Quake moved Japan by eight feet

*****-----

Quake caused Earth to rotate faster

Japan’s earthquake, which was the precursor to the devastating tsunami that swept the country, was also responsible for another less significant phenomenon-speeding up

Earth’s rotation.

According to NASA geophysicist Richard Gross’ calculations, Earth’s rotation sped up by 1.6 microseconds which in turn shortened the day Friday.

“The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds [millionths of a second],” Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Bloomberg. “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds [about eight centimeters or three inches].”

The shift in Earth’s mass caused by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake was the main reason behind this. Sudden changes in the dimensions of the Earth’s tectonic plates can alter Earth’s velocity, which can either speed up or slow down the rotation.

The effect on the speed and the change in the length of the say was so slight, that it went unnoticed.

What causes changes in length of the day?

Seasonal changes in ocean currents and the atmosphere keep changing the length of the day by 1 millisecond or 1,000 microseconds. The gradual lengthening of the Earth’s day that is caused by the transfer of angular momentum to the moon cancels out the changes. Experiments conducted during the Apollo-era show that the moon is gradually moving away from the Earth at the rate of 3.8 centimeters per year which implies that the Earth’s day is getting longer by 17 microseconds every year.

Past calamities which affected Earth’s movement:

Last year, The Chile earthquake had also sped up the Earth’s rotation; however, the effect was less than that caused by Japan’s Earthquake.

According to scientists, the 9.1 earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in 2004 sped up the Earth by 6.8 microseconds.

The speed that the Earth rotates also increased slightly in 2004 following the earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. As per the findings of the NASA scientists, the 9.1 Indonesian earthquake affected Earth’s rotation, decreased the length of the day by 6.8 microseconds, slightly changed the planet’s shape, and shifted the North Pole by centimeters. The earthquake that created the huge tsunami also changed the Earth’s rotation. The Japan quake is the fifth strongest since 1900. - Agencies

******-------

The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by eight feet and shifted the Earth on its axis. “At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (eight feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass,” said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly four inches. The temblor, which struck Friday afternoon near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys.

CNN