Apparently the earthquake off Chile, like the one that caused the Asian tsunami, being a subduction quake, changes the size of the planet and reduces the length of the day.
Well I never. I'll never notice either. The amount is infinitesimally small, so don't expect the 24 hours of a day to seem much shorter any time soon.
(NB. A subduction quake for those not unfortunate enough to have had to learn about them in order to teach a bit of Geography, is where one tectonic plate pushes under another, as opposed to scraping alonside each other like in Haiti.)
Thanx Val. Now I can half-way understand how all this destuction happens.
ReplyDeleteLiving on the west coast for 20+ years, we are experts on the 'subduction' vs. 'strike/slip' quake. We live in a subduction zone. The Pacific Plate is diving under the North American Plate.
ReplyDeleteIf Chicago ever has a big one, we're all going to be grains of sand by the time its all over.
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