Fukushima Earthquake Moved Seafloor Half a Football Field

[buckminster fuller]

The March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that decimated Japan and its Fukushima nuclear reactors with a monster tsunami altered the seafloor off the country’s eastern coast much more than scientists had thought. Analysis released today in the journal Science indicates the ocean bed moved as much as 50 meters laterally and 16 meters vertically. The magnitude 9.0 quake occurred close to the nearby Japan Trench that runs north to south in the Pacific Ocean (dark blue line on the map below).

more here (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=japan-earthquake-moves-seafloor) (source)

[Cjay]

Wow Bucky, you're posting some interesting info today. Thanks

[Hervé]

Sure... Scientific American... splash title news...

The initial uplift was about 5 meters... what they don't say is the incremental displacement which occurred from the numerous aftershocks... all we get is a final result in terms of football field to make sure it impacts on the targeted public.

As for the "stretching"... that would need a rift zone or expansion ridge. Whereas it seems more like an elastic strain release from the accumulated compression at the upper edge of the subduction zone. But, it could also be due to a minor landslide... no data, just the summary end result.

[pyrangello]

Very cool find, I had heard this had happened but there it is in print now.