How the quake has moved Japan

[The Dragon Master]

Japan's coastline may have shifted by as much as 4m (13ft) to the east following Friday's 8.9 Magnitude earthquake, according to experts.



Data from the country's Geonet network of around 1,200 GPS monitoring stations suggest a large displacement following the massive quake.



Dr Roger Musson from the British Geological Survey (BGS) told BBC News the movement observed following the quake was in line with what you get when you have an earthquake this big.



The quake probably shifted Earth on its axis by about 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and caused the planet to rotate somewhat faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 millionths of a second.



Japan's meteorological agency has proposed updating the magnitude of the earthquake to 9.0.



This would make it the joint fifth biggest quake since instrumental records began, but other agencies have not yet followed suit.



Japan lies on the infamous Ring of Fire, the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles virtually the entire Pacific Rim.



The dense rock making up the Pacific Ocean's floor is being pulled down (subducted) underneath Japan as it moves westwards towards Eurasia.



Dr Brian Baptie, also from the BGS, explained that the quake occurred on the subduction zone along two tectonic plates, the Pacific plate to the east and another plate to the west, which many geologists regard as a continuation of the North American plate.

Link with pictures: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12732335

 

[Evil Eye]

Shorter days?

And... wow o.o

 

[DrLeftover]

Remember, since it involved part of the North American plate, the whole thing has to be America's fault. Right?

 

[Evil Eye]

Remember, since it involved part of the North American plate, the whole thing has to be America's fault. Right?

I wonder how one'd stop a plate...

 

[DrLeftover]

I wonder how one'd stop a plate...

When I made that comment at work, one of those doing their time toward retirement with me said you can't blame America for that.



I asked them why not?



They said no reasonable person would blame us for a natural process.



I just told them I'd remind them they said that.



They immediately came back with.... and I'm not kidding... But Global Warming is Different!

 

[The Dragon Master]

Remember, since it involved part of the North American plate, the whole thing has to be America's fault. Right?

How does on blame a particular country for a natural disaster?

 

[Evil Eye]

They immediately came back with.... and I'm not kidding... But Global Warming is Different!

Depends on what they meant by global warming. The natural change in temperature isn't any different from this earthquake...

People just don't seem to realise the importance of the greenhouse effect