Quake lifted the surface of the globe

[indigobusiness]

Quake lifted the surface of the globe
By William J. Broad The New York Times
Friday, January 14, 2005


NEW YORK New studies of the giant earthquake that produced devastating tsunamis in the Indian Ocean show that its shock waves ricocheted around the globe for hours and lifted the earth's surface nearly an inch even half a world away.

Rick Aster, a geologist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, compiled seismograms to measure the shock waves at increasing distances from the quake's epicenter. The waves were 1,000 times the size of those that seismologists customarily measure, Aster said.

The quake struck on Dec. 26 off the west coast of northern Sumatra, and the shock waves radiated out through the earth's rocky interior, traveling faster than waves do in air or water. The waves were eventually picked up by seismometers, which measure vibrations in the ground. Aster used data gathered by a global network of seismometers run by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, or IRIS, a consortium based in Washington that is financed mainly by the National Science Foundation. IRIS has nearly 150 member institutions at universities in the United States and abroad.

The closest readings came from the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory south of Sumatra, and from Sri Lanka, and the farthest from Ecuador. The seismic data show the waves traveling around the earth for six hours.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/01/13/news/globe.html

[Warpy]

1. NM Tech in Socorro, NM reported

that the quake lifted the state about a centimeter.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. I find this so amazing.

The beach I live near registered a 28 inch swell due to the earthquake, not that anyone would notice. What an incredible planet we are privileged to inhabit.

[murray hill farm]

3. Very amazing, isnt it!!

The longer i live on earth, the more amazed and in awe of it i become!

[indigobusiness]

5. Isn't that the truth? How can people be so concerned with squabbling

when there's so much at which to marvel?

It seems like folks should all be wide-eyed and agape, most of the time.

[fairfaxvadem]

4. Geez that is so cool.

I loved Geology in college. Wished I'd taken that path...