Tsunamis & Earthquakes How Did Japan Move 8 Feet? Dominic Stryfe & William Stoddart

Breakdown of Earth: The Earth is broken into several tectonic plates, which move under the earth’s surface at a pace equivalent to that which a fingernail grows(a few inches per year). The plates are moved by convectional currents, which are powered by the radio-active decay of Earth itself, moving them in differing directions. When the plates move over/under one another it produces friction, which in turn is responsible for much of the seismic action that we bear witness to.

Cause of the Earthquake The Pacific tectonic plate was thrust underneath the North American plate This slowly pulled the country’s plate under with it, until it ‘snapped’ back into place. The force of the snap ruptured the crust of the Earth, creating an earthquake, which resulted in a tsunami from the earth being pushed up, as well as aftershocks for many years to come.

Effects: The earthquake and tsunami manage to change the tides, and on an off chance also created a large whirlpool(big enough to be considered a maelstrom). Devastated and uplifted roads and highways Living developments, neighborhoods, and entire sections of cities were entirely torn asunder and rearranged.

Extended Effects The aftershocks that followed the earthquake already number at: – 100 level 5 aftershocks – 20 level 6 aftershocks – 1 level 7 aftershock The initial shock of the earthquake left a rupture in the seafloor which was 217 miles long, and 57 miles wide. The quake actually manage to move certain parts of the shoreline 8 feet backwards. Nuclear Crisis due to power plants being unable to go through their cooling process.

Extended Effects Cntd. Not only did the quake shift Japan 8ft in some areas, it also lowered large portions of Japan. Japans drop in elevation is the reason that the water from the tsunami is just sitting there, stagnant. The tremor also managed to shift Earth’s axis 4 inches off of it’s center. The shifting of the Earth off of it’s axis also shortened an average Earth day by 1.26 microseconds.

How Tsunamis Work: The upward movement of the Earth’s crust raises the water The water eventually peaks a certain height, an the water splits into two different directions. The tsunami is barely noticeable until it reaches shallow water In shallow water the wave shortens by length, and comes out of the water Thus, a tsunami has arisen!

‘Fun’ Facts: If we could harness the seismic energy from the earthquake, we could power the U.S. for a year. The overall cost of the disaster, including marketing issues, could exceed $300 billion. 15,641 deaths, 5,699 injured, and 5,007 people missing 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed This is the one of the largest scale earthquakes since 1964

Special Thanks: National Science Foundation (NSF) Dr. Tashakori Dr. Palmer Dr. Bennet Dr. Burris Dr. Kurtz

Sources: change_n_ html (Law of Aftershocks) tsunami-how-they-happened.html