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Ancient faults still prove to be powerful
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“Our discussion was interrupted,” Department Chair Chuck Bailey said, “by a motion from the floor.”
All joking aside, even the experts didn’t realize what was going on at first.
“We thought it was construction,” Chancellor Professor of Geology Heather Macdonald said.
However, when the tremor continued for nearly 20 seconds the geologists realized they had a quake on their hands – a major quake. A 5.8 on the Richter scale is significant for the region.
According to reports, the earthquake occurred at 1:51 p.m. and was centered in Mineral, Va., which is about half way between Richmond and Charlottesville. Tremors were felt as far north as Maine.
Bailey, a structural geologist who teaches courses on Virginia geology, is particularly familiar with the area’s seismic activity. Following Tuesday’s event, his expertise was sought out by national and local media.
“This is a once-in-a-century earthquake, anyway you slice it”, Bailey told the Associated Press, adding that quakes of a similar Read more…
Christchurch torn by entirely new fault
A new threat of landslides has emerged near to the epicentre of the quake, where boulders loosened by the tremor have already killed two and crushed homes. An aerial survey by scientists found no surface trace of the fault, which is centred southeast of Christchurch. But the expedition found worrying evidence of slips on the crest of the Port Hills, and above Lyttelton, Rapaki and Sumner. Geologists would place monitoring stakes in the hills to measure whether the landslides were creeping towards populated areas.
Early investigations have suggested that the shallow earthquake was an aftershock of the September quake in Darfield, but did not come from the same faultline. GNS Science natural hazards platform manager Kelvin Barryman said tests indicated it occurred on a “blind” or unknown Read more…
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