Topic: Around the Globe in Real Time

[Nichi]

Darn I cant see it.

Darn. Well, you had to download Microsoft's Silverlight, and I guess you couldn't have done that at work.   

I watched it for over an hour, and they are breathing easy now. At least in the footage I saw, they didn't get "the big wave", just lots of lesser ones. It was fascinating watching the tide recede rapidly, though, several times, in the surges.

[Firestarter]

Oh thats good news then! Dont need another catastrophe going around the globe.

[Ke-ke wan]

Sat Feb 27, 11:13 AM

By The Canadian Press


VANCOUVER, B.C. - A tsunami advisory has been issued for all of coastal British Columbia following Saturday's 8.8 earthquake in Chile.

The West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says a tsunami advisory means there is a possiblity of strong localized currents.

No significant inundation is expected, but low-lying coastal areas and beaches are at risk.

The provincial emergency system says experts predict the first wave arrival time of 15:11 PST at the southern B.C. coastline.

It says local governments may consider activating their emergency plans, including evacuating marinas, beaches and other areas that are below normal high-tide mark.

A stronger tsunami warning was issued earlier Saturday for a wide swath of the Pacific, including Hawaii, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

[Jahn]

Flood fears grow as rain saturates southern Queensland

[Nichi]

I was reading that about Queensland ... I hope the upside is that the bushfires will be kept at bay as a result of the saturation.

[Angela]

I watch the stars closely ... not individually, but as a whole. After this earthquake when I looked up at night as I always do, the sky looked foreign. Something was amiss. The Big Dipper, my 'landmark' had moved over in the Western sky. Also in the Southeastern sky appeared a small cluster of stars I'd never seen before.

Did the Earth really shift?

[Nichi]

I watch the stars closely ... not individually, but as a whole. After this earthquake when I looked up at night as I always do, the sky looked foreign. Something was amiss. The Big Dipper, my 'landmark' had moved over in the Western sky. Also in the Southeastern sky appeared a small cluster of stars I'd never seen before.

Did the Earth really shift?

I hadn't heard this, but it certainly makes sense.
Astonishing that the Big Dipper isn't in the same place!

[Nichi]

Chile quake may have tipped Earth's axis

(CNN) -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday may have shifted Earth's axis and created shorter days, scientists at NASA say.

The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet.

When that distribution changes, it changes the rate at which the planet rotates. And the rotation rate determines the length of a day.

"Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth's rotation," Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said while explaining the phenomenon in 2005.

Scientists use the analogy of a skater. When he pulls in his arms, he spins faster.

That's because pulling in his arms changes the distribution of the skater's mass and therefore the speed of his rotation.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used a computer model to determine how the magnitude 8.8 quake that struck Chile on February 27 may have affected Earth.

See scenes of devastation from the quake

He determined that the quake should have moved Earth's figure axis about 3 inches (8 centimeters). The figure axis is one around which Earth's mass is balanced. That shift in axis is what may have shortened days.

Such changes aren't unheard of.

The magnitude 9.1 earthquake in 2004 that generated a killer tsunami in the Indian Ocean shortened the length of days by 6.8 microseconds.

On the other hand, the length of a day also can increase. For example, if the Three Gorges reservoir in China were filled, it would hold 10 trillion gallons (40 cubic kilometers) of water. The shift of mass would lengthen days by 0.06 microsecond, scientists said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/02/chile.quake/index.html

[Nichi]

RESEARCHERS SHOW HOW FAR SOUTH AMERICAN CITIES MOVED IN QUAKE

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet to the west, and shifted other parts of South America as far apart as the Falkland Islands and Fortaleza, Brazil.

These preliminary measurements, produced from data gathered by researchers from four universities and several agencies, including geophysicists on the ground in Chile, paint a much clearer picture of the power behind this temblor, believed to be the fifth-most-powerful since instruments have been available to measure seismic shifts.

Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina and across the continent from the quake’s epicenter, moved about 1 inch to the west.   And Chile’s capital, Santiago, moved about 11 inches to the west-southwest.  The cities of Valparaiso and Mendoza, Argentina, northeast of Concepcion, also moved significantly.

The quake’s epicenter was in a region of South America that’s part of the so-called “ring of fire,” an area of major seismic stresses which encircles the Pacific Ocean.  All along this line, the tectonic plates on which the continents move press against each other at fault zones.

The February Chilean quake occurred where the Nazca tectonic plate was squeezed under, or “subducted,” below the adjacent South American plate.  Quakes routinely relieve pent-up geologic pressures in these convergence zones.

The research team deduced the cities’ movement by comparing precise GPS (global positioning satellite) locations known prior to the major quake to those almost 10 days later.  The US Geological Survey reported that there have been dozens of aftershocks, many exceeding magnitude 6.0 or greater, since the initial event February 27.

Mike Bevis, professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University, has led a project since 1993 that has been measuring crustal motion and deformation in the Central and Southern Andes.  The effort, called the Central and Southern Andes GPS Project, or CAP, hopes to perhaps triple its current network of 25 GPS stations spread across the region.

"By reoccupying the existing GPS stations, CAP can determine the displacements, or 'jumps', that occurred during the earthquake," Bevis said.  “By building new stations, the project can monitor the postseismic deformations that are expected to occur for many years, giving us new insights into the physics of the earthquake process.”

“The Maule earthquake will arguably become one of the, if not the most important great earthquake yet studied. We now have modern, precise instruments to evaluate this event, and because the site abuts a continent, we will be able to obtain dense spatial sampling of the changes it caused. The event represents an unprecedented opportunity for scientists if certain observations are made with quickly and comprehensively.”

Ben Brooks, an associate researcher with the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii and co-principal investigator on the project, said that the event, tragic as it was, offers a unique opportunity to better understand the seismic processes that control earthquakes.

“As such the event represents an unprecedented opportunity for the earth science community if certain observations are made with quickly and comprehensively,” Brooks said.

Working with Bevis and Brooks on the project are Bob Smalley, the University of Memphis, who is leading field operations in Argentina; Dana Caccamise at Ohio State, who is lead engineer, and Eric Kendrick, also from Ohio State, who is with Bevis now in Chile making measurements in the field.

Along with Ohio State University and the University of Hawaii, scientists from the University of Memphis and the California Institute of Technology are participating in the project.  Additionally the Instituto Geografica Militar, the Universidad de Concepcion and the Centro de Estudios Cientificos, all in Chile, also were partners.

In Argentina. the Instituto Geografica Militar, the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza and the Unversidad Nacional de Buenos Aires are collaborating in the work.  UNAVCO, a consortium of more than 50 institutions and agencies involved in research in the geosciences, is providing equipment for the project.

The researchers have constructed a map showing the relative movement of locations after the Maule, Chile earthquake.  Images showing that map are available at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/chilequakemap.htm.

http://www.eurekalert.org/bysubject/earthscience.php

[Angela]

Mother Earth is Pissed ...

[Jahn]

Mother Earth is Pissed ...

Nay, She only corrected a day with a second.

[Nichi]

5+ Magnitude Earthquakes List for the past 5 days ...
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php

The brunt is being borne mostly by Chile, who has barely seen a moment's peace.


MAG  UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s  LATdeg  LONdeg  DEPTHkm   Region   

5.4   2010/03/10 02:41:49   -36.855    -72.646  35.0   BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/09 22:10:48   -33.816    -72.329  10.5   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/09 21:59:24   -34.701    -73.863  33.9   OFF COAST OF LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.7   2010/03/09 14:06:52    51.579   -173.520  35.0   ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA

5.1   2010/03/09 12:42:45   -23.649   -179.835  515.1   SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

5.2   2010/03/09 06:00:42    11.253    125.457  40.9   SAMAR, PHILIPPINES

5.1   2010/03/08 23:43:28   -32.535    -71.500  18.1   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/08 18:43:29   -32.340    -71.346  35.0   VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.3   2010/03/08 18:08:03   -32.366    -71.444  22.5   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.4   2010/03/08 17:50:48   -32.498    -71.586  35.0   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.7   2010/03/08 17:03:19   -25.707    -66.599  19.3   SALTA, ARGENTINA

5.0   2010/03/08 16:49:52   -32.566    -71.564  21.8   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/08 16:04:10   -35.942    -73.416  24.6   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/08 13:47:22   -34.525    -71.579  24.0   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/08 13:03:44   -34.562    -73.872  37.0   OFF COAST OF LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/08 11:37:35    18.698    145.931  219.2   PAGAN REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

6.0   2010/03/08 09:47:11    19.342    144.728  446.5   MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.

5.1   2010/03/08 08:07:58   -33.691    -71.848  35.0   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.5   2010/03/08 07:47:40    38.767    40.239  10.0   EASTERN TURKEY

5.0   2010/03/08 04:40:27   -33.103    -72.384  35.0   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

6.1   2010/03/08 02:32:35    38.876    39.992  12.0   EASTERN TURKEY

5.4   2010/03/07 23:46:58   -36.170    -72.971  17.3   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.5   2010/03/07 22:00:37   -34.070    -71.837  30.2   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/07 18:36:01   -34.635    -71.777  35.0   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/07 16:15:33    15.833    147.572  17.5   MARIANA ISLANDS REGION

5.8   2010/03/07 15:59:45   -37.967    -73.300  27.4   BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/07 07:51:11    11.268    140.673  79.6   STATE OF YAP, FED. STATES OF MICRONESIA

6.3   2010/03/07 07:05:25   -16.108   -115.256  10.0   SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE

5.0   2010/03/07 04:46:35   -33.045    -71.743  35.0   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/06 17:53:48    14.689    144.262  10.0   ROTA REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

5.0   2010/03/06 17:23:13    14.639    144.220  10.0   ROTA REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

5.6   2010/03/06 13:31:14    44.201    147.621  55.4   KURIL ISLANDS

5.4   2010/03/06 12:10:57   -13.125    166.580  92.7   VANUATU

5.0   2010/03/06 03:09:31   -34.639    -72.102  35.0   OFFSHORE LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/06 01:23:23   -36.694    -73.255  35.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.0   2010/03/06 00:33:02    48.888    91.513  15.0   WESTERN MONGOLIA

6.5   2010/03/05 16:06:58    -4.032    100.806  22.0   SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA

5.0   2010/03/05 12:28:59   -34.974    -72.169  35.0   MAULE, CHILE

5.3   2010/03/05 12:01:53   -37.478    -73.360  35.0   BIO-BIO, CHILE

6.6   2010/03/05 11:47:10   -36.513    -73.116  35.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/05 10:31:24   -37.477    -73.699  35.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/05 10:14:26    1.916    127.497  104.2   HALMAHERA, INDONESIA

6.0   2010/03/05 09:19:38   -36.535    -73.253  35.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.2   2010/03/05 03:55:19   -34.482    -71.443  35.0   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.7   2010/03/05 03:34:33   -34.405    -71.696  23.0   LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

6.3   2010/03/04 22:39:25   -22.273    -68.357  104.2   ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/04 19:28:39   -34.278    -72.518  35.0   OFFSHORE LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

5.3   2010/03/04 17:37:50   -34.049    -71.997  35.0   OFFSHORE LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE

6.5   2010/03/04 14:02:28   -13.598    167.164  176.0   VANUATU

5.1   2010/03/04 10:53:52   -35.522    -69.808  10.7   MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

5.0   2010/03/04 09:39:43    -1.448    145.458  59.7   ADMIRALTY ISLANDS REG., PAPUA NEW GUINEA

5.0   2010/03/04 09:36:39   -12.041    166.282  97.0   SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS

5.1   2010/03/04 09:03:42   -37.495    -74.556  35.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/04 08:16:18    22.959    120.572  35.0   TAIWAN

6.0   2010/03/04 01:59:51   -33.167    -72.099  35.2   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

6.2   2010/03/04 00:18:52    22.903    120.826  21.0   TAIWAN

5.1   2010/03/03 21:24:03   -38.465    -73.696  35.0   OFFSHORE ARAUCANIA, CHILE

5.6   2010/03/03 19:58:29   -33.463    -71.825  28.7   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

6.0   2010/03/03 17:44:25   -36.452    -73.069  19.0   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

5.0   2010/03/03 11:13:58    3.160    127.084  64.5   KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA

5.1   2010/03/03 06:16:23   -33.620    -71.959  35.0   OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

5.1   2010/03/03 04:36:00   -37.527    -73.773  30.2   OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE

[Ke-ke wan]

Chile quake may have tipped Earth's axis

(CNN) -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday may have shifted Earth's axis and created shorter days, scientists at NASA say.

The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet.

Has anyone been feeling this lately?   I feel very off-kilter this past week. 

Mother Earth is Pissed ...

Just balancing everything out

[Nichi]

I feel quite unsteady, like I must put my foot forward very carefully.

[Jahn]

I feel quite unsteady, like I must put my foot forward very carefully.

Ok, it is happening something deep below, Turkey had a shake too. It is about the foundation of mankind, it has gone too far as we so painful already are aware of. Gaya will put in a material recession.

 ~.~
         ~.~