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Why some quakes lead to faster shaking
The more time it takes for an earthquake fault to heal, the faster the shake it will produce when it finally ruptures, according to a new study; the research does nothing to bring scientists closer to predicting when the next big one will hit, but the findings could help engineers better assess the vulnerabilities of buildings, bridges, and other structures when a fault does rupture
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Study connects burning fossil fuels to sea level rise
A study has found that burning all the Earth’s reserves of fossil fuels could cause sea levels to rise by as much as five meters — with levels continuing to rise for typically 500 years after carbon dioxide emissions ceased
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Death, destruction in wake of Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy’s left millions along the U.S. East Coast without power or mass transit, in all likelihood for days; the U.S. death toll reached 48, with most of the dead being killed by falling trees; the hurricane cut power to more than 8.2 million across the East Coast; airlines canceled more than 15,000 flights; Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damage and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, making it one of the costliest natural disasters on record in the U.S. history
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Leading U.S., U.K. scientists condemn conviction of Italian earthquake scientists
A judge in Italy last week sentenced six Italian seismologists and a former government official to six years in prison over the deadly 6 April 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila. The seven defendants were found guilty of manslaughter; Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Sir Paul Nurse, president of the U.K. Royal Society, issued the following statement
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USGS: Sandy will erode many Atlantic Coast beaches
Nearly three quarters of the coast along the Delmarva Peninsula is very likely to experience beach and dune erosion as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall, while overwash is expected along nearly half of the shoreline; the predictions of coastal change for the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia peninsula is part of a larger assessment of probable coastal change released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
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Hurricanes will test Florida buildings, built under new, post-Wilma building codes
In 2005 Hurricane Wilma was responsible for five deaths and millions of dollars worth of damage in Florida; building codes in the state were updated, and experts predict that these new buildings, most of which were designed with wind-tunnel testing, should perform well in all but the most severe conditions
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Human activity can trigger an earthquake
Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates try to move past each other, and the friction between them holds them in place; the friction creates energy which builds up, and when the plates move past each other, the energy is released, triggering an earthquake; fracturing increases the fluid pressure inside faults; this increased pressure, in turn, lowers the stress threshold for triggering an earthquake enough for one to take place
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U.S. East Coast braces for Sandy
Residents along the U.S. Atlantic coast, from North Carolina to Maine, were bracing form Hurricane Sandy landfall; people began to evacuate certain areas, while in many other places school closures were announced and supplies were quickly disappearing from stores’ shelves; public transit services were suspended Sunday evening, and more than 3,000 flights canceled; the hurricane may be especially ferocious because it was on its path to meet a winter storm and a cold front, together with high tides from a full moon
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ISC East postponed
Owing to the state of emergency declared by New York the governor, and the potential danger presented by Hurricane Sandy, ISC Events has decided to postpone ISC East; the event was scheduled for 30-31 October at Jacob Javits Convention center in New York
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Asteroid DA14 will be whizzing by Earth on 15 February -- the closest asteroid fly by in history
On 15 February 2013, asteroid 2012 DA14, the size of a city block, will be whizzing within 14,000 miles of Earth, squeezing between Earth’s atmosphere and the geostationary satellites orbiting the planet; it will be the closest asteroid fly by in history; experts say there is no chance the asteroid will hit Earth — this time; with more than 4,700 asteroids NASA has identified as potential threats to Earth, however, some as big as sixteen football fields, these objects are getting a lot of attention
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Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroid
With twenty years’ notice, paint pellets could cause an asteroid to veer off course; researchers say that, if timed just right, pellets full of paint powder, launched in two rounds from a spacecraft at relatively close distance, would cover the front and back of an asteroid, more than doubling its reflectivity, or albedo; the initial force from the pellets would bump an asteroid off course; over time, the sun’s photons would deflect the asteroid even more
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FEMA will pay to replace University of Iowa buildings damaged in flood
The University of Iowa will receive nearly $84 million to replace an auditorium, as well as arts and music facilities, which were damaged by a flood; the decision comes after the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of DHS said that FEMA had improperly applied a rule requiring facilities to be repaired unless the damage exceeds 50 percent of the cost of building a replacement
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Understanding the effects of Fukushima by studying fish
Japan’s “triple disaster,” as it has become known, began on 11 March 2011, and remains unprecedented in its scope and complexity; to understand the lingering effects and potential public health implications of that chain of events, scientists are turning to a diverse and widespread sentinel in the world’s ocean: fish; the data from Japan fisheries provide a look at how the ocean is faring eighteen months after the worst accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history
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The DARPA Robotics Challenge begins
The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) began yesterday, and DARPA wants to know whether you will be part of it; DARPA introduces teams for Tracks A and B, opens registration for Tracks C and D, and launches simulation software for download; the goal of the competition is to help advance robotic technology to the point where it can have a tangible impact on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
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Entrepreneurial approach to Japan’s disaster recovery
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit off the east coast of Japan in March 2011 killed more than 12,000 people, sent tsunami waves six miles inland, and damaged or completely flattened more than a million buildings; combined with the tsunami and the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, it was the most economically damaging disaster in world history, costing Japan an estimated $235 billion, according to the World Bank; a Japanese organizations tries a new approach to disaster recovery: entrepreneurship
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More headlines
The long view
Proactively Planning for Community Relocation Before and After Climate Disasters
Between 1980 and mid-2023, 232 billion-dollar disasters occurred in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, with the number of disasters doubling annually since 2018. As the frequency, intensity, and destructiveness of climate change-driven disasters increase, accompanied by an increase in recovery costs, more experts are calling for a managed retreat of entire communities from disaster-prone areas to safer ground.
Number of People Affected by Tropical Cyclones Has Increased Sharply Since 2002
The number of people affected by tropical cyclones has nearly doubled from 2002 to 2019, reaching nearly 800 million people in 2019, according to a new study. More people are affected by tropical cyclones in Asia than any other region, but every affected world region saw an increase in the number of people exposed to tropical cyclones, which are expected to become more intense and possibly more frequent as the climate warms.
Coastal Populations Set to Age Sharply in the Face of Climate Migration
As climate change fuels sea level rise, younger people will migrate inland, leaving aging coastal populations — and a host of consequences — in their wake. While destination cities will work to sustainably accommodate swelling populations, aging coastal communities will confront stark new challenges.
Damaging Thunderstorm Winds Increasing in Central U.S.
Destructive winds that flow out of thunderstorms in the central United States are becoming more widespread with warming temperatures. New research shows that the central U.S. experienced a fivefold increase in the geographic area affected by damaging thunderstorm straight line winds in the past 40 years.