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Quake Changes Earth's Rotation, Moves Islands

kernel panic attack writes "This week's deadly Asian Quake and Tsunami may have been so powerful, that it changed the rate of Earth's rotation. In a Reuters article, a NASA geophysicist theorizes that the quake compacted the Earth enough to speed up the planet's rotation by 3 microseconds. A second article says the quake moved undersea tectonic plates by up to 98 feet, shifting islands near Sumatra out to sea an unknown distance. Also, a USGS team wants images from commercial satellite operators to help pinpoint coastline damage. Lastly, an interesting article from the Australian Spaceguard Survey about the need for a Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. The author comments that tsunami warnings may not help much, as people often flock to the coastline to see the giant waves." The current estimated death toll is now nearly 70,000; Amazon and Google, among others, have added front-page links to simplify donating to the disaster relief effort.

2 of 917 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Apple Too by nathanh · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    To be fair, Americans are the most generous people in the world. We donate significantly more in total and per person than any other country.

    You do not. You are out-generoused by FRANCE for christsake. See other comments to this article.

    Stop telling yourself lies. You are starting to believe your own propaganda.

  2. Re:Apple Too by kevingolding2001 · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    To be fair, Americans are the most generous people in the world. We donate significantly more in total and per person than any other country.

    That's true. After all, think about the billions of dollars worth of warheads and bullets that were donated at the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.