Japan 2011 earthquake effects felt in space
11 March 2013 7:46 AM IST
The magnitude-9 earthquake in Japan two years ago was so big that its effects were even felt in space, the BBC reported.
Scientists say the 11 March, 2011 tremor sent a ripple of sound through the atmosphere that was picked up by the Goce satellite. The super-sensitive instrument was able to detect the disturbance as it passed through the thin wisps of air still present 255 km above the Earth.
Major quakes generate very low-frequency acoustic waves, or infrasound, below those discernible to the human ear. But no spacecraft in orbit has had the capability to record them until now.
‘We've looked for this signal before with other satellites and haven't seen it, and I think that's because you need an incredibly fine instrument,’ said Rune Floberghagen from the European Space Agency (ESA).
‘Goce's accelerometers are about a hundred times more sensitive than any previous instrumentation and we detected the acoustic wave not once, but twice - passing through it over the Pacific and over Europe,’ the mission manager told BBC.
Goce's prime purpose is to map very subtle differences in the pull of gravity across the surface of the Earth caused by the uneven distribution of mass within the planet.
TWO YEARS AND COUNTING, TSUNAMI VICTIMS REMEMBERED
Rikuzentakata, a city in northeastern Japan, held a memorial event Sunday to commemorate more than 1,500 residents who lost their lives in the quake-triggered tsunami two years ago.
According to data from the government of Iwate prefecture, 1,556 people from Rikuzentakata have been confirmed dead in the disaster while 217 were still missing by the end of February, Xinhua reported.
About 19,000 people were killed or were reported missing in the disaster, which devastated the country's northeastern region. A magnitude-9 quake hit the country March 11, 2011. It led to a massive tsunami that crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, blowing up four of its nuclear reactors.
Radioactive elements from the damaged power plant have been detected in seawater and marine organisms up to 600 km from Japan, BBC says.
More than 80,000 people had to leave the area, but radiation levels in some places remain too high for them to return home.
The govt says it could take up to 40 years to fully decommission the plant and clean up surroundings.
Scientists say the 11 March, 2011 tremor sent a ripple of sound through the atmosphere that was picked up by the Goce satellite. The super-sensitive instrument was able to detect the disturbance as it passed through the thin wisps of air still present 255 km above the Earth.
Major quakes generate very low-frequency acoustic waves, or infrasound, below those discernible to the human ear. But no spacecraft in orbit has had the capability to record them until now.
‘We've looked for this signal before with other satellites and haven't seen it, and I think that's because you need an incredibly fine instrument,’ said Rune Floberghagen from the European Space Agency (ESA).
‘Goce's accelerometers are about a hundred times more sensitive than any previous instrumentation and we detected the acoustic wave not once, but twice - passing through it over the Pacific and over Europe,’ the mission manager told BBC.
Goce's prime purpose is to map very subtle differences in the pull of gravity across the surface of the Earth caused by the uneven distribution of mass within the planet.
TWO YEARS AND COUNTING, TSUNAMI VICTIMS REMEMBERED
Rikuzentakata, a city in northeastern Japan, held a memorial event Sunday to commemorate more than 1,500 residents who lost their lives in the quake-triggered tsunami two years ago.
According to data from the government of Iwate prefecture, 1,556 people from Rikuzentakata have been confirmed dead in the disaster while 217 were still missing by the end of February, Xinhua reported.
About 19,000 people were killed or were reported missing in the disaster, which devastated the country's northeastern region. A magnitude-9 quake hit the country March 11, 2011. It led to a massive tsunami that crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, blowing up four of its nuclear reactors.
Radioactive elements from the damaged power plant have been detected in seawater and marine organisms up to 600 km from Japan, BBC says.
More than 80,000 people had to leave the area, but radiation levels in some places remain too high for them to return home.
The govt says it could take up to 40 years to fully decommission the plant and clean up surroundings.
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