Yesterday’s earthquake in Eastern Turkey (near the City of Van) has resulted in extensive damage due to it’s shallow depth, it’s large magnitude (M 7.2), and it’s proximity to the surface. Combine that with not-so-strict building codes and the region’s geology, and you’ve got problems.
A month of high high temperatures in Texas has resulted in damaged homes, cracking roads, broken water mains…and shrinking soils.
In “The Volcano Next Door,” from the April issue of National Geographic magazine, writer Michael Finkel takes readers on a journey of 1800°F temperatures, killer gases, and fiery eruptions. The article follows scientists as they descend to the scorching lava lake of Nyiragongo, a two-mile-high volcano that has the potential to destroy the nearly one million people that live at its base near the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic on the Congo.
Japan was subjected to a barrage of earthquakes Friday, led by a massive 8.9 magnitude quake…the strongest to hit Japan in over 100 years. Throughout the next 10 hours, over 40 aftershocks hammered the island nation resulting in widespread damage, landslides, fires, and a tsunami wave reaching up to 10 meters.
Earthquake “forecasting” may not only help to mitigate the catastrophic damages associated with earthquakes, but has the potential to save thousands of lives. For at least the last century scientists have struggled to develop an accurate prediction of earthquakes prior to their occurrence. Based on current research, we may be closer to accurate predictions than you think!
Adventures in Geology 