Scientists have for the first time shown a link between intensifying climate events and tectonic plate movement in findings that could provide a valuable insight into why huge tremors occur.
Understanding why plates change direction and speed is key to unlocking huge seismic events such as last month’s Japan earthquake, which shifted the Earth’s axis by several inches, or February’s New Zealand quake.
An Australian-led team of researchers from France and Germany found that the strengthening Indian monsoon had accelerated movement of the Indian plate over the past 10 million years by a factor of about 20 percent.
via Climate change affects tectonic plate movement, causing earthquakes: study | The Raw Story, 4/13/2011. While I normally just report on corporate governance activities, this news seemed earthshaking enough for an exception. I once remember reading that CalSTRS was pulling out maps to avoid real estate investments in low-lying coastal regions likely to be flooded in global warming. Now they may need to add to their risk considerations.
Comments are closed.