Chilean earthquake shortens day

[Renatus]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...tist-says.html

Chilean Quake Likely Shifted Earth’s Axis, NASA Scientist Says

By Alex Morales

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The earthquake that killed more than 700 people in Chile on Feb. 27 probably shifted the Earth’s axis and shortened the day, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said.

Earthquakes can involve shifting hundreds of kilometers of rock by several meters, changing the distribution of mass on the planet. This affects the Earth’s rotation, said Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who uses a computer model to calculate the effects.

“The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second),” Gross, said today in an e-mailed reply to questions. “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters or 3 inches).”

The changes can be modeled, though they’re difficult to physically detect given their small size, Gross said. Some changes may be more obvious, and islands may have shifted, according to Andreas Rietbrock, a professor of Earth Sciences at the U.K.’s Liverpool University who has studied the area impacted, though not since the latest temblor.

Santa Maria Island off the coast near Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, may have been raised 2 meters (6 feet) as a result of the latest quake, Rietbrock said today in a telephone interview. He said the rocks there show evidence pointing to past earthquakes shifting the island upward in the past.

‘Ice-Skater Effect’

“It’s what we call the ice-skater effect,” David Kerridge, head of Earth hazards and systems at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, said today in a telephone interview. “As the ice skater puts when she’s going around in a circle, and she pulls her arms in, she gets faster and faster. It’s the same idea with the Earth going around if you change the distribution of mass, the rotation rate changes.”

Rietbrock said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with seismologists in Concepcion to discuss the quake, which registered 8.8 on the Richter scale.

“What definitely the earthquake has done is made the Earth ring like a bell,” Rietbrock said.

The magnitude 9.1 Sumatran in 2004 that generated an Indian Ocean tsunami shortened the day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted the axis by about 2.3 milliarcseconds, Gross said.

The changes happen on the day and then carry on “forever,” Benjamin Fong Chao, dean of Earth Sciences of the National Central University in Taiwan, said in an e-mail.

“This small contribution is buried in larger changes due to other causes, such as atmospheric mass moving around on Earth,” Chao said.

Looks like those of you who think the day is too long are getting their wish for a shorter day granted. Unfortunately for the elderly their numbered days are shorter. Oddly enough the people who think their day is too long are going to get to the age where their days are numbered faster.

[Ben Lahnger]

Yeah, I'd heard that the Chilean earthquake had shortened the day. But then Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show and his opening night monologue made it seem longer again!

*pah-rum-dum*

I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress.

[JCC]

I like how there has been absolutely no relief for Chile at all and my school actually has a fundraiser planned in the near future for proceeds that will still go to Haiti. Sucks for the Chileans that our earthquake-sympathy timetable was double-booked.

[dstvs20]

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[goth_96]

lol a few more microseconds closer to death

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by JCC

I like how there has been absolutely no relief for Chile at all and my school actually has a fundraiser planned in the near future for proceeds that will still go to Haiti. Sucks for the Chileans that our earthquake-sympathy timetable was double-booked.

There is actually a lot of U.S. aid and worldwide aid going to Chile right now. And Chile does need some help but there are two differences between Chile and Haiti that bear remarking.

First, Haiti was so destitute that it could have used this much aid just to get on its feet without an earthquake hitting. And since the standard of living is so low in Haiti, all the buildings were substandard in construction. Many lost their homes because their homes were nothing more than shacks. By contrast, within 2 days of the Chilean earthquake, they had earth-moving equipment out and were clearing debris. In fact, Chile would be much further along in their repairs if the significant aftershocks weren't undoing some of the repair work.

Second, Chile had the resources and the wherewithal to construct their buildings to a much tougher earthquake-resistant code. So even though the earthquake that hit Chile was significantly stronger than the one that hit Haiti, the damage and death tolls in Chile are significantly lower.

Also of note:
Chile Stocks Rise as Quake Concern Eases, JPM Says
Chilean stocks are rebounding from losses earlier this week as concern over the extent of damage caused by the biggest earthquake in 50 years subsides, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Ben Laidler said.

“Relative to the size of the earthquake, the damage could have been a lot worse and Chile’s pretty prepared for this given the low interest rates and fiscal flexibility,” Laidler, head of Latin American equity strategy, said in a telephone interview from New York. “For some companies things aren’t as bad as we initially thought.”


Chilean Earthquake Death Toll Lowered As New Quake Strikes Chile
Chilean authorities have reduced the death toll in last month’s earthquake from 802 to 279. The confusion stems from the number of missing who were presumed dead. Many of these people turned out to be alive but just missing for a short period of time.

Soon after the February 27th 8.8 earthquake, the number of dead was placed at 214 but officials said that number could rise. Considering that between 217,000 and 230,000 people died in the Haitian quake which was much smaller, the number of dead was expected to rise quickly.

But yes, they are gonna need some help too, especially as their economy takes a hit in the coming months, so I am sorry you are not seeing any movement on that front in your country.