it was only a matter of time...
Posted on 11/23/2016 11:45:55 AM PST by JimSEA
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck yesterday off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, likely along the same fault that ruptured in 2011, unleashing a massive 9.0-magnitude temblor that triggered deadly tsunamis and caused widespread destruction. Over the course of its history, Japan has seen its share of shaking, but what makes this part of the world so susceptible to big earthquakes?
The answer has to do with Japan's location. The island nation lies along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an imaginary horseshoe-shaped zone that follows the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. In fact, 81 percent of the world's largest earthquakes happen in this active belt, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). [Image Gallery: This Millennium's Destructive Earthquakes]
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Godzira! Godzira!
History shows again and again how Nature points out the folly of Man.
Many of Chinese descent (including my wife) think that God/The Universe is still taking revenge on Japan for WWII. The more extreme ones go so far as to cheer tsunami and quake damage videos.
Survey sez,,
made-made climate change.. ?
Umm, it lies right on the boundary of the Pacific and Eurasian plates. No big mystery.
The gays.
My thought, too.
Could be worse: They could have gotten 0bama...
Poseidon is racist. He doesn’t like Japanese.
Ummm there are more plates involved than those two.
One part of it. It isn’t uniformly the same all around.
The Pacific Northwest is also sitting on top of a subduction zone with many associated volcanoes and long ago portions were island chains but the three major plates are neither that constantly active or complex. New Zealand is more similar. Indonesia is even far more complex and more active/violent.
One day in the not too distant future, folks will say the same about the dumb Americans in the Northwest. The fact is that everywhere has risks and the Japanese didn’t until recently know their dangers.
Give the Appalachians they have already had their geologic fun!
I grew up with all of that, can’t wait to retire back to it!
Man in suit! Man in suit!
There are more than a dozen plates, but he has the basic idea right.
If I remember correctly, the Pacific Plate is moving counter clockwise and is also diving under the plate where Japan is, which is also an island. This is also one of the most active plates in the world, which is one of the reasons for the “ring of fire”, known for earthquakes and volcanoes in South America, north America and Japan.
Japan has a history of both earthquakes and volcanoes, Mt Fuji is one of the most well known. Friction from the plate diving under the plate Japan is on causes heat, I think the plate is also a little thinner there, so they have plenty active volcanoes, and the pacific Plate slipping underneath its neighbor causes earthquakes when the pressure builds to a point it has to let go all at once.
Here in the US it’s the west coast, similar situation but I don’t think one plate is diving under another. Since the Pacific is a growing ocean, it may be though. At any rate, the same plate is moving counter clockwise, and causes earthquakes whenever is builds up pressure until it has to let go.
Then you have other smaller faults in the region, and Yellowstone, which is a caldera volcano, so we could have a major problem here if one sets the other off.
In South America it’s mainly Chile, where several volcanoes are located and have erupted in the past century, and I think at least a couple of earthquakes too. Same thing happening though, friction and sudden slippage.
Any place you see mountains close to a coast, chances are you’ll also have these problems. Mountains are pushed up when two plates collide over a long period of time, the boundary of the two plates is usually a fault line, where slippage continues for thousands of years. If you slide two wet sponges against each other you can see a similar result. Not exact, but similar. It can also be done with play dough and a little mechanical apparatus. The main difference is the plates move at a rate not often more than an inch or two a year. My book said in 5000 years the city of LA will be part of Alaska...
Thing is, when something the size of the Pacific Ocean is trying to push its way into your continent...
Really interesting stuff. Not only plate movements, when water is involved the dynamics are different as well.
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