How it is possible for a United States Government website to continually cook the books! For the third time since 2013 I have downloaded every major quake from 1900 to this era, and for the third time I managed to get three different results: This time with hundreds of major quakes added and some removed from the last graph I made!

That should read USGS science for changing data!

Historical earthquake data is constantly being altered on the USGS website, and that's official—According to USGS, this is because they are continuously updating earthquake data and information to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. But, what they don't say is—99% of the data they are altering is from as far back as 1900 and up to the '70s, how can they be finding accurate and up-to-date information from events which happened decades ago? 

They go on to say, updates to earthquakes occur as more data become available for analysis and more time-intensive analysis is performed. Additional updates are possible as part of the standard procedure of assembling a final earthquake catalogue. Well, I could understand this logic if they were receiving extra data from recent seismic events but what kind of data are they receiving from quakes which happened more than a hundred years ago?

They also add, earthquakes are also sometimes removed from the listing, they say but these are false alarms that can occur when relying on an automated system that is trying to get the data out as quickly as possible. Ok, but what about the hundreds of quakes which have been added? 

I originally built The Big Wobble website to follow the prophetic warnings of Jesus Christ written in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. So following the increase in major quakes was a must, which I have been doing diligently for more than 10 years now.

But how can any of us keep an accurate record of seismic events if the worlds leading quake experts keep changing data from decades ago at the drop of a hat? And why would they change historical data anyway?

I have today, for the third time since 2013 arduously downloaded every major quake (mag 6 or higher) from 1900 to today and added the USGS data to a graph to enable an easy and perspective view of the increase in major quakes from the last 123 years.

The reason I have undertaken this day-long task is that I had heard on another website, USGS had altered its data. You can not believe my disappointment, the data has indeed been tampered with again for the third time in 9 years.

In 2013 I downloaded every major quake, mag 6 or higher onto a graph from the USGS website. I did it once again in 2019 because I noticed the data had changed? How, and more importantly why I never got to know, despite writing to them.

After a tip-off from Prophecy Watchers, I decided to do the whole task once more, I'm devastated but yes, they have changed the data once again, this time from 2019 of course. Below is today's new graph:

Today's new graph, Dec 28 2022, above is showing more than 120 years of major quakes, however, look below and see the alterations in data (earthquake numbers, added or taken away) since the same graph I made in 2019, seen below:

Now, look at the two above and compare them with the original graph I made back in 2013! The two above are completely different to each other and also the original graph I made back in 2013, this one looks completely different, see below:

Below is a screengrab showing the date the second graph was made: You can clearly read the date stamp, Jan 2019.

Below is a map from the USGS website from 2019 showing all the major quakes (mag 6 or higher) around the world from 1900 to 1917 showing a total of 97.

However, if you do the same search today on the USGS website, more than 600 major quakes have been added and others were taken away?

Why would so many major quakes have been added? What is going on?

I have sent a message to USGS, see below: 

I am a blogger following the increase in major quakes from data on your site which I have been doing diligently for more than 10 years now. I have today for the third time since 2013 arduously downloaded every major quake (mag 6 or higher) from 1900 and added the USGS data to a graph to enable an easy and perspective view for my viewers of the increase in major quakes from the last 123 years. 

The reason I have undertaken this day-long task is that I had heard on another website, USGS had altered its data recently (once again!). You can not believe my disappointment, the data has indeed been changed again. 

In 2013 I downloaded every major quake, mag 6 or higher onto a graph from the USGS website. I did it once again in 2019 because I noticed the data had changed. After the tip-off from a friend I did the whole task once more today I found hundreds of major quakes have been added (and some taken away) from 1900 to 1976, can you tell me why? I'm devastated because I wrote a book regarding the 2019 data from your site and now the data has entirely changed, why?

Hopefully this time I will receive a reply. . .

I will of course let you all know how it is possible for a United States Government website to continually cook the books! 

And here is a very dubious patronising answer from "Karen" Peterson:

Hello,

The USGS is continuously updating earthquake data and information and to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. (From more than a hundred years ago?)

Updates to earthquakes occur as more data become available for analysis and more time-intensive analysis is performed. Additional updates are possible as part of the standard procedure of assembling a final earthquake catalog. (But it will never be final if you keep on changing archive numbers from so long ago, and what data can you be assembling from hundreds of quakes decades ago?)

Earthquakes are also sometimes removed from the listing, but these are false alarms that can occur when relying on a automated system that is trying to get the data out as quickly as possible. (I doubt that very much, not from an event that happened years ago!)

For more information about earthquake updates and why earthquakes are added or deleted from the earthquake maps and lists, you can visit the following websites:
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/whywhen-does-usgs-update-magnitude-earthquake
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/why-do-some-earthquakes-disappear-maplist

If you have further questions, you can contact the Earthquake Hazards Team at: eq_questions@usgs.gov

Thank-you,
Karen Peterson

Below is the video from Prophecy Watchers who tipped me off of the most recent data change of historical records on the USGS website. The video starts at 11:50 minutes:

 

Earthquakes-2022

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