Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Scientists Measure Gravity Change From Earthquake

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the seismic-remodeling dept.

Science Daily is reporting that scientists were able to use satellite data to watch changes in the Earth's surface caused by a massive earthquake. These changes had two major measurable effects on the region. The massive uplift in the seafloor changed GPS measurements, and the density of the rock beneath the seafloor changed which produced a detectable change in gravity.

15 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Feels lighter by mortonda · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought I felt lighter this morning...

    1. Re:Feels lighter by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 2, Funny

      So I haven't gained 10 lbs? It was just a gravitational shift!? That means I can have another doughnut.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  2. "massive earthquake" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    How much did it weigh?

  3. So, how much is it now? by lheal · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a lot to keep track of, what with my checkbook, blogs, email, vehicle oil changes and tire rotation, bills, and keeping various client networks running.

    So I'd appreciate it if someone could keep track of this whole gravity situation, and just give me a summary. Let me know if we're all about to go floating off into LEO, but otherwise, keep the announcements to a minimum.

    --
    Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
  4. Gravity waves discovered? by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 2, Funny

    Me too. And there was this strange seasick sensation while it happened...must have been gravity waves.

  5. Top-notch editing by MustardMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department...

    Detecting "major" quakes - those measuring a magnitude of 7 to 8.9 - which occur frequently is being investigated. NASA's planned extension of the current mission, dubbed GRACE 2, and its enhanced instrumentation should aid in that effort.

    However, Han is hopeful that NASA's planned expansion of the current mission, dubbed GRACE 2, and its enhanced instrumentation, might allow the detection of "major" quakes - those measuring a magnitude 7 to 8.9 - which occur frequently.

    1. Re:Top-notch editing by monoqlith · · Score: 2, Funny

      Perhaps, but I think the more likely possibility is that it was an intentional use of mental retardation.

  6. Global Gravity Change is Real by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    Today, reputable news sources say a catastrophic shift in the Earths Gravity is taking place, "due to massivly overwieght republicans, and their giant SUV's".

    If we don't take this threat seriously, we will all be smashed flat, like pancakes, and grilled by global warming.

    Unconfirmed reports indicate that giant bird-like aliens will arrive shortly, and revel in the pancake carnage, gorging on the waste like so many crows on road kill. The same sources said they do not wish to imply that the aliens are in league with the Bush administration.

  7. Death knoll for 'intelligent falling'? by jnana · · Score: 3, Funny

    Let's hope this is the final nail in the coffin for the theory of 'intelligent falling' proposed as an alternative to gravity.

  8. Re:GPS is relative to exactly where? by AdmiralSpearmint · · Score: 5, Funny

    If half the earth moves relative to the other half, I'd think we'd have bigger problems.

    --
    God is dead, Nietzsche is dead, and I'm not feeling particularly good myself.
  9. In other news... by nobodynoone · · Score: 2, Funny

    Britain devalues the pound.

  10. Re:magnitude of the change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    |Or more interesting dose anyone have a map of the earth and differences in gravity in different areas? (I smell a new google map)"

    And all the fat people can move to neighborhoods with lower gravity, Voila! Instant weight loss.

  11. Re:how does this work? by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think you mean a local gravity decrease.

    I can't help it if you didn't notice the cement block shaped hole in the floor into which the cement block was supposed to be inserted.

    I think you can agree . . .

    Not until you show your work, no, I cannot.

    KFG

  12. Re:magnitude of the change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah, you just air it on Fox.

  13. Who needs a new geoid? by Murphy+Murph · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's why real men only work in ellipsoidal heights!

    --
    I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.