Major City Shifted 10 Feet after Chilean Earthquake
GPS measurements have showed that Concepcion, Chile, moved 10 feet after the recent earthquake struck the country.
Project CAP (Central and Southern Andes GPS Project), led by Ohio State University earth scientist Mike Bevis, has analyzed GPS data since 1993, preliminarily concluding that the second-largest city in Chile shifted 10 feet to the west after the earthquake on Feb. 27.
However, Concepcion was not the only city to be repositioned by the quake.
The 8.8-magnitude earthquake centered in Maule, Chile, forced many locations in South America to take a step to the west, including 11 inches for Santiago, Chile's capital, and an inch for Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Chilean quake occurred in the "ring of fire" region of the Pacific Ocean. It was caused by a process known as subduction, where one tectonic plate is forced to grind under another tectonic plate above it.
The largest earthquakes measured since 1900 have all taken place in subduction zones, according to an article by Wired Magazine.
"The Maule earthquake will arguably become one of the, if not the, most important great earthquake yet studied," said University of Hawaii project scientist Ben Brooks in a press release.
"We now have modern, precise instruments to evaluate this event, and because the site abuts a continent, we will be able to obtain dense spatial sampling of the changes it caused."
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Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 113° | Death Valley, CA |
| Low | 30° | Bellemont, AZ |
| Precip | 9.70" | Miami, FL |
WeatherWhys®
A large, horrific tornado struck the city of Joplin, Mo., last year on this date. The twister cut a deadly path across the south side of the city, leaving over 159 dead and at least 1,150 injured. The Joplin tornado currently ranks as the 7th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
This Day In Weather History
New Hampshire (1814)
A tornado crossed Merrimac, Litchfield, Londonderry and North Chester. The same storm produced hailstones that had an 11-inch circumference and weighed 1/2 pound.
Northeast (1989)
More rain in an already wet month. Monthly totals topped 11 inches at New York City, 9 inches at Bridgeport, Conn., and 8 inches at Baltimore (all three totals set records for May).
Rough Weather
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