Between October 20 and 21, Finish seismologists at the University of Helsinki, have recorded a series of four underwater explosions during the day, and another one during the night, in the Gulf of Finland, inside Russian territory.
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Finish scientists have ruled out earthquakes as a cause
Judging the readings in their seismometers the Finish scientistshave ruled out earthquakes, and rather have pointed out to explosions as the likely cause, Newsweek reports.
As defined by USGS, a seismometer is a device which records ground shaking and noises according to the Richter Magnitude Scale.
The readings of the explosionswere between 1.3 and 1.8 in terms of earthquake magnitude. These ground vibrations are not so strong to be felt by people but they are picked up by seismometers.
Explosions rock in the aftermath of the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage
Albeit the report has not been independently confirmed, Aki Heikkinen, an analyst said on Twitter, thatthe area was not cordoned off, and thus the explosions were not part of any pre-announced naval exercise.
Apparently no NAVWARNs were issued (thanks @The_Lookout_N) and two were on shipping lanes (thanks @pmakela1)
— Aki Heikkinen (@akihheikkinen) October 24, 2022
So something was blown up with significant amount of explosives - without cordoning the area off as should have happened with lane works or naval exercise.
2/2
According to the Baltic News Network, the respective blasts have taken place not far from the Nord Stream pipelines.
The underwater pipelines which run from Russia to Germany, and supply Europe with natural gas, were subject to explosions last month. Analysts say they have caused likely irreparable damage.
Throughout 2022, Russia has halted more than 75% of its gas supplies, due to maintenance, but experts and western leaders have described this as a tactic by Vladimir Putin to use energy as a weapongiven the impending winter.
A tactic which has also led to Europe’s current energy crisis. Meanwhile, the west has accused Russia of sabotage in the Nord Stream explosions and is conducting official investigations.
Similarly, Russia has accused the US and its allies of an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines.
Meanwhile, Finland has started an official investigation about the most recent five underwater explosions, Baltic News Network reports.
Sources used:
-Newsweek: ‘Finland Detects Five Mystery Underwater Explosions in Russian Waters’
-USGS: ‘Seismometers, seismographs, seismograms - what's the difference? How do they work?’
-Baltic News Network: ‘Finland reports explosions not far from Nord Stream pipelines’
