Map via www.usgs.gov
Having a hard time imagining exactly how forceful a magnitude 8.8 earthquake is? Well, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California has found that the quake was strong enough to speed up the rotation of the earth by 1.26 microseconds per revolution. This effectively shortens the time each hemisphere is exposed to the sun every day. But that’s not all:
Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth’s axis. [JPL research scientist Richard] Gross calculates the quake should have moved Earth’s figure axis (the axis about which Earth’s mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet).
By comparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth’s axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches).
Now, I don’t know any rocket scientists, but isn’t the tilt on the Earth’s axis what causes the seasons? Does this mean that mean winters will get worse?
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[Chilean Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days | jpl.nasa.gov]
