So powerful was the quake ... Earth's axis shifted 25 centimeters

[_CY_]

So powerful was the quake—off the coast of Japan and 24km under water—that Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the Earth's axis shifted 25 centimeters as a result, and the US Geological Survey said the main island of Japan had shifted 2.4 meters. Tsunami warnings were issued throughout the Pacific basin and as far away as Chile. The devastation has forced power cuts to 5.6m households in the most stricken region, and more than 1m households lost their water supply, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2011/03/japans_earthquake_0

 

[HMFIC]

I'd like to see more details about the axis shift... I wonder what effect that will have.

Will a change that small cause problems with alignment of telescopes, etc? Which direction did it shift? We're apparantly in a phase of moving less degrees from vertical.

 

[bettingpython]

Wow thats almost 10 inches.

 

[crg1372]

I do believe that the Haiti quake and the quake in 2004 that generated the devastating tsunami also shifted the earths axis as well.

 

[elwoodtrix]

I do believe that the Haiti quake and the quake in 2004 that generated the devastating tsunami also shifted the earths axis as well.

and the one in Chile

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=how-the-earthquake-in-chile-changed-2010-03-02

 

[HMFIC]

Wow thats almost 10 inches.

speaking of which...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00zuDUNTeXM

 

[Perplexed]

I'd like to see more details about the axis shift... I wonder what effect that will have.

Will a change that small cause problems with alignment of telescopes, etc? Which direction did it shift? We're apparantly in a phase of moving less degrees from vertical.

Well, the earth is roughly 3,950 miles in radius, so a shift of 10 inches would be minuscule. I'd say it'd affect only those systems that demand accuracy normally only found in places such as a lab using scanning electron microscopy.

 

[JRSherman]

Well, the earth is roughly 3,950 miles in radius, so a shift of 10 inches would be minuscule. I'd say it'd affect only those systems that demand accuracy normally only found in places such as a lab using scanning electron microscopy.

Either that, or it's like a high quality spinning top. Each major shift is just a flick of the finger sending us that much closer to spinning into the sun

 

[itzkwik]

I am no rocket scientist,Geologist or Astro physicist but the earth is making some big azzz changes which is more than likely very normal in past years like 10,000's of years, ido know the sun is on it 11year extremely active&!intense magnetic field solar flare cycle,the earths poles ate in the process of shifting all verified by NASA, wether it all is doing this caos I don't know, but something different is going on,just curious sat how much more and where and if they will be stronger,or just all the sudden calm down.

 

[CASTRATE]

Wow thats almost 10 inches.

that's what she said