""All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth's rotation."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...sia_earthquake

Did it change the tilt? Where's the North Pole now?

And then the tsunamis rolled in all around the Indian Ocean: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4125481.stm

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"If lightspeed has something to do with speed.
how come things can move fast in the dark?"
-James Driscoll (Spaceman), kook, imbecile, idiot.

As I was discussing the tsunami deaths that could have been avoided with better warning systems, my son asked were the EQ waves that much faster than the water waves. Obviously they are, but it made me wonder just how fast those seismic waves actually were.

So how long does it take the EQ in Indonesia to show up on a seismograph here in WA State?

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Anyone from New Zealand who could check on the size of the rotation change or tilt change? What direction was it if any; I.e., is the tilt straightening out or increasing the tilt?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=3504268

Speaking of New Zealand, there was an 8.1 near there on the 24th local time. I hope it didn't damage their laser.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/ussjal/

As far as tsunamis are concerned, in the deep ocean they travel as the speed of a jet plane ~ 600-700mph. When the sea bed shallows, they slow down and pile up into enormous waves. Because the wavelength of a tsunami is so long (up to 200 km in some cases) the water just continues inland for miles smashing everything in their path. In the case of the Maldives, the water washed right over the islands. The big problem for the Maldives is that the salt water will have ruined the aquifers and the crops.

My course in oceanography is a little hazy in my mind but I seem to remember that the speed of a tsunami is proportional to the square root of the water depth.

__________________
"If lightspeed has something to do with speed.
how come things can move fast in the dark?"
-James Driscoll (Spaceman), kook, imbecile, idiot.

Why New Zealand, John?

Wha? #-o yea right! When it starts snowing on the equator let me know; meanwhile somebody tell Boschi to take 2 tranquilizers and go back to bed. :roll:
G^2

"...This map shows the predicted (theoretical) travel times, in minutes, of the compressional (P) wave from the earthquake location to points around the globe..."
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_t.html

Read the link to the New Zealand Herald above. It says they have a really big laser ring gyro and seismographs there. They can routinely measure the changes in earth's rotation due to earthquakes as well as the Chandler wobble. That's why New Zealand.

The earth's tilt is changing measurably, generally straightening up so that the arctic and antarctic circles are getting smaller. It's not clear if it does this smoothly or in jerks like during earthquakes. That's why I'm curious if this earthquake, the 4th largest since 1900, changed the tilt measurably.

See this:
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/eischao.html

okay, i wont be able to sleep till i calm my paranoid brain.

how bad was the disruption?

i mean, we had a 9.5 back in 1960 and nobody worried about the earths rotation.

so i ask, do i have reason to be very worried, or should i sleep peacefully tonight knowing that tomrrow, my day in new york city will be just fine, and i dont have to run from some hyped up ice age causing strom that resulted in a shift in the axis of the earth.

thanks in advance

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This earthquake was near the equator. I doubt it changed the tilt very much if at all since there is little lever arm for that, but it may well have changed the earth's rotation rate. The earlier 9.5 in alaska would seem to have been a better candidate for changing the tilt; but the dynamics are complex and torques have a way of being normal to the thrust forces, so I am interested in measurements like the New Zealand instrument seems to be capable of. Any rotation rate effects were probably temporary and small.

sooo what, days will be longer?

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Or shorter.

It's interesting that this earthquake ocurred within 14 hours of a full moon. There was a 5.3 aftershock exactly at the minute of full moon, which was at 15:06 UT on the 26th. Probably a coincidence.

so, really no end of the world, spiraling into the sun, or anything of the sort right?

i can sleep tonight, and not worry about about a "day after tommorrow" creeping freeze of ice age, yes?

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Don't tell me I'm going to have to re-set my clock drive again, Dang! #-o

Just Kidding, Kierein; thanks for the link. :P

Any effect would be almost undetectable. Unless you are in a location subject to aftershocks (and you would know) it is NOT a concern ...

Many of the deaths in the '64 9.2 Alaska quake were due to tsunami. Because of lower population density, it didn't compare in numbers, but people didn't have warning. Out of that, it was decided to set up tsunami warning stations, and my father planned and set up the stations in the Alaskan islands.

I lived in Anchorage. It was interesting going down to the beach - there was always plenty of stuff washing up and you had to be careful. Lightbulbs, bits of wood, anything that could float. They also "preserved" a place called "Earthquake park" - a real mess, heavily hit due to liquefaction. Trees split in half, ground in a jumble ...

Well, surely the end is going to come; but hey, why rush it.

Been watching too many science fiction movies; redman; its not going to happen like that. :^o

WHAT?????


There is no effect from an earthquake that can alter the "tilt" of the Earth's axis. There is a slight nutation that changes the tilt by less than one degree over a 43,000 year cycle. That is all.

John, what are you implying? Would you care to elaborate, keeping in mind that there are people here that actually know science.

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Doesn't Arthur C. Clarke live in Shri Lanka?

Thanks, that was just what I was looking for.

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Couldn't have said it better myself.

Yes and on the coast as well but I believe it was the unaffected or at least less affected side of the island. His home is in Colombo. Here's a map.And here's a news quote of the worst hit areas:

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Ditto. Truth be told I double checked to make sure I wasn't at GLP for a second there; I might not be a geologist but I know when something doesn't sound right. Anyone care to explain? :-?

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"...massive tidal waves...killing more than 3,900 people in six countries... U.S. officials who detected the undersea quake tried frantically to get a warning out about the tsunami. But there was no official alert system in the region..."It took an hour and a half for the wave to get from the earthquake to Sri Lanka and an hour for it to get...to the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia," he said. "You can walk inland for 15 minutes to get to a safe area."..."
http://tinyurl.com/4t3q3

New readers of this board should know that the label "Bad Master" does not in fact imply mastery of any scientific subject. If one posts enough of anything -- even of pseudoscientific mysticism -- the label gets automatically attached.

Fear-mongering is not nice, John. [-X

An earthquake cannot cause a shift in either the Earth's magnetic poles or physical poles. So, where are you getting this from?

4 1/2 thousand dead now

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Interesting tectonic plate map.

I do remember this bit about dams (and the rather large mass of water being redistributed) affecting the earth's rotation rate measurably:

LINK

A very small change, of course. But merely the fact that it is measurable is impressive.

It is certainly conceivable that a very large seaquake could shift ocean levels enough in certain areas to cause a similar effect. Is it anything to worry about? Of course not - aside from the direct loss of life caused by the tsunami. Is it significant? No.

Changing tilt now ... that would be a bit trickier.

URL edited by The Bad Astronomer

http://rednova.com/news/display/?id=114301

ops: 8-[

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