USGS: Entire Japan coast shifted 2.4 metres, earth axis moves ten inches

[riverwalker]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Japan+earthquake+factbox+Entire+Japan+coast+shifted+metres+earth+axis+moves+inches/4425617/story.html

USGS Dr. Dave Applegate says the Japan earthquake ruptured a 180 mile long by 50 mile wide section of the Earth's crust.

Scientists from the United States Geological Service answered questions from the public this afternoon, with some startling revelations made.

[aquart]

1. How does the axis "move" affect weather?

[Scuba]

2. Palm trees in Wisconsin !!!

[Systematic Chaos]

4. ROFLMAO

DUzy!!

[Thunderstruck]

21. Seconded, lol.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. 10 inches or 10 miles wouldn't be enough of a shift to affect much.

The change in the amount of daylight from day to day through the seasons, at any latitude, is for all intents and purposes immeasurable at 10 inches, and almost so at 10 miles.

We'd need something radical like hundreds of miles to really screw stuff up.

[BadgerKid]

15. Weather prediction grids are a little under 10 miles.

So 10 inches means squat. 10 miles might make a small difference, but it is more than likely to be a very local change.

[hobbit709]

5. Didn't rupture. One plate slid further under the other.

[NutmegYankee]

8. It may be a valid use.

Sometimes the continental plate is dragged downward by the subducting oceanic plate and it is finally stressed to the limit and violently snaps back upward. I believe that is the use in this case.

[Maru Kitteh]

6. Holy crap. 2.4 metres? That's huge. Unimaginable even.

:scared: Yikes.

[Davis_X_Machina]

10. Certainly on the order of the displacement....

...along the San Andreas in 1906.

[hobbit709]

11. Sometimes one plate moves much further than that.

[Davis_X_Machina]

14. That's nearly 5 meters....

...which is pretty good. The '64 Alaska earthquake had displacements of over 11 meters. That one was magnitude 9.2.

This quake is in very select company...

[virgogal]

7. Thanks for that post----great pictures. Scary stuff.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Mother Nature is letting us know she is displeased.

[Teaser]

12. yeah, or maybe

it's just an inanimate piece of rock responding to massive tectonic stresses.


Nah. That's crazy talk.

[Codeine]

13. Nope. Stuff moves. Always has. nt

[petronius]

16. Not Mother Nature - it's the whales. They've deployed a seismic weapon against the Japanese

Iceland and Norway better watch their backs, too... :scared:

[BrklynLiberal]

18. Aha! Much more likely......Thanks.

[ReggieVeggie]

22. uhhh....no

[no_hypocrisy]

17. I read 10 cm. Can someone confirm the measurement?

[Rex]

19. Wow, Earth is one active dude/dudette!

Amazing! Reminds me of the trick where someone pulls a table cloth off a table so fast that all the fine china and glasses barely move!

[rasputin1952]

20. Takes a lot of practice...I tried that once...

with disastrous results...:blush:

[Rex]

23. I've tried it a few times...er...I'd rather not talk about the results.

:hi: :blush: