BREAKING:Quake Hits Nagano, Niigata Areas (6.6)

CNN News ^ | 3/11/2011 | CNN

[Smogger]

Different fault line then the previous quake. This one on land. On TV Now.

[Fawn]

Yes. Dead Corpse. It's an IQ test...

OH. Did I pass? ;)

[Cincincinati Spiritus]

dang.

[Dead Corpse]

Depends. Most go on to say "isn't that a bit redundant", which fails the ability to look into the etymology of a word and discern root meanings. Common usage trips up a lot of people.

I blame their parents.

Since you gave me a nice smilie though, we'll give you a passing grade. :-)

[Ladypixel]

Just interjecting a few facts to keep in mind:

Japan’s earthquake was not volcanic, it was tectonic. The major difference is that volcanic quakes are spawned by lava flow. Tectonic shifts are when the continental plates move, and that is what Japan has experienced and is continuing to experience.

Since (and including) the 8.9 temblor in their afternoon yesterday (at around 10pm yesterday my time, PST), USGS shows a total of 104 earthquakes in the Honshu region at 5.0 or larger. I didn’t bother checking anything below 5.0, because there’s likely been thousands. That area of the world is going to be rocking and rolling for a little while. But it’s been rocking and rolling for some years — there are regularly quakes in and around Japan, which is why they’re so prepared for them.

Yes, Japan is in the ring of fire, but this quake does not mean that quakes in Hawaii or other areas are necessarily related to it. It doesn’t completely rule it out, either, but someone who is far more studied in the earthquake sciences (like, say, someone from CalTech) would have to say it before I’d believe it.

But while these other quakes elsewhere may or may not be related, there -are- some things which this quake and subsequent tsunami have definitely spawned, such as the 1 dead, 3 missing in northern California, or the damage in Oregon, etc. (For info on the CA death/missing, go to the following link: http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=127779&catid=2 )

[Ladypixel]

Yeah. There’s going to be a lot of those, although the other 6.6 is actually on a separate fault, so that one’s kinda interesting. Slip-sliding plate fun!

[FreedomPoster]

I saw that first as a video clip, and I kept expecting either A) the moored boat to get sucked under, or B) gozirra to emerge from the center.

[RnMomof7]

Not unbelievable.. the power of an ordinary moon has a strong pull on the earth ..

Having worked in the mental health field ..I can tell you first hand that full moons do indeed make people more violent or unstable . I hated to be scheduled on full moons..

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Women go into labor more frequently with the full moon, and natural deaths occur more often around the full moon.

Weird.

[madison10]

I hated to be scheduled on full moons.

We used to say that...and I just worked in a fabric store at the time.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

That, too. 8~)

[RnMomof7]

LOL

[old school]

“I can tell you first hand that full moons do indeed make people more violent or unstable.”

I don’t think there’s clinical proof of that but based on what I’ve seen, I believe it!

[Gondring]

[...] in geographical order [...]

In part, it's because you're looking there. There was a 6.6 south of Fiji Islands on February 21. Did you take note? No...you noticed the 6.3 that hit so close to Christchurch. In fact, there was a 6.2 off Russia's coast the day before that.

How about the 6.1 in Tonga on Feb 12?

Or the 6.5 and 6.6 in the Celebes Sea on Feb 10? No? But you noticed the 6.8 off Chile on Feb 11.

[aruanan]

Women go into labor more frequently with the full moon, and natural deaths occur more often around the full moon.

Transactions from the 71st Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Obstetrical and Gynecological Society
Birth rate and its correlation with the lunar cycle and specific atmospheric conditions
Susan Morton-Pradhan MDa, R. Curtis Bay PhD, and Dean V. Coonrod MD, MPH,
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health Research,
Maricopa Integrated Health System/MedPro, Phoenix, AZ
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ

Objective
This study was undertaken to use the Arizona State birth certificate database for Phoenix metropolitan hospitals, in conjunction with National Weather Service records to determine whether there is a relationship between birth rate and meteorologic or lunar conditions. This study attempts to dispel or lend significance to beliefs among hospital staff that the phase of the moon and/or meteorologic conditions are related to birth rate.

Study design
Birth records were limited to spontaneous vaginal deliveries, 37 to 40 weeks' gestation, in Phoenix, between 1995 and 2000 (n = 167,956). Daily birth counts were merged with daily surface weather statistics from the National Weather Service for Sky Harbor Airport, and records of lunar phase for the same period.

Results
The analyses revealed no significant correlates of birth rate.

Conclusion
Although there exists a popular belief that the phase of the lunar cycle and weather conditions affect birth rate, no such evidence was found in this study.

Key words: Lunar phase; Birth rate; Meteorologic conditions

[Ladypixel]

That is absolutely fascinating. I’m going to have to go look up that study to see if there’s any more detail available publicly to read.

[aruanan]

I’ll copy and paste the text into your FReepmail.

[Ladypixel]

Thank you so much!

[Gondring]

Human births and the phase of the moon: "[T]he birthrate during the period surveyed did not in any way correlate with the cycle of lunar phases."

Labor ward workload waxes and wanes with the lunar cycle, myth or reality? : "Conclusion: Scientific analysis of data does not support the belief that the number of births increases as the full moon approaches, therefore it is a myth not reality."

The effect of the lunar cycle on frequency of births and birth complications.: "CONCLUSION: An analysis of 5 years of data demonstrated no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or complications. As expected, this pervasive myth is not evidence based."

The influence of lunar cycle on frequency of birth, birth complications, neonatal outcome and the gender: a retrospective analysis: "CONCLUSION: There is no predictable influence of the lunar cycle on deliveries or delivery complications nor to the gender of the baby. As expected and in agreement with some recent studies this pervasive myth is not evidence based."

What about the weather?

Birth rate and its correlation with the lunar cycle and specific atmospheric conditions. : "CONCLUSION: Although there exists a popular belief that the phase of the lunar cycle and weather conditions affect birth rate, no such evidence was found in this study."

And finally...check out this sample size over a 38-year span...
Lunar cycle and the number of births: a spectral analysis of 4,071,669 births from South-Western Germany.

Any guess on the result?
No relationship.

[brityank]

Try this in your browser, Dolly, and zoom in on the cluster:

Earthquake Mashup

'Twill open in a new window, hit the "Info" button for more details. They just got another 6+ up off the west coast by Akita. Enjoy!

[Gondring]

Oops...while I was compiling a list, I see that you posted a reference, too.