessment Tests, or SATs, are national assessments that are administered by primary schools in the UK), when the incident happened. An investigation into the event is being carried out by North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Leah Harrison (10), killed by a mudslide at Carlton-in-Cleveland in North Yorkshire on 22 May 2024. North Yorkshire Police.

The incident happened following a period of heavy rainfall in the area, with as much rain falling in the 12 hours prior to the incident as typically fall in a month in the area. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. A Yellow Weather Alert had been issued at the time of the accident, the lowest level of such alerts in the UK, which would lead people to expect some disruption to travel or outdoor events, but not significant danger.

The UK has been suffering a series of extreme weather events, including flooding and tornadoes, driven by exceptionally high temperatures over the Atlantic Ocean. As the air is heated the air pressure drops and the air rises, causing new air to rush in from outside the forming storm zone. If this zone is sufficiently large, then it will be influenced by the Coriolis Effect, which loosely speaking means the winds closer to the equator will be faster than those further away, causing the storm to rotate, clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere.

The high temperatures experienced in the past year have been linked to a combination of anthropogenic global warming, driven by emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, with an El Niño - Southern Oscillation climate system over the Pacific Ocean, a natural phenomenon which also tends to drive temperatures upwards. However, the El Niño system appears to have been weakening over the past months, with sea surface temperatures over the eastern equatorial Pacific actually being lower than the average for 1990-2020, while global temperatures have continued to rise, suggesting that the El Niño system may be playing as large a role in driving this year's high temperatures as previously assumed.

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Magnitude 1.4 Earthquake beneath Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.4 Earthquake at a depth of 6 km beneath the town of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England slightly after slightly after 3.25 am GMT on Thursday 20 February 2020. There are no reports of any injuries associated with this event, though it may have been felt locally.

 

The approximate location of the 20 February 2020 Doncaster Earthquake.Google Maps.

 

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. However, while quakes in southern England are less frequent, they are often larger than events in the north, as tectonic presures tend to build up for longer periods of time between events, so that when they occur more pressure is released.

 

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

 

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process.

 

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East.

   

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here. 

 

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Magnitude 1.7 Earthquake near Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.7 Earthquake at a depth of 14 km, about 2 km to the northeast of the town of Ilkley in West Yorkshire, England, slightly after 3.50 am GMT on Wednesday 18 December 2019. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but it may have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 18 December 2019 Ilkley Earthquake. Google Maps.

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. However, while quakes in southern England are less frequent, they are often larger than events in the north, as tectonic pressures tend to build up for longer periods of time between events, so that when they occur more pressure is released.

 

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

 

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process.

 

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East. 

 

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here.

 

See also...

 

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Magnitude 1.7 Earthquake off the coast of Fliey, North Yorkshire.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.7 Earthquake at a depth of about 1 km beneath the North Sea, about 4 km to the northeast of the town of Filey in North Yorkshire, England, slightly after 10.30 pm GMT on Thursday 28 March 2019. There is no danger of any damage or casualties from an event of this size, though it may have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 28 March 2019 Filey Earthquake. Google Maps.

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. However, while quakes in southern England are less frequent, they are often larger than events in the north, as tectonic pressures tend to build up for longer periods of time between events, so that when they occur more pressure is released.

 

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

 

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process.

 

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East.

 

Due to the shallow depth, and location close to a shore, the British Geological Survey also consider that this Earthquake may have been the result of an explosion, though the Filey Lifeboat Station report being unaware of any such activity in the area.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here.

 

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Rockfall kills nine-year-old girl at Staithes in North Yorkshire, England.

An nine-year-old girl has died after being hit on the head by rocks falling from a cliff in the seaside village of Staithes in North Yorkshire, England, on Wednesday 8 August 2018. Harriet Forster was visiting Seaton Garth beach with her family, while on holiday from their home in Oxford when the incident occurred. She sustained serious injuries as a result of the accident, and died at the scene despite being treated promptly by emergency services. The incident comes less than a week after a woman was injured in a similar incident on the North Norfolk coast.

Harriet Forster, 9, killed in a rockfall at Seaton Garth in North Yorkshire on Wednesday 8 August 2018. North Yorkshire Police/AP.

The UK has seen a number of rockfalls and landslips around its coast this summer, which have been linked to the exceptionally warm and dry weather. This is unusual, as most landslips are linked to wet weather, when sediments become water logged and lose their cohesion, but exceptionally dry weather can cause the same problem, with exposed soft sediments that usually contain some water drying out and crumbling, undermining anything above, in this case hard limestone rocks.

Sign warning about the dangers of falling rocks at Seaton Garth. PA.

The cliffs around Staithes are comprised of are made of layers of sandstone and limestone. This can be an extremely dangerous as the sandstone layers close to the cliff-face, leaving the limestone layers are more prone to erosion, which leaved the limestone layers unsupported and prone to sudden collapses. The area is noted for its numerous Jurassic fossils, predominantly Ammonites, which are exposed by these rockfalls, attracting visitors to the area.

Jurassic strata exposed on cliffs at Staithes, North Yorkshire. UK Fossil Collecting.

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Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake in North Yorkshire, England.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake at an uncertain depth near the village of Wormersley in North Yorkshire, slightly before midday GMT on Friday 27 March 2015. There is no danger of any damage or casualties from an event of this size, though people have reported feeling it in the village of Hensall, about 10 km to the east of the epicenter, as well as underground at mines in the area.

The approximate location of the 27 March 2015 North Yorkshire Earthquake. Google Maps.

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. However, while quakes in southern England are less frequent, they are often larger than events in the north, as tectonic presures tend to build up for longer periods of time between events, so that when they occur more pressure is released.

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process.

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here.

See also...

Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake in North Yorkshire, England. 

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake at a depth of 2 km near the village of Redmire in...

Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake in North Yorkshire.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.9 Earthquake at a depth of 1 km in southern North Yorkshire slightly after 11.30 pm British...

Yorkshire families forced to evacuate home by sinkhole.

Three homes were evacuated after a 7.5 m wide sinkhole oppened up in Rippon, North Yorkshire, on Monday 16 February 2014. Two...

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The reaction of marine invertebrates to global warming during the Early Jurassic Toarcian Extinction Event.

About 183 million years ago a major eruptive episode in the Karoo-Ferrar Large Igneous Province of South Africa lead to an abrupt rise in global atmospheric and oceanic temperatures, leading to widespread oceanic anoxia which is reflected in the fossil record as the Early Jurassic Toarcian Extinction Event. Extinction events are common in the fossil record, and are widely used as proxies for environmental change. However it is far from clear if all organisms in the marine community were affected in the same way or at the same time, with the potential that sudden changes in fossil community makeup could be misleading if not interpreted correctly.

In a paper published in the journal Geology in March 2015, Silvia Danise of the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at Plymouth University, Richard Twitchett of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum and Crispin Little of the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds describe a study of benthic (bottom dwelling) and nektonic (water column dwelling) invertebrates across a 1.7 million year section in the Cleveland Basin, North Yorkshire, UK,  spanning the Early Jurassic Toarcian Extinction Event.

Danise et al. compared benthic and nektonic diversity levels to variations in oxygen, carbon, strontium, sulphur and molybdenum isotope ratios and total organic carbon levels in deposits of the Whitby Mudstone Formation, which was laid down in the Cleveland Basin during the Early Toarcian, when it was located at latitudes of between 30˚ and 40˚ north in part of the Laurasian Seaway.

Study area (Cleveland Basin, UK) and location map of the sections that form the composite stratigraphy. Maximum intertidal rock exposure shown in white. Danise et al. (2015).

Molybdenum isotope levels are a proxy for ocean anoxia, while carbon isotope levels reflect changes in the rate at which organic matter is produced and buried and strontium isotope levels reflect weathering of rocks on land. Oxygen isotope ratios are used to determine temperatures, and sulphur isotope levels reflect productivity by sulphate reducing Bacteria, which thrive under anoxic conditions, but also require phosphorus from organic matter.

Danise et al. found that extinction and diversity levels in benthic and nektonic communities across the Toarcian Extinction Event responded to different isotope changes, suggesting that they were driven by different processes. Following the initial extinction levels diversity levels recovered most quickly in nektonic communities, reaching maximum diversity when the temperature was warmest and sea levels were highest, which is likely to reflect high phytoplankton productivity, followed by a recovery in oxygen levels in the water column.

Benthic communities took longer to recover and were dominated first by Bositra radiata, which is interpreted as an epifaunal (surface-dwelling, non-burrowing) filter feeder tolerant of low oxygen levels, then by a slightly more diverse fauna dominated by Pseudomytiloides dubius with occurrences of Bositra buchii and Meleagrinella substriata, which are all also is interpreted as an epifaunal filter feeder tolerant of low oxygen levels.

Bositra radiata shells from the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. Palaeoenvironmental Change.

Prior to the extinction event the most abundant nektonic group were Belemnites (an extinct group of Squid-like Cephalopods with internal shells) of the genus Passaloteuthis, which is interpreted to have lived in deep, cool waters, while following the event these were replaced with members of the genus Acrocoelites, interpreted to have lived in shallower, warmer waters, which may also be a reaction to low oxygen levels in deeper waters. These Belemnites were eventually replaced by Ammonites (Cephalopod Molluscs with chambered external shells).

Specimen of the deep water Belemnite Passaloteuthis bisulcata from before the Toarcian Extinction Event. Wikimedia Commons.

The strongest correlation between isotope ratios and extinctions was seen for molybdenum, with 40% of benthic species turnover relating directly to this variable, suggesting that in the Early Jurassic as now the main factor determining diversity in benthic marine communities was dissolved oxygen levels. Following the main extinction event diversity was also correlated with variations in strontium and carbon isotope levels, which correlate to levels of erosion and organic matter burial.

For Nektonic communities molybdenum isotope ratios are still important, but strontium isotope ratios become more important, suggesting that diversity is more strongly related to terrestrial erosion levels. During the Toarcian atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are thought to have risen sharply due to emissions from the volcanoes of the Karoo-Ferrar Large Igneous Province, leading to an increase in dissolved carbon dioxide in rainwater (acid rain), which would in turn lead to higher rates of weathering on land. This would lead to increased levels of nutrients entering the marine environments, driving productivity in surface waters. However the same atmospheric carbon dioxide would also have raised temperatures in both the atmosphere and oceans (global warming) which would have led to lower oxygen levels in the water column (warm water can hold less dissolved oxygen than cool water), particularly in deeper waters which cannot replenish their oxygen from the atmosphere.

Interestingly oxygen isotope levels did not appear strongly correlated with extinction rates, despite the fact that these are thought to reflect atmospheric temperature, the factor which is thought to have driven ocean anoxia. Danise et al. suggest that this is because oxygen isotope levels are obtained from Belemnite shells, and we may not fully understand how their physiology and behaviour changed in response to environmental changes during the extinction event.

Finally Danise et al. suggest that this decoupling between factors affecting benthic and nektonic communities may be found in other extinction events where it has not previously been looked for, and that it may also be seen in modern faunas faced with similar environmental stresses, given that Jurassic marine invertebrate faunas are thought to be quite close to modern faunas in composition.

See also…

Opportunistic Bivalves during the Early Jurassic Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event.

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event is an extinction event that took place in the Early Jurassic, about 183 million years ago. It took place in four phases, thought to have been related to Milankovitch Cycles. During each phase the temperature of the global ocean is thought...

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