MetaFilter posts tagged with earthquake and science

The sounds of science

numlok — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:07:38 -0800

The Sound of a Distant Rumble: Using monitoring devices originally intended to pick up the sound of nuke launches, researchers track the underwater noise generated by the December 26 (tsunami) earthquake. Eerie audio file of the slowly-building roar is included on the page. (More info here as well)

The quake felt 'round the world

KirkJobSluder — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 01:12:53 -0800

Worth picking up if you have a library with a subscription. The May 20th issue of Science was devoted to the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake of December 24 describing the full power of that event, the most powerful recorded since the deployment of modern electronic sensors. The multiple effects claimed include swarm earthquakes in Alaska, a shock wave that moved every place on Earth a centimeter, and resonant waves continuing weeks after the event. It is also the the longest rupture recorded and took over an hour to complete. Animated simulations of aspects of the event are linked through PhysOrg.com.

Tsunami visualizations

carter — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 10:43:03 -0800

Tsunami visualizations Visualizations of recent and historical tsunami episodes, collected by John McDaris at Carleton College. Includes large but visually effective animations, such as this NOAA visualization of the global propagation of the 26/12/04 tsunami (24MB Quicktime).

Infrasound animals

mediareport — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 18:48:32 -0800

"Infrasonic Symphony" Intrigued by reports of tsunami-avoidance behavior in Sri Lankan wildlife? Science News offers a timely antidote to simplistic mumbo-jumbo about the "mythical power" of animal earthquake detection with a detailed look at the latest research into low-frequency sound. The Elephant Listening Project is particularly interested in elephant rumblings that produce Rayleigh waves. "Mammals, birds, insects, and spiders can detect Rayleigh waves," notes The Explainer. "Most can feel the movement in their bodies, although some, like snakes and salamanders, put their ears to the ground in order to perceive it."

She's gonna blooooooow!

monju_bosatsu — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 14:24:18 -0800

Can we predict volcanic eruptions? PBS aired a NOVA program called "Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius" in 1998 which suggests that we can by monitoring small scale earthquakes which "swarm" as an eruption approaches. Why is this important now? Look at this map, which indicates the occurence of over 40 earthquakes under Mount St. Helens just today, with 10 being over 3.0 on the Richter scale. The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network has issued a series of alerts with more detail. National Geographic is reporting that an eruption is imminent.

More than junk science?

valerie — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:11:54 -0800

Quake to hit LA "by September 5," predicts a geophysicist at UCLA's Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. Some skeptical, while others say it's not junk science.

insomnia_lj — Tue, 03 Sep 2002 06:13:47 -0800

Remember that MeFi post on earthquake prediction? They did it again. There was a 4.6 quake yesterday near Santa Barbara that hit the bullseye. Compare the map of where the quake hit to the prediction map. That's at least five accurate predictions since the scientific paper (pdf) was released earlier this year.