View Full Version : 8.9 earthquake hits Japan - 5th largest since 1900.



Dustin
03-11-2011, 03:25 AM
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-20110311,0,1950058.story

Sending prayers that way! I can't even imagine...

Dustin
03-11-2011, 03:28 AM
Death toll as of now -- 29.

cameron_405
03-11-2011, 04:30 AM
Hawaii orders evacuations in tsunami threat; Japan Death toll rises to 32 (http://mb.com.ph/articles/308832/hawaii-orders-evacuations-tsunami-threat)

Hawaii ordered evacuations from coastal areas due to the threat of a tidal wave set off by Friday's earthquake in Japan as a tsunami warning was extended to the whole of the Pacific basin, except mainland United States and Canada...The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the tsunami is currently higher than some Pacific islands which it could wash over.

Thunder
03-11-2011, 04:48 AM
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/11/massive-tsunami-devastates-japan-hawaii-braces-for-huge-wave

Quite sad. :-(

Live Coverage Video http://www.kitv.com/video/27157579/detail.html

Live Wire in Hawaii http://livewire.kitv.com/Event/Hawaii_Tsunami_March_2011

Hawaii Tsunami Zone Maps http://www.kitv.com/news/27157605/detail.html

http://www.kitv.com/news/27156696/detail.html

And another one at http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/11/massive-7-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-japan/ with quote:


Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations.

I remember seeing a documentary several months ago showing the bottom of the ocean floor with gigantic wall, either the floor sunk or the wall went up. It was so huge and steep, quite impressive.

Can't wait to see the documentary for today's quake, quite fascinating how dramatic the crust can shift in an instant.

HewenttoJared
03-11-2011, 05:31 AM
Horrible footage. This might be the spur it takes to set up more early warning systems.

cameron_405
03-11-2011, 05:37 AM
Horrible footage. This might be the spur it takes to set up more early warning systems.

Quake Warning System Alerted Tokyo (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597804576194153254539820.html)

...As an 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's northeastern coast Friday, the world's first early warning system—developed by the country's meteorological agency—detected the quake's shockwave near the seismic center and sent off the warning message, which appeared on national television and radio as well as mobile phone screens...



West Coast under tsunami watch after Japan quake (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/11/west-coast-under-tsunami-watch-after-japan-quake/)

...The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says a watch is in effect for Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia...

PennyQuilts
03-11-2011, 07:19 AM
Those poor people. The videos of the tsunami flowing across the fields with cars driving on roads in the direct path were particularly horrifying, to me. T & Ps for the people affected and the people who have friends and loved ones in the area and who don't know whether they are okay.

Jesseda
03-11-2011, 07:30 AM
This is kinda creepy, i rad this the other day, and now this happens today!!!!!
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/astronomy/story/46417/extreme-super-full-moon-to-cause-chaos.asp

MadMonk
03-11-2011, 08:07 AM
The video footage is unbelievable, anyone know how much warning their new early warning system gave them?

cameron_405
03-11-2011, 08:09 AM
"...anyone know how much warning their new early warning system gave them?"

"... The window of time from the announcement of an Earthquake Early Warning until the arrival of the main tremors is very short, i.e. a matter of seconds (or between several seconds and a few tens of seconds). In areas that are close to the focus of the earthquake, the warning may not be transmitted before strong tremors hit..." (http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/eew3.html)


"...the system is designed to send out the warning only if the intensity of the quake is lower 5 or stronger on the Japanese scale. (The scale has three levels for each number, so there's lower 5, 5 and upper 5.) Friday's quake was 7 on that scale, and the system sent out the warning message 8.6 seconds after it detected the very first shock wave."

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597804576194153254539820.html#i xzz1GIvcrTpa

MikeOKC
03-11-2011, 09:43 AM
They just said it could be the single most expensive natural disaster in history. Horrible.

venture
03-11-2011, 10:13 AM
Here is the text for the US Tsunami Warnings that are still active.

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 12
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
852 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011

THE TSUNAMI WARNING IN THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS HAS BEEN DOWNGRADED
TO AN ADVISORY.

...THE TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL
AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM POINT CONCEPCION
CALIFORNIA TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

...THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL
AREAS OF CALIFORNIA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO
POINT CONCEPCION CALIFORNIA...

...THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS EXPANDED FOR THE COASTAL
AREAS OF WASHINGTON - BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE
OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER TO ATTU ALASKA...

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH IS EXPECTED TO CAUSE DAMAGE
TO THE WARNING AND/OR ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE.
PERSONS IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS
ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.
- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MOVE INLAND TO
HIGHER GROUND.

- PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF
THE WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI ACTIVITY

LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL
------------------------ ----- ------ ------- -----------
ADAK AK 51.9N 176.6W 1443UTC 03.4FT/01.04M
SHEMYA AK 52.7N 174.1E 1130UTC 05.1FT/01.56M
DUTCH HARBOR AK 53.9N 166.5W 1414UTC 01.7FT/00.51M
NIKOLSKI AK 52.9N 168.9W 1341UTC 01.9FT/00.58M
SAND POINT AK 55.3N 160.5W 1521UTC 01.2FT/00.36M
KING COVE AK 55.1N 162.3W 1512UTC 02.1FT/00.64M
LANGARA POINT BC 54.2N 133.1W 1403UTC 00.8FT/00.23M
CHARLESTON OR 43.3N 124.3W 1533UTC 01.8FT/00.55M
LA PUSH WA 47.5N 124.4W 1524UTC 01.7FT/00.53M
NEAH BAY WA 48.4N 124.6W 1539UTC 00.5FT/00.17M
PORT ORFORD OR 42.7N 124.5W 1519UTC 01.7FT/00.53M
SOUTH BEACH OR 44.6N 124.0W 1544UTC 00.7FT/00.22M
WESTPORT WA 46.9N 124.1W 1545UTC 00.9FT/00.26M
PORT ALEXANDER AK 56.2N 134.6W 1536UTC 01.0FT/00.32M
ARENA COVE CA 38.9N 123.7W 1614UTC 02.8FT/00.87M
CRESCENT CITY CA 41.7N 124.2W 1538UTC 03.4FT/01.04M
MONTEREY HARBOR CA 36.6N 121.9W 1550UTC 02.4FT/00.72M
SAN FRANCISCO CA 37.8N 122.5W 1619UTC 01.6FT/00.49M
NORTH SPIT CA 40.8N 124.2W 1630UTC 03.1FT/00.95M

TIME - TIME OF MEASUREMENT
AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ARE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).

TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ARE EXPECTED TO PEAK TWO TO THREE HOURS AFTER
INITIAL ARRIVAL ALONG THE NORTH AMERICAN COAST.
FORECAST TSUNAMI AMPLITUDES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WCATWC WEB SITE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV.
THE TSUNAMI IS NOW IMPACTING THE BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON... OREGON... AND CALIFORNIA COAST. THE IMPACT IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AND POTENTIALLY INCREASE FOR THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS.

PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
MAGNITUDE - 8.9
TIME - 2046 AKST MAR 10 2011
2146 PST MAR 10 2011
0546 UTC MAR 11 2011
LOCATION - 38.3 NORTH 142.4 EAST
- NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU JAPAN
DEPTH - 12 MILES/20 KM

TSUNAMI WARNINGS MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI WITH SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD
INUNDATION IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. WARNINGS INDICATE THAT
WIDESPREAD DANGEROUS COASTAL FLOODING ACCOMPANIED BY POWERFUL
CURRENTS IS POSSIBLE AND MAY CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR THE
WATER IS EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION
IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS UNDER AN ADVISORY. CURRENTS MAY BE
HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS... BOATS... AND COASTAL STRUCTURES AND MAY
CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL.

PACIFIC COASTAL REGIONS OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA/ OREGON/ WASHINGTON/
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA SHOULD REFER TO THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER MESSAGES FOR INFORMATION ON THIS EVENT AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PTWC.

THIS MESSAGE WILL BE UPDATED IN 60 MINUTES OR SOONER IF
THE SITUATION WARRANTS. THE TSUNAMI MESSAGE WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. REFER TO THE INTERNET SITE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION.

PZZ530-CAZ034-035-529-530-006-505>509-002-001-ORZ021-022-002-
001-111822-
/O.CON.PAAQ.TS.W.0006.000000T0000Z-000000T0000Z/
COASTAL AREAS BETWEEN AND INCLUDING POINT CONCEPCION
CALIFORNIA TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER
852 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2011

...THE TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL
AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM POINT CONCEPCION
CALIFORNIA TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

PERSONS IN TSUNAMI WARNING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD MOVE INLAND TO
HIGHER GROUND.

TSUNAMI WARNINGS MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI WITH SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD
INUNDATION IS IMMINENT OR EXPECTED. TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF
WAVES POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERAL HOURS AFTER INITIAL ARRIVAL
TIME. ESTIMATED TIMES OF INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL FOR SELECTED
SITES IN THE WARNING ARE PROVIDED BELOW.

SAN FRANCISCO-CA 0808 PST MAR 11

FOR ARRIVAL TIMES AT ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS SEE
WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV

MikeOKC
03-11-2011, 10:16 AM
Just a few things just reported within the last couple of minutes....

The nuclear power plants appear to be safe. There is concern for one where refrigerant didn't disperse as expected and they've evacuated the town as a precaution. BBC says that they are the most modern and well-maintained plants in the world. Sensors for quakes apparently worked as expected shutting down plants and triggering safety measures in less than one second. They are the most sensitive sensors known to man. A train derail almost ten miles from a plant shut it down immediately a couple of years ago. Fascinating.

This is a disaster of epic proportions. They just said pilots reported seeing around 1800 homes being swept away under a fast rushing wall of water; no way to get a grip on casualties because of the devastation.

Sixth largest earthquake in recorded history of the Earth. Eight thousand times more energy than the one that hit New Zealand recently.

venture
03-11-2011, 10:26 AM
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/140_40.gif
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/Legends/legend.gif

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/140_40.php

jn1780
03-11-2011, 11:34 AM
Just a few things just reported within the last couple of minutes....

The nuclear power plants appear to be safe. There is concern for one where refrigerant didn't disperse as expected and they've evacuated the town as a precaution. BBC says that they are the most modern and well-maintained plants in the world. Sensors for quakes apparently worked as expected shutting down plants and triggering safety measures in less than one second. They are the most sensitive sensors known to man. A train derail almost ten miles from a plant shut it down immediately a couple of years ago. Fascinating.

This is a disaster of epic proportions. They just said pilots reported seeing around 1800 homes being swept away under a fast rushing wall of water; no way to get a grip on casualties because of the devastation.

Sixth largest earthquake in recorded history of the Earth. Eight thousand times more energy than the one that hit New Zealand recently.

Pressure is rising in reactor 1 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Clinton says US is flying in coolent(water). Their also talking about releasing pressure into the atmosphere. It doesn't sound too good right now. Hopefully, the engineers can solve the problem.

Dustin
03-11-2011, 12:09 PM
pressure is rising in reactor 1 at the fukushima nuclear power plant. Clinton says us is flying in coolent(water). Their also talking about releasing pressure into the atmosphere. It doesn't sound too good right now. Hopefully, the engineers can solve the problem.

yikes!

Dustin
03-11-2011, 12:10 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9QNzGY0qxw&feature=channel_video_title

OKCisOK4me
03-11-2011, 02:03 PM
This is kinda creepy, i rad this the other day, and now this happens today!!!!!
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/astronomy/story/46417/extreme-super-full-moon-to-cause-chaos.asp

That's freakin insane!

skyrick
03-11-2011, 03:55 PM
http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/57631/massive-japan-quake-first-photos?xid=newsletter#index/0

venture
03-12-2011, 12:47 AM
So some interesting details coming out from the aftermath of the massive quake.

The Earth's rotation axis was shifted by 25 centimeters from the event. What does this mean? Nothing right now. The changes are extremely minute for and will eventually cause for the removal of a single second from a day centuries down the road (it will be accumulating by the millionth of a second per year). The other impacts these events have is changing amount of sun a location gets and the speed of the Earth's rotation. However, all very small amounts that we won't notice. The 8.8 Chile earthquake did something similar.

The other change, the main island of Japan moved roughly 8 feet from this quake.

So far it looks like over 200 aftershocks have taken place with many still 5.0 or higher.

*grabs tinfoil hat* ... So that has been Chile, New Zealand, and now Japan around the ring of fire. Seems to be one main area missing from that without a major quake.

Thunder
03-12-2011, 01:16 AM
Seems to be one main area missing from that without a major quake.

This is a very scary hint. Yellowstone?

skyrick
03-12-2011, 09:09 AM
This is a very scary hint. Yellowstone?

Wow, I hope not in my life time! I think he was referring to the San Andreas Fault in California.

Bunty
03-12-2011, 10:18 AM
Fortunately for Yelllowstone, when it blows not very many people live around it.

venture
03-12-2011, 10:29 AM
Wow, I hope not in my life time! I think he was referring to the San Andreas Fault in California.

Pretty much. Anywhere from Alaska through Mexico hasn't had a major quake for some time. Just seemed interesting how the major quakes are working their way around the ring. Not saying it is likely to happen, but there are plenty of studies suggesting the west coast faults have pressure building up.


Fortunately for Yelllowstone, when it blows not very many people live around it.

When that thing blows, I don't think it will matter if you live by it or not. :) The amount of ash that would be put in the air would have us in a nuclear winter for at least a decade.

PennyQuilts
03-12-2011, 08:25 PM
The amount of ash that would be put in the air would have us in a nuclear winter for at least a decade.

What would that be like - what temperatures do they think that would put the world at? I realize the sunlight and temperatures needed for crops would be vastly diminished and people living on the edge would be toast. What percentage of the world's population would likely survive, and where? What is the speculation?

venture
03-12-2011, 10:18 PM
What would that be like - what temperatures do they think that would put the world at? I realize the sunlight and temperatures needed for crops would be vastly diminished and people living on the edge would be toast. What percentage of the world's population would likely survive, and where? What is the speculation?

Based on the studies done and comparisons to the previous large caldera eruption about 74,000 years ago from the volcano Toba (in Sumatra)...not all that pretty. The previous Yellowstone eruptions have left a blanket of about 3 feet of ash on every location roughly west of Mississippi. Oklahoma itself has been impacted by significant ash hall in the eruptions 630,000 and 2 million years ago. Both eruptions ejected anywhere from 1000 to 2500 cubic kilometers of ash and debris. Temperature impacts are a bit less certain from those eruptions. The Toba eruption ended up cooling the northern hemisphere by 21 degrees and darkened the sky around the entire planet. A study from NYU put the estimate at 75% of all planet life was eliminated in that, and a major impact to animal species. Impacts to human/animal species would be greatest with in 600-800 miles of the volcano where the estimate is a 90% fatality rate. Then that can increase further out with the spread of the ash cloud and sulphuric acid aerosols that will go with it.

Essentially...not a pretty picture if we ever would have to go through something like that. Pretty much game over and time for Earth to do a reboot.

HewenttoJared
03-13-2011, 11:56 AM
The Yellowstone Caldera has erupted several times in the geologic record. It's pretty rough on the life in Nor Maerics but I wouldn't call it a reboot of the whole planet. They are barely blips in the atmospheric and temperature record. They'd be awful for us, to be sure, but their influence is geologically and biologically very short. You can see their influence, but it doesn't deviate the orbital-driven temperature trends.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/EPICA_temperature_plot.svg

Dustin
03-13-2011, 12:46 PM
http://bigthink.com/ideas/31601

venture
03-13-2011, 03:43 PM
The Yellowstone Caldera has erupted several times in the geologic record. It's pretty rough on the life in Nor Maerics but I wouldn't call it a reboot of the whole planet. They are barely blips in the atmospheric and temperature record. They'd be awful for us, to be sure, but their influence is geologically and biologically very short. You can see their influence, but it doesn't deviate the orbital-driven temperature trends.


The ice core graphs are neat to look at, but a bit out of context here. The last time the Caldera erupted was well over 600,000 years ago...which would give you only one event on this graph. So the graph really isn't all that useful here. Especially considering the short term (6-10 years) impacts it would have. I think you also need to look at the comment in the context of my post. Previous eruptions eliminated an estimate 75% of all plant life in the northern hemisphere. That is about as close to a reboot of the world we know as we'll have outside something more catastrophic.

Any who, back on topic some.

A more zoomed out look at the earthquakes around the ring of fire.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/world_moll/world_moll.gif

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/Legends/world_legend.gif

Thunder
03-13-2011, 04:00 PM
Is the Ring of Fire along the western shore of the Pacific? If so, what is the crust movement? Hard to explain... One side of the line, crust goes up and the other side goes down. What direction each side going along there? I was thinking if the crust portion going up toward western direction, does that pull the entire tectonic plate further away from California?

jn1780
03-13-2011, 04:20 PM
Is the Ring of Fire along the western shore of the Pacific? If so, what is the crust movement? Hard to explain... One side of the line, crust goes up and the other side goes down. What direction each side going along there? I was thinking if the crust portion going up toward western direction, does that pull the entire tectonic plate further away from California?

The North American plate is moving in the same general direction of the Pacific Plate, relatively speaking.

HewenttoJared
03-13-2011, 07:12 PM
The ice core graphs are neat to look at, but a bit out of context here. The last time the Caldera erupted was well over 600,000 years ago...which would give you only one event on this graph. So the graph really isn't all that useful here. Especially considering the short term (6-10 years) impacts it would have. I think you also need to look at the comment in the context of my post. Previous eruptions eliminated an estimate 75% of all plant life in the northern hemisphere. That is about as close to a reboot of the world we know as we'll have outside something more catastrophic.

Toba is in that range, as are many other eruptions as large or larger than Yellowstone. And our current extinction rate is orders of magnitude larger than any of those.

Thunder
03-14-2011, 05:41 AM
I am watching CNN and saw them saying that Japan moved 8 feet eastward, which we all already knew, but I just learned that the tectonic plates shifted 60 feet. :-O What effect does that have on USA?

Also, several hours earlier, they was showing a clip of the Prime Minister speaking and, on the side, there was this lady interpreter for the deaf. It was amazing how different Japanese signs are and I could not understand her.

It is quite amazing how Americans is lending numerous support to the country that once sparked WW2 against us.

jn1780
03-14-2011, 11:45 AM
I am watching CNN and saw them saying that Japan moved 8 feet eastward, which we all already knew, but I just learned that the tectonic plates shifted 60 feet. :-O What effect does that have on USA?

Also, several hours earlier, they was showing a clip of the Prime Minister speaking and, on the side, there was this lady interpreter for the deaf. It was amazing how different Japanese signs are and I could not understand her.

It is quite amazing how Americans is lending numerous support to the country that once sparked WW2 against us.

Well, if being nuked twice and having U.S military bases over there for the past 50 years is not enough to pay the Karma bill I don't know what is.

Thunder
03-15-2011, 09:53 PM
Watching Nightline on ABC, they were showing the graphic of recent earthquakes hitting Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and then a huge target on California. Since all these earthquakes was happening within weeks, California is about to be bombed anytime soon. :-/

ljbab728
03-15-2011, 09:56 PM
Watching Nightline on ABC, they were showing the graphic of recent earthquakes hitting Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and then a huge target on California. Since all these earthquakes was happening within weeks, California is about to be bombed anytime soon. :-/

That makes for a good story, anyway, when they're trying to grab ratings. LOL

MikeOKC
03-15-2011, 10:08 PM
That makes for a good story, anyway, when they're trying to grab ratings. LOL

A need to "balance" the plates? I've never heard that before. Some interesting stuff though.

ljbab728
03-15-2011, 10:14 PM
I'm certainly no expert, but from what I keep hearing, the most dangerous area for the US is the Cascadia fault off the coast of Washington and Oregon which could cause a huge tsunami. There is apparently little danger of that from fault lines in California which are inland instead of off the coast.

jn1780
03-16-2011, 01:11 AM
Watching Nightline on ABC, they were showing the graphic of recent earthquakes hitting Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and then a huge target on California. Since all these earthquakes was happening within weeks, California is about to be bombed anytime soon. :-/

All the plates are in a complete state of flux. The quake off the coast of Japan released pressure in some areas while potentially raising pressure in other others. Plates are never balanced because they are always moving, slowly.

OKCisOK4me
03-16-2011, 03:57 PM
Toba is in that range, as are many other eruptions as large or larger than Yellowstone. And our current extinction rate is orders of magnitude larger than any of those.

I agree more with Venture. Sorry, but, your Toba is never featured on the Mega Disasters show on the Discovery Channel. It's always Yellowstone, which blows majorly, cause if it goes...we'll be known as the United States of Ashtray. And I will shoot myself if I don't die from suffocation or a firey rock crashing down on top of me cause I'm pretty sure it will be able to send a projectile that far. I'd rather die from a gunshot wound than starvation because 90% of all living creatures dies here.

venture
03-16-2011, 11:55 PM
Some interesting stuff going around now.One is a raising concern in Japan of the events the earthquake may have triggered. Right after the earthquake, a smaller fairly active volcano erupted after being quiet for a few weeks. The biggest concern though is a 6.2 shallow quake under Mount Fuji a couple nights ago. Fuji hasn't erupted for over 300 years and some fears now that it could get a rude awakening. So far there haven't been any other earthquakes in that area from what I've seen on the USGS site. Normally there would be a nice swarm develop signaling the rise of magma, but doesn't appear to be going on yet.

http://www.seisvol.kishou.go.jp/tokyo/eng/314/314_pic.jpg

A Fuji eruption definitely would not be a good thing right now, and depending on the amount of ash it would eject could make the US experience what Europe did last night.

There is also a story going around now, thanks to the whole supermoon hysteria, about the increasing risk of a quake somewhere on the west coast. Granted if you look at the pattern it does seem to be going clockwise around the ring of fire, but we'll see. There is bound to be a major earthquake out there in the next 10-20 years. Just about every scientist would stand by that prediction. Now if it happens in the next couple weeks, who knows. I would be interested to see what the thinking is if a major earthquake out there would happen, what the impact would be on either the Cascade Volcanoes or those throughout California/Arizona. The Long Valley Caldera in Central California has been in a consistent period of uplift with a fairly (geologically) recent lava dome since having a major swarm in the 80s with magnitude 6 quakes. It however is not like Yellowstone and doesn't sit on a hotspot.

Just some ramblings. If anything, the ever changing planet is interesting to watch on how it is constantly reshaping itself.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Hot_Creek_Fish_Hatchery_with_Resurgent_Dome_in_bac kground-1200px.jpg/300px-Hot_Creek_Fish_Hatchery_with_Resurgent_Dome_in_bac kground-1200px.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Long_Valley_caldera_NE_rim.jpg/288px-Long_Valley_caldera_NE_rim.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Long_Valley_Caldera_cross_section.jpg

Thunder
03-17-2011, 12:13 AM
David, you scare me. :-(

Thunder
03-17-2011, 12:24 AM
Here is a clip about the potential for a west coast earthquake: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannity/transcript/america-overdue-catastrophic-earthquake

Don't make me slap you. >_<

We are so not prepared for this.

HewenttoJared
03-17-2011, 05:25 AM
I agree more with Venture. Sorry, but, your Toba is never featured on the Mega Disasters show on the Discovery Channel. It's always Yellowstone, which blows majorly, cause if it goes...we'll be known as the United States of Ashtray. And I will shoot myself if I don't die from suffocation or a firey rock crashing down on top of me cause I'm pretty sure it will be able to send a projectile that far. I'd rather die from a gunshot wound than starvation because 90% of all living creatures dies here.
Is that the new standard for reality? "Has a feature on the Discovery Channel" = true? Look them up, their sizes are very comparable. We know with great detail what a disaster like this would do to us and our current path on atmospheric tinkering is actually a much larger disaster, it's just slower so we don't worry about it.

Thunder
03-18-2011, 04:08 AM
I was watching Predicting Monster Earthquakes on the Discovery Science channel (filmed sometime after the major quake in Haiti, '08-'09) and there was several repeated mentions that scientists do not know what causes earthquakes.

....... DUH?! Of course we all know what causes earthquakes. :-/

Anyone know how long it typically take for new documentaries to come out about our recent earthquakes?

HewenttoJared
03-18-2011, 05:49 AM
We know what causes them, it's identifying the trigger moments that is proving elusive.