Category Archives: earthquakes

Aftershocks of the Sendai earthquake

On a map of global earthquake activity, Japan rather stands out right now: a pulsing boil of seismic activity that all but drowns out the shaking in the rest of the world. As of a few hours ago (5pm Central … Continue reading

Categories: basics, earthquakes, geophysics

Magnitude 8.9 (or 9.0, or 9.1!) Earthquake off the coast of Japan

Around 3pm local time yesterday, there was a massive earthquake about 100 miles off the east coast of northern Honshu Island, Japan. Initially calculated to be a magnitude 8.9, it has since been upgraded: the current CMT solution at the … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, tectonics

Aftershocks, triggered earthquakes, and Christchurch’s seismic future

As more scientific information becomes available regarding last week’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, we can look a bit more closely at the nature of this earthquake, how it fits into the overall tectonic picture in New Zealand, and future … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, society, tectonics

Shaking in Christchurch boosted by seismic lensing?

Even taking into account how close the rupture point of Tuesday’s earthquake was to Christchurch, the intensity of the shaking – and the amount of damage that the city suffered as a consequence – seems to be very high for … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geophysics

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake rocks Christchurch

[Note: see the bottom of this post for the latest updates and links – last update 26th February]. A few hours ago, Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand, was once again shaken by a large … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, society, tectonics