Weather bombs could help us see deep inside Earth
Severe storm clouds have an unexpected silver lining: they may help us visualise parts of our planet’s interior that are otherwise hidden. Image: Francesca Sacco
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Tag: earthquake
Volcano’s screams may explain eruption’s awesome power
Several volcanoes erupted in 2009 – but only one screamed in the process. Its unique guttural howls provide an unrivalled glimpse into the heart of a volcanic eruption, and may hold clues to the driving forces that cause volcanoes to blow their tops. Image: DCSL
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Earth’s crust is cracking up under Indian Ocean
The whole world shuddered in sympathy back in April, as Earth’s crust began the difficult birth of a new tectonic plate boundary. Two huge earthquakes ripped through the floor of the Indian Ocean, triggering large aftershocks the world over, and providing the best evidence yet that the vast Indo-Australian plate is being torn in two. Image: Fred Pollitz
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Foreshocks may warn that a big quake is coming
Advance warning is the ultimate prize for earthquake studies. Now, for the first time, one study offers tantalising evidence that it may be possible to build such a system to warn of some impending large quakes about an hour before they strike. The finding comes from an analysis of the seismic record from the lead-up to a devastating earthquake that hit Turkey in 1999. Image: martinluff
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Invisibility cloak could hide buildings from quakes
Borrowing from the physics of invisibility cloaks could make it possible to manipulate seismic...
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Earthquake on a wafer could boost asthma relief
Reproducing surface waves on a tiny scale can blast a drug-filled solution into a fine mist for...
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Flexible bridge bounces back after quake test
After spending nine months carefully building a 33.5-metre (110-foot) bridge, US engineers then...
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Earthquake activity is frozen by ice sheets
Can you put a freeze on earthquakes? It seems so, according to a computer model showing that earthquakes happen less often in areas covered by ice caps. Trouble is, quakes come back with a vengeance when the ice melts. Image: NH53
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Earth’s crust stretches just like pizza dough
You know how if you stretch pizza dough sometimes it will break right away and sometimes it will stretch and stretch? That, it turns out, is how the Gulf of California was formed. Image: VancityAllie
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