Current+Events

Were you in your bubble yesterday evening? Of did you realize there were tornadoes in the area??? media type="custom" key="8820782" LIVE EAGLE CAM [|BEAR DEN] BREAKING NEWS: Did Scientists Find the Lost City of Atlantis? Super Moon This Saturday. Check it Out! Six Minute Video Showing Impact of Tsunami Washington Post Article on Current Nuclear Situation (as of 3/15) Site which Explains Nuclear Reactors Health Effects of Radiation Article on Potassium Iodide Science Behind the Earthquake Quake Moved Japan by 2.4 Meters Earth Day Shortened Before and After Shots of the Tsunami

Check out Twitter updates concerning the current status of Japan's earthquakes and resulting tsunamis. Take a look at the most recent earthquakes around the world here.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THIS QUAKE:
Japan sites at the boundary between two tectonic plates - there are eight major plates worldwide. To the east of Japan is the Pacific plate, and Japan itself sits on the Eurasian plate. The Pacific plate is moving west at about 8 centimetres a year, and is pushing down beneath Japan itself. As the plates push past each other, a massive amount of strain energy is generated, which builds up in the rocks. Sometimes the strain can build for many years, and that's the underlying cause for earthquakes in Japan. The amplitude of the quake decreases rapidly from the epicentre, although it will be felt across all Japan.