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5th largest earthquaake since 1900 (pg. 7)
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| ::TranceVanDyk:: |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trazedict
what? its a perfectly legitimate question. all im wondering is if we lost any people that are known worldwide in this disaster.
im not blowing off everyone else who died. of course i feel terrible for them. this will devastate that area for a long long time.
and just imagine how much greater the devastation will be when the canary islands slide into the ocean, like someone else said in this thread. worlds goin to . those appalachian mountains will play a huge role in saving lives. new york, d.c., boston, jersey, pittsburgh, all gone. |
pretty much anybody who lives in a coastal city has a higher chance of dying from a massive, once in a 100 years disaster, which would include me. but ill take my chances, i hate being landlocked. |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nou
Here: |
that's the one, saw the show on discovery or national geographic the other night, was quite an interesting if frightening prospect.
Fortunately for Paranoiko, the north of La Palma is extinct and it's only the volcano making up the lower half which will fall into the sea, causing problems to the west, probably not the north/north east. This may happen tomorrow but it could be another 300, 600, 2000 years before it does happen |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by paranoik0
what a bloody tragedy :(
i had heard of this earlier but wtf, TWENTY times this one? how much is that in metres? that would probably hit my house :nervous: though sinking along with an island must be even worse
there's also this old bull legend about an island that was seen many years ago that will come back from under the ocean, sinking my island madeira as a consequence :nervous:
go alarmism :\ |
not heard about the legend you're on about, but the height of these other ones would mean they swept in between 20 and 50km inland on the american coast, so take a map, and draw a line at 50km and most of that could be underwater if this does happen. The last time a smaller one happened hundreds of years ago actually shaped the Bahamas, they're pointy in places from the water hitting and covering parts of the island, and there's rocks onland now which are like tonnes in weight but got catapulted onto hills on the land. Scary stuff |
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| Floorfiller |
ok i'm a little late on this one...8.9 is a huge ing quake...i thought some of the california quakes i'd been in were pretty bad :wtf:
anyway...just out of curiosity...what was the largest earthquake on the rictor scale ever recorded? |
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| Ian^ |
The largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States would probably be the 1964 Alaska earthquake, which measured in with a moment magnitude of 9.2
The largest earthquake ever recorded was in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude (Mw) of 9.5
edit - ooh that was on my dads 17th birthday :p |
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| Floorfiller |
| well ...that one was getting pretty close :eek: |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by Floorfiller
well ...that one was getting pretty close :eek: |
for sure. Major damage has been caused. It's pretty scary personally cos 2 years ago on this very week my uncle & auntie were in Phuket which got hit bad |
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| paranoik0 |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3963563.stm
| quote: |
Tidal wave threat 'over-hyped'
The risk of a landslide in the Canary Islands causing a tidal wave (tsunami) able to devastate America's east coast is vastly overstated.
That is the view of marine geologists studying ancient landslides in the area.
In typical Canary Island landslides, chunks of land break off in bits, not in one dramatic plunge, they argue.
This contradicts previous warnings that an Isle of Man-sized chunk of land could fall off the island of La Palma into the sea, causing a mega-tsunami.
However, the researchers behind the original claim are sticking to their guns, pointing to evidence of catastrophic past events in the region.
'Worst-case scenario'
Back in 1999, scientists at University College London published a paper about a volcano on the island of La Palma. They predicted that, if it erupted, the volcano could cause a landslide in which a massive chunk of land fell into the ocean.
They then proposed that a landslide this big would generate a mighty tsunami big enough to cross the Atlantic, devastating the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard of the US.
If you break [a brick] up into 10 pieces and drop them in one by one you're going to get 10 much smaller splashes
Russell Wynn, Southampton Oceanography Centre
With talk of a possible wall of water 50m high, their predictions were jumped on by the world's media.
But researchers taking part in a three-week research cruise aboard Southampton Oceanography Centre's research ship, the RRS Charles Darwin, say the threat is far lower than previous warnings would suggest.
Doug Masson, who has been researching Canary Islands landslides for 20 years, says the models are a worst-case scenario.
Coring equipment is being used to collect samples of rock sediment deposited by underwater avalanches that were in turn caused by previous landslides on La Palma.
Researchers on board the RRS Charles Darwin say the threat is far lower than previous warnings would suggest
By looking at layering in the sediments, the scientists can work out whether the debris landed on the ocean floor in one big lump or in several smaller stages. And the Southampton researchers say that other samples from the Canaries suggest their "bit-by-bit" scenario is common, if not ubiquitous to these landslides.
Russell Wynn, who is leading the research cruise, says it means there is a lot less to worry about if a landslide is triggered.
"If you take a brick and drop it in a bath you're going to generate quite a big splash.
"But if you break the brick up into 10 pieces and drop them in one by one you're going to get 10 much smaller splashes".
Melting rock
None of this impresses the team that proposed the original mega-tsunami theory. Bill McGuire is director of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre at University College London. He argues that evidence on the surface of the Canary Islands shows that previous landslides have been catastrophic.
On the island of El Hierro, a semi-circular escarpment of rock left behind after a landslide is covered in melted rock. Conclusive evidence, says Bill McGuire, of a dramatic event.
"This thing moved so quickly that it heated the rock through friction and melted it. That is a catastrophic event," he said.
Other evidence that Canary Islands landslides have had a colossal impact has come from the Bahamas themselves where boulders of rock have been discovered 20m above sea-level.
How they got there was a mystery until the timing of their deposition was linked to a past landslide - in the Canaries. Many scientists now believe that landslides in the past have triggered deadly mega-tsunamis.
So Bill McGuire is sticking to the predictions his team have made. Making no apology for backing a worst-case model, he says: "There's no question of hiding things. If you're planning for any future disaster you're not going to consider the least disastrous scenario, you're going to consider the most."
When Southampton's marine geologists return to the UK, they hope to bring with them evidence that landslides in the Canary Islands are more gradual events.
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I can sleep now at night :p |
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| Ian^ |
tbh mate there's going to be a lot of arguments either way. From what I saw on the tv, more than a 'small chunk' moved last time, half a volcano moved 5 metres down towards the sea, so if it all moved on the final drop into the water, these problems could happen. Fortunately it shouldn't be in our lifetimes... I hope not anyway as I'm planning to live on Fuerteventura :p |
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| erdega |
scary :eyes:
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