Geological Factors And The Recent Warming Of The North Atlantic Ocean

The recent, extremely anomalous warming of the North Atlantic Ocean’s sea surface temperature and the occurrence of numerous earthquakes across the midcontinental and East Coast states have baffled scientists.

They are unable to explain what caused these two events.

Here we show that the only plausible explanation for both events is that geological forces have acted to suddenly and significantly push apart two segments of the N. Atlantic Ocean’s seafloor rock layers (Figure 1).

This motion has tremendously increased the volume, frequency, and magnitude of emissions of super-heated fluids and gases from active geological features.

It has also transferred stress from this movement to the Eastern coastal states. Stress has activated dormant faults which have then triggered earthquakes.

Anomalous Warming of the N. Atlantic Ocean

I am certain that the anomalous increase in the N. Atlantic Ocean’s surface temperature waters is the result of massive amounts of heat emitted from an estimated 1,000,000 active seafloor geological features.

This may seem like way too many geological features, however, the N. Atlantic Ocean is 5,000 miles long, has an area of 17,000,000 cubic miles, and an average depth of 11,000 feet.

Using new high-resolution ocean floor elevation mapping devices oceanographers discovered that there is an unbelievable number of previously unidentified hydrothermal vents, volcanoes, and faults in our oceans (Figure 2).

Beginning in May 2023, the N. Atlantic Ocean’s sea surface temperatures rose two degrees Fahrenheit in four months (Figure 3). A few small areas of the N. Atlantic surface waters rose by nine degrees Fahrenheit. This anomalous event has left scientists baffled and unable to explain what caused this temperature increase.

Putting this increase into perspective, multiple data sources such as those from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the IPCC have shown that from 1850 to 2020, the temperature of Earth’s oceans has risen approximately 0.0052°C (0.0094°F) per year.

The N. Atlantic Ocean covers 42,000,000 square miles, which represents 8.5% of the Earth’s surface, has an average depth of 11,000 feet, and has a volume of 38,506,390 cubic miles.

To warm this volume of water by two degrees Fahrenheit in four months cannot be accomplished via anthropogenic (man-made) emissions.

The most convincing piece of evidence that supports this contention is that the average surface temperatures of all oceans have risen 0.88 [0.68 to 1.01] degrees Celsius (~1.58°F) between 1850 and 2020 (According to the IPCC AR6 report). This equates to an average increase of approximately 0.0052°C (0.0094°F) per year.

That means it would take ~212 years to raise the surface temperature by two degrees Fahrenheit in the N. Atlantic Ocean.

Figure 3 shows the change in sea surface temperatures in the N. Atlantic Ocean relative to a historic baseline. Darker orange corresponds to areas that are abnormally warm and blue areas are cool. (Image credit NOAA, July 30, 2024, labeling by J. Kamis). It also shows three High Heat Flow Points, each of which is associated with geologically active areas

The northeastern High Heat Flow Point is Iceland. The northern half of the Mid-Atlantic Fault Complex cuts across Iceland. Here the fault is known to be pulling Iceland and its surrounding ocean floors apart one inch per year. This is an extreme amount of movement.

This movement has opened a pathway for deep earth molten lava to upwell along the now-opened two-dimensional push-apart fault plane. For more details concerning why Iceland’s volcanism has increased, see here.

The northeastern Hot Spot lies atop the ocean floor push-apart Labrador/Baffin Bay fault located along the entire east side of Greenland. It has become very active in the last 12 months or so.

The final Hot Spot is positioned just offshore of Canada’s Nova Scotia area. Figure 4 also shows the circular rotation of a large N. Atlantic Ocean current. This current distributes heat from the Hot Spots across the entire N. Atlantic Ocean.

Midcontinent and East Coast States Earthquakes

During the last 16 to 24 months numerous earthquakes occurred in the Midcontinent and Eastern Coast States. The states were New Jersey, North Carolina, Illinois, and Michigan. The occurrence of these earthquakes in a short period is extremely rare.

So, what force generated these quakes?

I hypothesize that these earthquakes were caused by the push-apart movement of the northern portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Fault Complex (Figure 1). This movement has acted to increase the stress within rock layers across the eastern and central parts of the United States.

Stress that has made the faults in this area unstable. Eventually, the faults move thereby generating an earthquake.

Here are a few examples of these earthquakes.

Mississippi River Course

I hypothesize that the course of the Mississippi River is controlled by a Midcontinent-wide major fault system (Figure 5). The fault is composed of long, linear segments that are oriented at different angles but are all connected. The Mississippi River follows these fault segments precisely.

The New Madrid Fault Complex is located on one of the long, linear segments of the river. This fault has recently experienced a strong earthquake (see here) After this earthquake, many weaker earthquakes occurred that are in the same area.

The New Madrid fault has had several extremely large earthquakes. The 1811 quake was so strong that it reversed the course of the Mississippi River from south to north. It also destroyed towns and structures in this region. This is proof that this fault is part of the Mississippi River Fault.

Another observation is that the long, linear northwest shoreline of Lake Superior has an orientation that matches the orientation of other long, linear faults that connect the Mississippi River (Figure 5). The Lake Superior fault is part of another major fault system that crosses the Mississippi River Fault.

New Jersey and New York City

On April 5, 2024, New Jersey and New York City experienced a large extraordinarily strong earthquake. (via Yahoo News)

“A 4.8 magnitude earthquake recorded in New Jersey that shook residents in surrounding states and New York City on Friday morning was one of the strongest in state history. People reported feeling the shaking as far north as Maine and as far south as Norfolk, Virginia.”

Residents also heard an extremely loud boom sound during the earthquake. Shortly after this earthquake, the area was hit with two additional earthquakes, one of which was as strong as the April 5 quake.

North Carolina

• There was a large earthquake on August 1, 2020. “How often can you put your hand on an active earthquake fault? In the eastern U.S., nobody did that until two years ago. That’s because no recorded earthquakes east of the Mississippi have produced a surface rupture, not even devastating temblors such as the 1886 earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina. Think of earthquakes, and images of cracked highways showing obvious fault lines come to mind. In the eastern U.S., those kinds of sights had not occurred until a 5.1 magnitude quake in Sparta, North Carolina, on Aug. 9, 2020, became the first to reveal a fault line. On that morning, Carolina geologist Kevin Stewart rushed to Sparta. Stewart is a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Earth, Marine, and Environmental Science department. His specialty is researching structural geology such as faults and cracks in the Earth’s crust. He’s worked in the Apennine Mountains of Italy where there are active faults, in the Rocky Mountains and western North Carolina. Stewart was electrified by the U.S. Geological Survey’s notice of the Sparta earthquake, which people felt across North Carolina, much of the Eastern U.S., and west into Tennessee and Kentucky.”
• “North Carolina doesn’t exactly shake, rattle, and roll like other parts of the country or the world, but over 20 earthquakes shook up the Tar Heel State in 2023.”
• “On June 19, 2023, a North Carolina town was hit June 16 by its eighth earthquake in just over three weeks, which means there’s an old fault line that’s now active, the U.S. Geological Survey says. The quake was a 2.1, centered in a sparsely populated area about 2.4 miles north of West Canton. That’s the same general area where seven previous earthquakes have been recorded since May 23, ranging from a 1.8 to a 3.2, records show. Hundreds of witnesses have reported feeling some of the stronger quakes, but the latest had only one witness report as of midday Friday. That was filed by someone who felt weak shaking 8 miles away in the town of Clyde, the USGS says. All the quakes originated near Chambers Mountain, north of Interstate 40.”
• North Carolina experienced an unusually strong series of earthquakes on December 31, 2023.
• On July 24, 2024, North Carolina experienced a minor earthquake.

Michigan

Michigan experienced a low-strength earthquake on August 1, 2024. The last earthquake in Michigan occurred 100 years ago. Via Detroit News:

“In case you missed it, there was an earthquake in Lake Michigan miles off of Wisconsin’s shoreline — a very uncommon event in the Great Lakes region. The 2.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in Lake Michigan 24 miles off the shore of Sturgeon Bay shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday. The event is so rare it’s the only time an earthquake with a magnitude above 2.5 occurred in the lake in the last hundred years, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.”

Conclusion

The information, data, and observations presented in this article prove that the only plausible explanation of what caused the extremely anomalous increase in the sea surface temperature of the N. Atlantic Ocean and the rare occurrence of numerous earthquakes across the Midcontinent and East Coast States is the pull apart movement along the northern portion of the Mid-Atlantic‘s Fault Complex

Biography

James Edward Kamis is a retired geologist with 47 years of experience, a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Northern Illinois University (1973), and a Master of Science degree in Geology from Idaho State University (1976). More than 46 years of research have convinced him that geological forces significantly influence, or in some cases completely control climate and climate-related events as per his Plate Climatology Theory. Kamis’ new book, Geological Impacts on Climate, is available now.

Note from Author

By referring to the “Evidence Shows That Geological Features Play Major Role In Recent Ocean Heat Uptake” article, the reader can review more details about the anomalous increase in the N. Atlantic Ocean’s sea surface temperature.