Japan Earthquake Shifted Coastline Maximum Of 8 Feet, Scientists Say

NEW YORK -- The massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan and triggered a powerful tsunami on Friday has had a profound effect on both the surrounding terrain and the planet as a whole.

Dr. Daniel McNamara, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, told The Huffington Post that the disaster left a gigantic rupture in the sea floor, 217-miles long and 50 miles wide. It also shifted Japan's coast by eight feet in some parts, though McNamara was quick to explain much of the coast likely didn't move as far.

McNamara found the way in which the quake actually sank the elevation of the country's terrain to be more troublesome than coastal shifting. "You see cities still underwater; the reason is subsidence," he said. "The land actually dropped, so when the tsunami came in, it's just staying."

The enormous tremor also shifted the Earth's axis. According to CNN, the earthquake moved the planet's axis approximately 4 inches.

While scientists have scrambled to gather concrete data to quantify such a powerful tremor's effect on the Earth, the numbers don't always add up. For example, McNamara pointed out that reports claiming the sea floor's rift measured 93 miles wide are incorrect. As for how much the earth's axis actually shifted, "there are all kinds of different numbers floating around," McNamara said.

Conflicting figures aside, a shift in the Earth's axis wouldn't be noticeable. Last year's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile, which also reportedly moved the planet's axis slightly, only resulted in shortening the day by 1.26 microseconds. (A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.)

As for any claims that the earthquake somehow relates to climate change, McNamara didn't hesitate to dismiss that connection. He explained that while evidence shows melting glaciers can cause small tremors directly underneath as their weight on the Earth's crust reduces, what happened in Japan "is not connected in any way to that process."

In a prior interview with The Huffington Post, McNamara said Japan's 8.9 quake was "not a surprise" due to how active the region is, but maintained that scientists "can't predict earthquakes."

CLICK HERE for live updates on the aftermath of Japan's disaster, and CLICK HERE to find out how to help with relief efforts.

Comments

[ANlMAL]

04:04 PM on 03/17/2011

Pretty amazing. It really helps me get a bit of perspective in regards to my relationship to the planet. My day to day life seems pretty insignificant in the face of the reality that this Space Ship Earth is constantly changing and shifting below me.

[RedRat]

05:18 PM on 03/15/2011

To those who can do without the melodrama of the TV media about this and other aspects of the quake, I recommend the following site:
http://mitnse.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/

For those without a technical background, it might be tough sledding but worth the effort to see what exactly has happened.

[justoverit333]

04:21 PM on 03/15/2011

This was very interesting and helps make sense out of how this disaster has
actually impacted the planet.

[Eric Wartel]

02:40 PM on 03/15/2011

That's incredible. I wonder how measurements like that are made. Satellite, etc.?

[The-right-is-wrong]

10:24 AM on 03/15/2011

And liberals think if we change the light bulbs we use, the planet won't treat us so bad. LOLOLOLOL

[WendyPinNJ]

12:51 PM on 03/15/2011

How is any of this about politics? Not to mention you've got it wrong. It's not about the planet treating us wrong.

Ridiculous.

[ANlMAL]

04:03 PM on 03/17/2011

What on earth are you talking about? Obviously it has little to do with reality and a lot to do with your own (i would dare to venture) twisted perceptions. =P

[jsgaetano]

12:21 AM on 03/15/2011

Turns out Rush Limbaugh had burritoes the night before, his gas caused the seismic activity.

[Max Shaw]

05:08 PM on 03/14/2011

Gadzooks! Thats crazy!

[Yaply]

04:58 PM on 03/14/2011

The Japanese response to earthquakes is impressive. They have done more than anyone else to ameliorate the damage. Unfortunately there hasn't been much investment in small fishing communities post 1995 and that has made the damage worse than otherwise compared to if they had Tokyo style housing. Still the earthquake planning and effort has paid off with so many people saved. The Japanese have done well in the face of adversity and I wish them well.

[lcole3]

04:55 PM on 03/14/2011

I think this is absolutely incredible. I really makes you think about and examine life. www.matterofopinion.com

[Azterix]

04:04 PM on 03/14/2011

Some GOPers are probably saying that Gawd lifted Japan out of rage and placed it on a new coordinate address.

[The Rokk]

12:00 AM on 03/15/2011

Nope just Trinity Broadcast and Glenn Beck are saying that.

[Azterix]

01:43 AM on 03/16/2011

Really? At least I thought there was a low probability.

[JaxReader]

12:00 PM on 03/21/2011

So some GOPers then.

[KBES]

03:57 PM on 03/14/2011

The Ring of Fire is shifting the whole world

[okami]

07:18 PM on 03/15/2011

really, more than anything else it's the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. . .it pushes the Americas west and the other continents east. the Pacific is slowly being crushed on both sides, creating the Ring of Fire.

in terms of environments and living organisms, though, the Ring can shift the world in its own way.

[forty8r]

03:44 PM on 03/14/2011

End of timers must be eating this stuff up.

[okami]

07:19 PM on 03/15/2011

they are, believe me.

[forty8r]

03:42 PM on 03/14/2011

Japan moved 8ft closer to the US. I wonder if Palin can now see it from Alaska?

[personal beliefs]

05:27 PM on 03/14/2011

maybe in time it will be one of the 57 states!

[Rosewren]

11:50 PM on 03/19/2011

Your comment was a great come back, I needed the extra laugh today. F&F

[Rosewren]

11:49 PM on 03/19/2011

Thanks for the laugh. F&F

[WalterJesseSmith]

02:32 PM on 03/14/2011

In other words, if you believe there is something profound nearing more obvious revelation through explorations of String Theory/Chaos Theory/Black Swan Theory, then you are barking up an empty tree with that faith.

But if you adhere to the increasingly accepted claims and promises of String Theory/Chaos Theory/Black Swan Theory, then we are listening to the words of an egocentric parochial who calls himself a scientist.

Brother/Sister, can you paradigm?

[SX]

02:31 PM on 03/14/2011

With the tectonic plates being so touchy and temperamental, it just doesn't seem like a good idea to continue to drill into the earth. It may have been the accumulation of persistent drilling that causes the plates to shift more than it naturally would by themselves. There are no mistakes in nature and everything has its purpose or it wouldn't be there for long. Removing the oil from the ground which acts as a natural lubricant for these plates seems like a horrible idea, especially since we are seeing more frequent earthquakes world wide. With that lubrication gone, the plate shifting that naturally occurs is more jarring and devastating.

I believe we (the human race) have been here before and this is sadly cyclical. The population grows to the point where what we consume is dwarfed by it's availability and we don't harm the planet, we harm the conditions it takes for us to survive on it. We don't sacrifice and plan long term, we only vehemently gorge and MAYBE stop long enough to ponder what the effects will be on the very next generation. And just like that, large numbers of us are decimated and a relative handful of us has to start all over again. Then due to our collective capacity for denial, generations down the road forget the lessons of their forefathers/mothers and we end up here again.

How about we just err on the side of caution and force change for alternative use of fuel.

[Azterix]

02:55 PM on 03/14/2011

That make sense, SX. In the U.S. especially, we care more about the ruinous consequences of budget deficits for the next generation rather than realizing the damage we're doing to our Dear Earth by sucking her oil that keeps her lubricated.

F/F

[SX]

04:08 PM on 03/14/2011

Correction. I meant "the population grows to a point where the availability of what we consume is dwarfed by our demands for said product"