Ralph Harrington has a series of posts at The Volcanism Blog that feature “volcano art”. So far he has art for Mount Asama (Japan), Vesuvius (Italy), Mayon (Philippines), and others. He also has a collection of “volcanoes on matchboxes”.
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurred off the south coast of Honshu. The USGS “Did you feel it?” map is getting reports up to VI and VII intensity. USGS shake map and population exposure estimates are below.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake beneath the Pacific Ocean off the southeastern coast of Japan has shaken the highly populated areas of Honshu. It occurred on Sunday, August 9 at 7:55 PM local time. The USGS “Did you feel it?” map has many reports of IV intensity near Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. A damaging tsunami was not generated and early news reports do not indicate widespread injuries or significant damage.
Swarms of giant Nomura’s jellyfish are being carried by ocean currents into the Sea of Japan. The Nomura’s jellyfish can be 6 feet in diameter and weigh 450 pounds.
An earthquake simulator has been built in Japan to test the structural integrity of a model building. The model is a life-size, seven story wooden condo on a huge shake table. The event will be broadcast live on the web the morning of Tuesday, July 14.
The early inhabitants of the Kuril Islands used tools made with obsidian from Russia and Japan. Obsidian flakes found on the islands yield evidence as to the people’s migration patterns.
This article explains the plate tectonics and history of the Nankai Trough region off the coast of Japan. The area produces a large earthquake roughly once a century.
Popular Mechanics has a story on their website titled “The Worlds Biggest Water Supply Projects”. It features: Ashkelon Desalination Plant, Israel; North-South Water Transfer Project, China; G-Cans Tunnel System, Tokyo, Japan; Marina Reservoir, Singapore; Groundwater Replenishment System, Orange County, California.
Sea ice formed delicate swirls of blue and white in the Sea of Okhotsk off the northern coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island on February 11, 2009. In this false-color image by NASA, water is dark blue, sea ice and snow are pale blue or white, and vegetation is red.
Dave Petley has a video of a landslide in Japan that hits a car as it crosses a two-land rural road. He also has links to landslide videos that are much more spectacular…. such as this one.
An article in Popular Mechanics Online features the world’s five largest water supply projects. Included are projects in Israel, China, Japan, Singapore and California.
The Japanese Space Agency has launched a new satellite to monitor greenhouse gases worldwide. The Greenhouse gases Observation SATellite (GOSAT) was successfully placed into orbit and is now gathering data. A .pdf pamphlet provides a nice overview.
Tremendous numbers of stinging jellyfish are swarming at many important fisheries and tourist destinations. Swarms have been reported at Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. east coast, Bering Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Australia, Black Sea, Sea of Japan, North Sea and Namibia.
There has been a long running disagreement over the jurisdiction of Dokdo Islands (also known as Liancourt Rocks) in the Sea of Japan. South Korea and Japan both claim ownership. A recent change to the USGS Board of Geographic Names database described them as “undesignated sovereignty”. South Korea demanded an immediate change. Control of the islands includes economic claim to the seafloor around them.
A strong earthquake occurred off of the east coast of the Japanese island of Honshu. Nearby cities: Iwaki (125 km / 75 miles) , Sendai (130 km / 80 miles), Fukushima (145 km / 90 miles), and Tokyo (300 km / 190 miles).
Two people were killed and about 100 injured in an earthquake in northern Japan. Damage was lower than it might have been because it struck in a rural area.
A large earthquake occurred off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. USGS reports a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and their shakemap estimates intensity VII effects in areas of the coastline near the epicenter. It occurred at 1:45 local time and was preceded by smaller earthquakes.
An 87-million-year-old praying mantis was found in Japan, preserved in amber. The specimen dates back to the Cretaceous period. Worldwide, only six other mantis specimens from this time period are known to exist – but this particular mantis has some unique characteristics.
Scientists in Japan have begun work on an extensive project that aims to predict earthquakes and tsunamis. They have drilled into the fault zone of the Nankai Trough and retrieved cores of sea floor, which are being used to map stress lines along the subduction zone. Their findings could be applied to similar areas, such as the Sunda Trench, which was the origin of the massive Indonesian tsunami in 2004.
A 130-million-year-old fossil found in Japan is thought to be the world’s oldest fully herbivorous lizard. The fossil raises questions of whether flowering plants existed at this time in history, which is millions of years sooner than when these plants are thought to have appeared.
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Hobart King
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