Quake may have shifted Earth's axis, shortened day

[HeresyLives]

Quake may have shifted Earth's axis, shortened day


CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Tue. Mar. 2 2010 1:44 PM ET

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Feb. 27 was so powerful it may have tipped Earth's axis and shortened the length of a day, scientists at NASA say.

According to NASA, a complex computer model's preliminary calculation shows that Earth's days should have shortened by 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is a one millionth of a second).

A large quake shifts enough rock to redistribute the mass of the planet, which can speed its rotation.

The change won't be noticed in day-to-day life, but is permanent.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100302/quake_nasa_100302/20100302?hub=TopStoriesV2

[NightWatcher]

1. good, I thought it was just me. I knew I felt kinda different today

[lob1]

2. No wonder last week seemed to fly by.

[Duer 157099]

3. I really don't like to make such unscientific remarks, but

I really am beginning to think that this planet wants to shake the human pests right off into oblivion.

[PassingFair]

5. Pat Robertson, is that YOU? n/t

[Duer 157099]

8. Now c'mon, if it were, I'd have said "God" or "Gawd"

No, I think it's the planet, not any god.

[Enrique]

4. everyone adjust your clocks accordingly! n/t

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

6. On the upside, that means I will live longer! Woohoo! n/t

[HeresyLives]

7. Always a silver lining!

:rofl:

[HeresyLives]

9. Anyone remember if the Sumatran one did?

Haiti earthquake was bigger too, but no one mentioned this effect that I know of.

[bananas]

12. Yes, it did, 6.8 microseconds/day

http://www.universetoday.com/2010/03/01/chilean-earthquake-may-have-shortened-the-length-of-a-day-on-earth/

...

By comparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches).

Gross said that even though the Chilean earthquake is much smaller than the Sumatran quake, it is predicted to have changed the position of the figure axis by a bit more for two reasons. First, unlike the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, which was located near the equator, the 2010 Chilean earthquake was located in Earth's mid-latitudes, which makes it more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis.

Second, the fault responsible for the 2010 Chiliean earthquake dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake. This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis.

...

[HeresyLives]

14. Thank you!

Clears up a lot of questions.

[BootinUp]

10. They can calculate that, but landing a probe on the moon

was a fuckup. Stay calm I'm just ribbin em a little.

[HeresyLives]

11. LOL oooh that metric.

[Canuckistanian]

13. Same thing happened during the Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004

I imagine it happens to some degree during EVERY eathquake. The reason we hear about it now is that we have instruments sensitive enough to measure the minute changes,