The Science of Tsunamis

Posted on March 15, 2011 by marcia

The Science Behind a Tsunami

by NANCY ATKINSON on MARCH 12, 2011

Model projections of wave heights from the Japan quake on Friday. Image from NOAA. Click image for higher resolution.

The massive magnitude 8.9 earthquake that struck off the east coast Japan’s main island on March 11, 2011 set in motion a fierce tsunami that may have claimed thousands of lives, and sent tsunami warnings all across the Pacific basin, thousands of kilometers away from the quake’s epicenter. How do earthquakes trigger such enormous tsunami events, and how can scientists predict where these massive waves might travel? Universe Today talked with Anne Sheehan, who is a professor of geological sciences at University of Colorado at Boulder, and is also affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, as well as getting input from David Admiraal, an associate professor of Engineering at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Universe Today: How does an earthquake trigger a tsunami?

to read the rest of the article go to:

http://www.universetoday.com/84004/the-science-behind-a-tsunami/

Video of Saturn Cassini Flyby

Posted on March 15, 2011 by jolyon

Using thousands of single frame images shot by the Cassini Spacecraft since 2004, researchers have assembled this impressive video ‘flyby’ of Saturn and its moons: http://1.usa.gov/fVX1WQ

Amazing work; and some nice music, too!

Once Again-Has Atlantis Been Found

Posted on March 14, 2011 by marcia

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | March 15, 2011 8:26 AM HKT

The legendary lost city of Atlantis that has found place in tales and fables and was thought to have been swallowed up by a massive tsunami in 9600 BC, may be found in the marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, southwest Spain, claim researchers…,.

Check out the link to read more:

Fr/http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/122334/20110314/has-the-mysterious-lost-city-of-atlantis-been-found-atlantis-spain-marshland-finding-atlantis-japan.htm

Japan’s Shinmoe Dake Volcano Erupts

Posted on March 14, 2011 by marcia

The Shinmoe-Dake Volcano in Japan erupted just two days after the earthquake. Check out the links below:

http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/122076/20110314/japan-shinmoedake-volcano-shinmoe-dake-erupted-erupts-ash-rock-earthquake-tsunami.htm

http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/03/14/japans-shinmoe-dake-volcano-erupts

Before and After Satellite Pictures of Japan Tsunami

Posted on March 13, 2011 by jolyon

The New York Times provides these before and after satellite images of the devastation from the recent earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Use the slider bar in the middle of each photo to view the overall before and after images. Stunning.

The Moon did not cause the Japan Quake

Posted on March 12, 2011 by marcia

Just to be Clear: The Moon Did Not Cause the Earthquake in Japan

by NANCY ATKINSON on MARCH 11, 2011

This illustration, based on Galileo spacecraft images, shows the approximate difference in apparent size between a full moon at perigee (the closest point in the lunar orbit, pictured at left) and a full moon at apogee, the farthest point in the lunar orbit. Credit: NASA

Check out the full article at

http://www.universetoday.com/83996/just-to-be-clear-the-moon-did-not-cause-the-earthquake-in-jap

Anyhow here is how it starts:

We’re getting a lot of visitors to our site today, many searching for information about earthquakes, tsunamis, and the ‘SuperMoon’ phenomenon. Just to be clear, the Moon did not cause the earthquake in Japan. Several scientists have posted articles online today clarifying the topic, and all of them, in no uncertain terms, agree that the the upcoming perigee of the Moon — where it is closer than usual in its orbit to Earth — had nothing to do with the earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Tammy discussed this yesterday, but as we often do, we’ll also point you in the direction of an article by astronomer Phil Plait about this topic, and another by Ben Goldacre, who completely debunks an article that appeared in the Daily Mail about the possibility of a connection between the two events.

In addition, Dr. Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, has provided some answers to questions about the ‘supermoon’ phenomenon, below:

Japan Earthquake Shifted Earth’s Axis

Posted on March 12, 2011 by jolyon

According to one USGS scientist, the recent earthquake off the northeastern coast of Japan has moved the large island’s coast by 8 feet and shifted the Earth’s axis of rotation by almost four inches (10 cm).

Other reports are stating while only about 1500 deaths have been officially acknowledged as of 36 hours after the quake the final death toll will likely be in the tens of thousands.

Source (CNN World News)

Update: The USGS has released an earthquake dataset and browser-enabled Google Earth explorer plugin to view earthquake data in real-time. Click here view. Interesting to see the plate movement arrows. Looks like the Pacific plate is explanding!

Sun Spotless Days

Posted on March 12, 2011 by marcia

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2011 total: 1 day (1%)
2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 820 days
Typical Solar Min: 486 days
Updated 11 Mar 2011
fr/spaceweather.com

X-Class Solar Flare 3/09

Posted on March 10, 2011 by marcia

X-FLARE: March 9th ended with a powerful solar flare. Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X1.5-class explosion from behemoth sunspot 1166 around 2323 UT. A movie from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a bright flash of UV radiation plus some material being hurled away from the blast site:

Movie formats: 4 MB gif, 1.2 MB iPad, 0.3 MB iPhone

A first look at coronagraph images from NASA’s STEREO-B spacecraft suggests that the explosion did propel a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. This conclusion is preliminary, however, so check back later for updates.

After four years without any X-flares, the sun has produced two of the powerful blasts in less than one month: Feb. 15th and March 9th. This continues the recent trend of increasing solar activity, and shows that Solar Cycle 24 is heating up. NOAA forecasters estimate a 5% chance of more X-flares during the next 24 hours.

fr/spaceweather.com

March 8 Near Earth Asteroids

Posted on March 8, 2011 by marcia

Near Earth Asteroids

Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.

On March 8, 2011 there were 1204 potentially hazardous asteroids.

Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Mag.	Size
2011 EC	Mar 6	9.2 LD	—	34 m
2011 EO11	Mar 6	1.8 LD	—	15 m
2011 EY11	Mar 7	0.3 LD	—	9 m
2011 EC12	Mar 8	3.3 LD	—	28 m
2000 PN9	Mar 10	45.5 LD	—	2.6 km
2011 BE38	Apr 10	48 LD	—	1.0 km
2002 DB4	Apr 15	62.5 LD	—	2.2 km
2008 UC202	Apr 27	8.9 LD	—	10 m
2009 UK20	May 2	8.6 LD	—	23 m
2008 FU6	May 5	75.5 LD	—	1.2 km
2003 YT1	May 5	65.3 LD	—	2.5 km
2002 JC	Jun 1	57.5 LD	—	1.6 km
2009 BD	Jun 2	0.9 LD	—	9 m
2002 JB9	Jun 11	71.5 LD	—	3.2 km
2001 VH75	Jun 12	42.2 LD	—	1.1 km
2004 LO2	Jun 15	9.9 LD	—	48 m

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256 AU. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on the date of closest approach