{ Earthquake felt in Greymouth,New Zealand. } – May 06, 1:45 AM
{ felt it in rio dulce } – Apr 23, 2:52 AM
{ Solar activity and coronal holes earth facing for the next week ? Earthquakes increasing ? Weather is chnaging here in aussie, something is up people.... } – Apr 21, 2:02 AM
{ We just had an earthquake felt here at Amas, Kidapawan City (April 11, 2012; 02:20 pm.) The capitol building shook. } – Apr 11, 6:50 AM
{ AT 12:10 P.M 03/20/2012 IN ATOYAC VERACRUZ WE FELT AN EARTHQUAKE } – Mar 20, 6:19 PM
Japan was rocked by an 8.9 earthquake earlier today. There have also been reports of Nuclear Power Plants having cooling issues. Of course the big news is the 23 Foot (10 meter high) tsunami that hit the coastline 15 minutes after the earthquake. A passenger train was reported missing and over a thousand people are feared to have been killed. Lets pray for the people living in Japan.
Most of us know practically nothing about the way earthquakes are measured. We have this mental image of weird little guys in lab coats scrutinizing mysterious devices with lots of dials, and we assume that they know what they’re doing. It’s true, those guys do know a lot about measuring earthquakes, but we lay folks rarely get to hear about it. What we get from the news media is a simplified version, because the reality is just too complicated.
Still, those news people could explain it better. Whenever earthquakes are reported in the news media, the strength of the quake is always represented with a number. The reporter, who probably knows nothing at all about the subject, glibly tells us that this quake measured something-point-something on the Richter Scale, and we, knowing that our friend the TV would never mislead us, assume that Mr. Richter is poring over his Scale and counting those points. We shake our heads and go “Wow, something-point-something! That must be real big.”
Of course, the number Continue reading “Pioneers of Earthquake Measurement: Giuseppe Mercalli” »
In the movie 2012 there was a large earthquake in California. This was just one of a continuing sequence of events that all occurred on December 21, 2012. With the increased earthquake a volcanic activity, one has to wonder if the 2012 scenario could actually be a possibility. Continue reading “2012” »
This is the second in our series of articles about the great fault zones of the world. This time we’re going to look at the Atacama Trench, which has the distinction of having produced the largest earthquake on record. It is sometimes called the Peru-Chile Trench, since it runs alongside those two South American nations, exactly parallel to the coastline at a distance of about 160 km. This isn’t a coincidence, of course; the Trench is largely responsible for making the western side of South America as we see it today. That’s because all of the tectonic activity in this part of the world is driven by a single huge engine: the subduction zone of the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate.
(Granted, this is a bit of an oversimplification. When you get down to the lower end of the continent, the Antarctic Plate and the Scotia Plate also come into play, greatly complicating things- but I’m trying to keep it simple so this article doesn’t turn into a book.)
In our recent article, What Causes an Earthquake?, still posted here, we saw that when one tectonic plate bumps into another, one will sometimes slide under the edge of the other, a phenomenon we call subduction. When this happens, Continue reading “The Atacama Trench: Creator of the Biggest Earthquake on Record” »
In this article we’ll take a look at Japan’s Earth Observation Resources Center, and particularly their efforts in the area of disaster research and relief. Through its various programs, the EORC is making a valuable contribution to the understanding of how our planet works, as well as providing vital information in areas crippled by natural disasters. EORC’s DAICHI satellite has already proven its worth in the aftermath of two horrific earthquakes, and its descendant is on the way.
In a recent article (still posted) we talked about the important work done by the DAICHI satellite, also known as ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite), in relief efforts after the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chili. DAICHI is a state-of-the-art Earth observation satellite capable of taking images and measurements of the surface with unprecedented accuracy. These were of great value to the Earth sciences community, and also helped to coordinate and target relief work. DAICHI’s work in these recent earthquakes has ushered in a new era of disaster science, in which scientists and relief agencies will have the advantage of detailed, precise information such as they have not had in the past. Now Japan has announced plans for Continue reading “EORC and ALOS” »
This is the first in a series of articles about the major fault zones of the world. Fault zones such as the San Andreas Fault are the world’s danger zones, the source of most earthquakes, and our insights into the workings of earthquakes come from observing and understanding them. There is also a historical perspective to the study of fault zones, for by looking back at the quakes that have occurred along them, we can get some idea of what to expect in the future. Continue reading “The San Andreas Fault: a Natural Geological Laboratory” »
This is an earthquake plug-in available for Firefox 3.5*. It makes your screen shake when a new earthquake occurs! It puts the magnitude and location information in the corner of your Firefox web browser.
Once installed:
1. Look in the right corner of your browser window.
2. Right click the earthquake information shown.
3. You will be given a list of customizable options to choose from.
A lot of fun and an easy addon: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2239/
May 13, 2010 was a solemn occasion in the area of Earth sciences. That was the day Dr. Jose Achache, head of the prestigious Group on Earth Observations (GEO), presented a letter of thanks to the Japanese space agency, JAXA, for the aid given by the agency in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti on January 12, and Chile on February 27. In both cases, data provided by JAXA’s DAICHI satellite was extremely beneficial Continue reading “JAXA Receives Letter of Thanks for DAICHI Data” »
The prediction of earthquakes is one of the great mysteries of planet Earth. While scientists have learned a great deal about the effects of earthquakes on the surface, a dependable method for predicting when they will occur, and how severe they will be, remains elusive. Though specific physical signs have been documented, none of them seem to be consistent enough to serve as a predictor that an earthquake is coming. Continue reading “France’s DEMETER Satellite Is Helping Unravel the Mystery of Earthquakes” »
