"Wow!"
Posted on 05/18/2005 6:46:21 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Quake that triggered Indonesian tsunami affected Japan's hot springs
An earthquake off Sumatra that triggered a devastating tsunami in December last year caused changes in the water levels and temperatures of some hot springs in Japan that are 6,000 kilometers away from its focus, seismologists have concluded.
The finding has demonstrated the scale and intensity of the earthquake that left thousands of people dead in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and other countries.
A group of seismologists led by Tottori University Prof. Ryohei Nishida will present the results of their research at the 2005 Joint Meeting for Earth and Planetary Science to get under way in Chiba on Saturday.
"Ground water carries information on the situation below the ground. The data we've got will be meaningful in our efforts to clarify the mechanism of the earthquake," Prof. Nishida said.
The research team has observed the water in 15 hot springs in Tottori, Shimane and Okayama Prefectures in a bid to study relations between earthquakes and ground water in Japan, and detected clear changes in four of the locations.
The water level in the Tottori hot spring declined 2 centimeters within 30 minutes after the seismic waves reached the area, while in the Saginoyu hot spring in the Shimane Prefecture city of Yasugi, the water level rose 4 centimeters within seven hours.
In Sagnoyu, the water temperature dropped from 40.6 degrees Celsius to 39.6 degrees 10 minutes after the seismic wave reached the area, then to 39.1 degrees 24 hours later.
However, the water temperature rose in the Iwai hot spring in Iwami, Tottori Prefecture. The temperature, which had stood at 45.12 degrees, rose to 45.35 degrees the day after the Sumatra earthquake.
In the Okutsu hot spring in the Okayama Prefecture town of Kagamino, the temperature fell 0.03 degrees to 27.72 degrees 10 minutes after the seismic waves reached the town, then rose to 27.86 degrees.
The water levels and temperatures of hot springs constantly vary, but seismologists said the changes in the four hot springs they observed following the Sumatra quake were remarkable.
Moreover, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's geographical survey center said they observed changes in the water levels of 48 of 57 wells in Japan. In particular, the center observed a five-meter change in the water level in Yasutomi, Hyogo Prefecture. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, May 18, 2005)
Ping!
Japanese heating elements just don't last like they used to.
"Wow!"
How interesting, geologically.
Not sure I'm buying this. The changes they talk about seem minuscule, and could have been from any number of causes.
I share your doubt.
..and Tsunami quake screwed up Global Warmint here in Nueva Joyzee. It is cold, looks like all them warmint wackos are freezing their stupid brains out, no noise.
Japan has a lot of earthquakes and they pay a lot of attention to them.
It's pretty valid and similar effects have been well-documented on other hydrothermal systems in the world (Large Alaskan quakes have affected geothermal activity and microquakes at Yellowstone, for example.)
Who goes to onsen in Tottori or Shimane though?
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