The death tolls in Japan are still rising. It is easily evident how many more might have died without the slight warning provided them by the Japanese monitoring agencies that exist to prevent loss of life in earthquakes and tsunamis. On our side of the Pacific Ocean, the tsunami still retained sufficient power to damage and kill. Our warning systems were employed in Hawaii, Alaska, and on the U.S. mainland. This was among the largest quakes ever documented. It will be one of the most studied and will provide tremendous amounts of information to geologists. Japan is poised to take advantage of what they learn.
Here, we will likely ignore most of it as “job killing” if the current GOP/teavangelists have their way. After all, taking care of the wealthy is more important than saving lives of common people.
Japan has recognized its particular vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunami. As a nation and as a society they have planned to minimize damage and maximize recovery. They realize that such tasks require heavy involvement by their government. At the same time, and in the face of numerous recent examples of why they should not proceed as planned, the GOP/teavangelists are planning to defund our government’s tsunami warning and research programs.
I wonder how many of them own 2nd homes and/or rental properties on beaches. I wonder how many of them will demand their buildings be rebuilt by taxpayer funded insurance plans. Just another payoff to the ultra-rich by the Congress they own.
In fact, the earthquake was so powerful that it caused some major geological changes. Scientists from the United States Geological Service (USGS) shared some startling information while answering questions from the public today.
• Earth’s axis has reportedly shifted 10 inches as a result of the quake
• Japan’s coast is said to have permanently shifted 2.4 meters
• 100+ aftershocks measuring 5.0 magnitude or more have hit Japan following the initial quake
• The quake was 900 times stronger than the one that hit San Francisco in 1989
• Shaking was felt as far away as China
• St. Louis, Missouri media outlets are reporting the city has moved an inch as a result of the quake
• Waves from the tsunami caused by the quake reached 32 feet
via The Vancouver Sun
http://www.inquisitr.com/100604/japans-earthquake-causes-earths-axis-and-japans-coast-to-shift/
It was a massive earthquake with some suggesting that they might have to revise the power of the quake upward from8.9 to 9.1.
The Pacific plate was displaced 18 meters. There is preliminary suggestion that the magnitude of the quake should be upgraded from 8.9 to 9.0.
Note the confusion in various reports. This morning I’ve seen statements indicating that Earth’s axis shifted as little as 10 cm to as much as 25 cm. Neither extreme will produce an impact noticeable by humans without high-powered instrumentation. Nor will it affect our lives in any manner unless we lived in the damage zones. Most of us are fortunate to experience this disaster only vicariously.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/world/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html
Japan's quake shifts earth's axis by 25 cm
News Services March 12, 2011
Initial results out of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology show that the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan Friday shifted the earth's rotation axis by about 25 centimetres.
INGV's report, which came hours after the devastating incident, is equivalent to "very, very tiny" changes that won't be seen for centuries, though, Canadian geologists say.
Only after centuries would a second be lost as each day is shortened by a millionth of a second, according to University of Toronto geology professor Andrew Miall.
"Ten inches sounds like quite a lot when you hold a ruler in front of you. But if you think of it in terms of the earth as a whole, it's absolutely tiny; it's minute," he said.
"It's going to make minute changes to the length of a day. It could make very, very tiny changes to the tilt of the earth, which affects the seasons, but these effects are so small, it'd take very precise satellite navigation to pick it up."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Japan+quake+shifts+earth+axis/4428645/story.html#ixzz1GOj5GCsI
The task of measuring the displacement of the Japanese coast is not overly difficult. We have the capability and new maps will be produced to reflect the change. Displacement of St, Louis MO won’t really require new maps. It does, however, speak to the amount of energy involved in the quake.
Warning!
Below lie facts, figures, charts, & dry equations
The volume, mass, and mass density of the planet are:
Volume, 1.08321×1012 km3, [ Mass, 5.9736×1024 kg] Mean density, 5.515 g/cm3.
These can be plugged into very complex equations to determine the forces involved.
The moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as MW) is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released.[1] The magnitude is based on the moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped.[2] The scale was developed in the 1970s to succeed the 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale (ML). Even though the formulae are different, the new scale retains the familiar continuum of magnitude values defined by the older one. The MMS is now the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the United States Geological Survey
Definition
The symbol for the moment magnitude scale is Mw, with the subscript w meaning mechanical work accomplished. The moment magnitude Mw is a dimensionless number defined by
where M0 is the magnitude of the seismic moment in dyne centimeters (10−7 N•m).[1] The constant values in the equation are chosen to achieve consistency with the magnitude values produced by earlier scales, most importantly the Local Moment (or "Richter") scale.
As with the Richter scale, an increase of one step on this logarithmic scale corresponds to a 101.5 ≈ 32 times increase in the amount of energy released, and an increase of two steps corresponds to a 103 = 1000 times increase in energy.
Comparative energy released by two earthquakes
A closely related formula, obtained by solving the previous equation for M0, allows one to assess the proportional difference fΔE in energy release between earthquakes of two different moment magnitudes, say m1 and m2:
Radiated seismic energy
Potential energy is stored in the crust in the form of built-up stress. During an earthquake, this stored energy is transformed and results in
• cracks and deformation in rocks
• heat,
• radiated seismic energy Es.
The seismic moment M0 is a measure of the total amount of energy that is transformed during an earthquake. Only a small fraction of the seismic moment M0 is converted into radiated seismic energy Es, which is what seismographs register. Using the estimate
Choy and Boatwright defined in 1995 the energy magnitude [4]
Older values can be found in a table equating destruction to similar effects caused by tons of TNT.
Richter magnitudes examples
The following table lists the approximate energy equivalents in terms of TNT explosive force[9] – though note that the energy is that released underground (i.e. a small atomic bomb blast will not simply cause light shaking of indoor items) rather than the overground energy release. Most energy from an earthquake is not transmitted to and through the surface; instead, it dissipates into the crust and other subsurface structures.
Richter
Approximate Magnitude Approximate TNT for
Seismic Energy Yield Joule equivalent Example
0.0 15.0 g (0.529 oz) 63.1 kJ
0.5 84.4 g (2.98 oz) 355 kJ Large hand grenade
1.0 474 g (1.05 lb) 2.00 MJ Construction site blast
1.5 2.67 kg (5.88 lb) 11.2 MJ World War II conventional bombs
2.0 15.0 kg (33.1 lb) 63.1 MJ Late World War II conventional bombs
2.5 84.4 kg (186 lb) 355 MJ World War II blockbuster bomb
3.0 474 kg (1.05×103 lb) 2.00 GJ Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb
3.5 2.67 metric tons 11.2 GJ Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1986
4.0 15.0 metric tons 63.1 GJ Small atomic bomb
4.3 42.3 metric tons 117.0 GJ Kent Earthquake (Britain), 2007
4.5 84.4 metric tons 355 GJ Tajikistan earthquake, 2006
5.0 474 metric tons 2.00 TJ Seismic yield of Nagasaki atomic bomb (Total yield including air yield 21 kT, 88 TJ)
Lincolnshire earthquake (UK), 2008
Ontario-Quebec earthquake (Canada), 2010[10][11]
5.5 2.67 kilotons 11.2 TJ Little Skull Mtn. earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1992
Alum Rock earthquake (California, USA), 2007
Chino Hills earthquake (Los Angeles, USA), 2008
5.6 3.77 gigacalories 15.8 TJ Newcastle Earthquake Australia, 1989
6.0 15.0 kilotons 62.7 TJ Double Spring Flat earthquake (Nevada, USA), 1994
6.3 42.3 kilotons 178 TJ Rhodes earthquake (Greece), 2008
Christchurch earthquake (New Zealand), 2011
6.4 59.7 kilotons 251 TJ Kaohsiung earthquake (Taiwan), 2010
6.5 84.4 kilotons 355 TJ Caracas earthquake (Venezuela), 1967
Eureka earthquake (California, USA), 2010
6.6 119 kilotons 501 TJ San Fernando earthquake (California, USA), 1971
6.7 168 kilotons 708 TJ Northridge earthquake (California, USA), 1994
6.8 238 kilotons 1.00 PJ Nisqually earthquake (Anderson Island, WA), 2001
Gisborne earthquake (Gisborne, NZ), 2007
6.9 336 kilotons 1.41 PJ San Francisco Bay Area earthquake (California, USA), 1989
Pichilemu earthquake (Chile), 2010
7.0 474 kilotons 2.00 PJ Java earthquake (Indonesia), 2009
Haiti earthquake, 2010
7.1 670 kilotons 2.82 PJ San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1944
Canterbury earthquake (New Zealand), 2010
7.2 938 kilotons 3.98 PJ Vrancea earthquake (Romania), 1977
Baja California earthquake (Mexico), 2010
7.5 2.67 megatons 11.2 PJ Kashmir earthquake (Pakistan), 2005
Antofagasta earthquake (Chile), 2007
7.8 7.52 megatons 31.6 PJ Tangshan earthquake (China), 1976
Hawke's Bay earthquake (New Zealand), 1931
Luzon earthquake (Philippines), 1990
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2010
8.0 15.0 megatons 63.1 PJ Mino-Owari earthquake (Japan), 1891
San Juan earthquake (Argentina), 1894
San Francisco earthquake (California, USA), 1906
Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake (British Columbia, Canada), 1949
México City earthquake (Mexico), 1985
Gujarat earthquake (India), 2001
Chincha Alta earthquake (Peru), 2007
Sichuan earthquake (China), 2008
8.1 21.2 megatons 89.1 PJ Guam earthquake, August 8, 1993[12]
8.35 (approx.) 50 megatons 210 PJ
Tsar Bomba - Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested
8.5 84.4 megatons 355 PJ Toba eruption 75,000 years ago; among the largest known volcanic events.
Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2007
8.7 168 megatons 708 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2005
1883 eruption of Krakatoa
8.8 238 megatons 1.00 EJ Chile earthquake, 2010
8.9 336 megatons 1.41 EJ Japan earthquake, 2011
9.0 474 megatons 2.00 EJ Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal), All Saints Day, 1755
Sendai earthquake (Japan), 2011[14]
9.2 946 megatons 3.98 EJ Anchorage earthquake (Alaska, USA), 1964
9.3 1.34 gigatons 5.62 EJ Indian Ocean earthquake, 2004
9.5 2.67 gigatons 11.2 EJ Valdivia earthquake (Chile), 1960
10.0 15.0 gigatons 63.1 EJ Never recorded
12.55 100 teratons 422 ZJ Yucatán Peninsula impact (creating Chicxulub crater) 65 Ma ago (108 megatons; over 4x1030 ergs = 400 ZJ
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