Belo Monte dam

I didn't update my blog for ages. Just seems like there's not enough time, of some reason.

 I've been thinking alot though, and I've been following what's happening in the Amazonas where a monster dam, the so called Belo Monte dam, which is supposed to be the third largest dam in the world, is planned to be built. About 40 000 people needs to be moved and a noteworthy amount of the rainforest will be cut down. If this wasn't enough, the Belo Monte dam is the opening port to about 70 new dams in the area. It'll be a tragedy for the people that live in the region, but in fact, the whole world will be affected since the Amazonas is one of the most important stores of CO2 (except for the oceans) and one of the largest producers of oxygen on earth. About 20 % of the earths oxygen is produced in Amazonas (read more here and here). These people, read the Brazilian government, is shooting Earth right in the lungs, and I'm SURE that Earth will fight back...
Read more about the Belo Monte dam here, and please take action by signing the petition here.

Earth Hour 2011

Earth hour is a global movement to encourage people, individuals, businesses and governments around the world to show their commitment and their engagement in taking positive actions for the environment by turning off the lights. It takes place the 26th of March, between 8.30 and 9.30 pm local time (link to earthhour website).

Tsunamis

A tsunami can be triggered by for example an earthquake, volcanic eruption or landslide. Around 80% of all tsunamis are caused by earthquakes. The tsunami is triggered when the seafloor is abruptly deformed and the water above it is vertically displaced. A wave with a low wave height (around half a meter) and long wavelength (more than 10 km) is created and travels over the sea. When the wave reaches the shore, it compresses and transfers to a high wave with short wave length (read more).

And for all my surfer crazy friends, from the GNS Science GNS Science website:

"Is a tsunami a dream come true for extreme surfers?
No. A tsunami is not a wave in the classical sense, but a raging torrent of water that surges inland with enormous power - much more power than a surfer can handle. Besides the waves do not stop at the shore, so surfers may find that they crash into buildings or all the other debris caught up in the surging water. Invariably a tsunami consists of successive surges or torrents and equally violent return flow to the sea. The first wave or torrent of a tsunami is not necessarily the biggest. The second or third or even much later waves may be bigger. Intervals between successive waves can vary. It may just be minutes, or it could be more than an hour."

Earthquakes in the Japan and Tokyo region

Mother nature showed once again who really is the head of the earth. Japan is used to and prepared for earthquakes (see list of major earthquakes in Japan) but who can be prepared for an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 and a tsunami triggered by it? According to the news I heard on radio a couple of days ago, three tsunamis of the size of the 11th of March tsunami in Japan, has occurred the last 3000 years.

About 300 km from Tokyo is an underwater so called triple junction, where three tectonic plates meet (Toda et al.). Scientists believe that a fragment of the Pacific tectonic plate is jammed between the Pacific, the Philippine and the Eurasian tectonic plates (Toda et al.), and that the probability for a major earthquake within 30 years in the region is 30 % (Stein et al.). After the 11th of March earthquake this probability might have to be reconsidered (read more), and some scientists fear more large aftershocks, or even a "mega quake" in the region (read more).

Giant iceberg breaks off Antarctica

A giant iceberg, the tongue of Antarctica's Mertz glacier, broke off a year ago, in February 2010. The tongue acted like a barrier for a dam where dense seawater was formed. The dense seawater sinks to the bottom and is a key driver of the currents in the ocean, for example it brings warm water to the Northern Atlantic Ocean, and the Golf Stream that is essential for people living here in Scandinavia. This event could effect the ocean circulation patterns (read more), and furthermore, the climate and weather patterns on earth.

The effect of climate change on tectonic plate activity

It is disheartening to see that when people suffer from the aftermaths of a natural disaster in one part of the world (referring to the Christchurch earthquakes), people suffer from, and are fighting for their lives because of one or a few people's greediness in another part. Nearly 100 000 people have fled from Libya into Egypt and Tunisia the last week, to escape the violence of the regime (read more).

It seems like the earthquake is a natural disaster which is not possible to control, while the Libya crisis is caused by humans. But maybe also a natural disaster like an earthquake can be, at least indirectly, caused by humans?

Some scientists say that the melting of the glaciers may induce the movement of the tectonic plates. When the ice of the glaciers melt, a tremendous amount of weight is dislocated and lifted off the crust underneath. The crust will rebound and might trigger earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

Geoscientist Allen Glazner of the University of North Carolina says in Alaska Report that

"It's unavoidable that glacial retreat will induce tectonic activity," 

This might not be the cause of the current New Zealand tectonic activity, but it's definitely worth a serious thought. 

Fjordland, New Zealand

Christchurch earthquake 2011

The world is changing. In many ways. By human causes or by natural. My thoughts go these days to New Zealand and Christchurch because of the damaging 6.3 earthquake that occurred at 12.51 on Tuesday the 22nd of February 2011, 10 km south of the city center. This earthquake is said to be an aftershock from the 4th of September earthquake of magnitude 7.1 with the epicenter 40 km southwest of Christchurch. The Pacific and the Australian Tectonic Plates interact just under the islands of New Zealand. No specific tectonic structure linked the two earthquakes, but they are said to be linked by regional tectonic plate boundary deformation. A 30 million ton ice block broke off from the Tasman Glacier, which was expected, not by a huge earthquake, but by rainfalls from the La niña.

Beautiful Canterbury.