Sergei Andreevich Tikhotsky, scientific secretary of the Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which deals with issues of the internal structure of the Earth and the propagation of seismic waves, is confident that nothing extraordinary will happen in the near future. Various natural phenomena of catastrophic proportions occur on Earth with enviable regularity throughout its history. Modern science has learned to determine the possible causes of many natural phenomena and seismically active zones, where you always need to be prepared for disasters. According to the scientist, it is necessary to trust science, and at the same time live in complete harmony with nature.
After the catastrophic earthquake on March 11 in the northeast of Honshu with a magnitude of 9.0, which caused a powerful tsunami, Japan continues to observe tremors of magnitude 5, 6 and 7 on its territory. Thus, the most noticeable earthquake after March 11 was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that occurred on the night of April 8, 65 kilometers from the island of Sendai. It did not cause a tsunami, but caused interruptions in the supply of electricity and water, and also caused some destruction. According to incomplete data, the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan resulted in the death of about 30 thousand people. One of the most serious consequences of the natural phenomenon was the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, which caused radioactive contamination of the environment. Water leaks from tanks where spent nuclear rods are stored are occurring at the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant.
Where will the disaster strike next? Can modern science predict this? Should we trust the numerous predictions that 2012 will be the last year in Earth's history?
We bring to your attention a short conversation with a specialist.
Sergei Andreevich, the earthquake in Japan was predicted by some domestic seismologists, for example, Valery Abramov, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, head of the Laboratory of Tectonophysics and Regional Geology of the Pacific Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Japanese reacted very coolly to this forecast. They didn't believe our scientist?
I think the reason is not that they didn’t believe it. After all, what is a forecast? This is an indication of the specific location and time, as well as the strength of the earthquake. There was no forecast in this format. There was simply a long-term forecast, which was given by specialists from our institute. Many were expecting a powerful earthquake in Japan. This is called long-term forecasting. It allows you to take some measures to reduce the consequences - strengthening existing buildings and structures, deciding what, where and how can be built, what should be abandoned, what measures to take in relation to objects that pose an increased danger in the event of a powerful earthquake, etc. With short-term forecasts, the situation is much worse. This is due, first of all, to the peculiarities of the physical processes occurring deep in the bowels of the planet, to the vastness of the areas where earthquake preparation has been taking place for years. Its harbingers appear in various areas of the region, but neither the epicenter of the tremors nor the exact time of the event can be predicted.
Professor Abramov named the year and strength of the earthquake...
This is very poor accuracy. You cannot evacuate a lot of people for one year. On March 9, an earthquake of magnitude 7 occurred in Japan. Japanese colleagues told us then that they believed that this was a foreshock, which would be followed by more powerful tremors. They reported this to management as well. But seismologists were then treated without due attention.
And while they were thinking at the top, the irreparable happened...
Yes unfortunately. The main shock occurred two days later, and the consequences were very tragic. For Japan, a magnitude of 7 is a common event with not very severe consequences. The country is located in a zone of increased seismic activity, and earthquakes are a common occurrence there. Therefore, the Japanese pay increased attention to earthquake-resistant construction. And if it were not for the tsunami, there would not have been such numerous destructions and casualties.
- Do tsunamis always occur after strong earthquakes in marine regions?
Basically yes. It all depends on whether the seabed was displaced as a result of the earthquake, how the source is located in relation to the coastline and bottom topography, at what depth the tremors originated... In this case, the source was located not far from the coast of Japan, the shaking was of large amplitude. Therefore, a very powerful tsunami arose, which reached the coast of Honshu from the source of the earthquake in 6 minutes. This is completely insufficient, since during this time people did not even have time to get dressed to rush out of the house. A situation occurred where no preventative measures worked. Everyone saw on TV how a ten-meter wave completely destroyed everything in its path, and very nearby there were undamaged houses that the wave did not reach. In general, all Japanese buildings coped well with the earthquake, especially in Tokyo, where there are many high-rise buildings. But we were not saved from the tsunami...
- Is there some kind of pattern, cyclicity in such phenomena? Is it possible to somehow calculate in which regions this earthquake will respond?
Attempts to identify such patterns have been made for a very long time. But there are still no reliable results. We can say with confidence that large earthquakes occur in series. For example, in the late 50s - early 60s of the last century: a 9-point earthquake in the Aleutian Islands, an 8.5-point earthquake in Alaska, a 9-point earthquake in Chile. We have three “nines” for several years in a row with an interval of three years. All this is a reliable fact recorded by scientists. There is a series of large magnitude earthquakes accompanied by tsunami impacts.
- Certain physical and chemical processes occur inside the earth’s interior before earthquakes. Could they serve as some kind of clue about an upcoming earthquake?
Monitoring of this kind exists. Changes in the earth's crust affect the distribution of the speed of propagation of seismic waves and the state of electrical conductivity. Before earthquakes, all these indicators change. But, alas, they can change for reasons that have nothing to do with the earthquake. That is, no special patterns have yet been discovered.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the peak of enthusiasm for earthquake predictions. Then it seemed to scientists. If we build a sufficient number of observation stations and start measuring everything - surface displacements, geophysical field indicators, electrical characteristics - then, in the end, we will be able to accurately determine the time and location of a future earthquake. However, unfortunately, there was no breakthrough in short-term forecasting. There is only one case of a successful short-term forecast: in China, the Tien Shan earthquake was predicted by changes in the groundwater level in wells. It was possible to notify the population in time and save people from death.
With the Japanese earthquake, most seismologists knew it was going to happen. But the day, hour and place remained sealed. Yes, this earthquake was strong, but not the most powerful in the history of the planet.
- Today, all the media are talking about increased seismic activity on a global scale. What does science say about this?
Objective data suggests that this is not the case. If you calculate the total amount of energy that is released during earthquakes over a month or a year and draw the corresponding graphs, you will be convinced that everything happens within normal limits.
- Scientists after the March 11 earthquake announced a shift of the earth's axis by 15 centimeters. What are the consequences of such a change?
This is a common occurrence on a planetary scale. An axis shift occurs after every powerful earthquake, and not only that. For example, pole displacements of the axis sometimes amount to whole meters and even tens of meters. And this happens solely due to the transfer of air masses. Deviations of 15 centimeters are the limit of measurement accuracy; for people they are invisible, intangible and pose absolutely no danger.
The idea that the earth's axis is fixed is incorrect. It does not stand still, and constantly moves in different directions with an amplitude of several meters. In one day, the axis can shift several centimeters without any earthquakes. It migrates constantly, and for us this has no practical significance.
- Unlike earthquakes, which cause death by causing changes in the Earth's topography. Which areas may be shaken in the near future?
Most of the seismically active areas of the planet are located in the Pacific Ocean, along its periphery. This is mainly the coastal zone - Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Japan. Near the Indian Ocean - this is Sumatra, Malaysia, Indonesia. On the North American side, this is the coast of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and the west coast of the United States. In South America, such regions include Chile and the Andes. As a rule, all these zones are located in places where the oceanic lithosphere is a mobile region.
There is an underwater ridge in the central Pacific Ocean. Exactly the same underwater rise exists in both the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This is a working factory of the earth's crust. In these places, molten rock (basalt) tends to the earth's surface through existing cracks, which causes an increase in the area and volume of the earth's crust and oceanic lithosphere. This is about 10-12 centimeters per year. All these volumes gradually accumulate and must go somewhere. And when the oceanic lithosphere collides with the continental one - America, Eurasia, Africa - it seems to be crushed under it, since it is heavier than the land one, and then sinks into the mantle located under the crust. And the mantle = molten stone, its viscosity resembles the viscosity of glass. With the mutual movement of large masses sliding relative to each other, they can get caught in some place. Such constipation occurred in Japan. Since new suitable masses were pressed onto this place for a long time, the resulting stress increased and deformations occurred until at a certain point in time the tensile strength was exceeded. The force of pressure from the outside was so great that the strength of the rock could no longer contain this pressure. A rock rupture occurred, which in essence is an earthquake. This is the general mechanism of the Japanese earthquake and earthquakes throughout the Pacific Rim.
- And where will the next break occur?
One such place is the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aden area. There is now a slow rupture of the East African ridges. I emphasize that this process is very slow, the split of the entire African continent is being prepared. Such processes usually last many millions of years.
- Today you can hear many different predictions about all kinds of disasters that will supposedly happen this year or next. What does science say?
Nothing special. Japan will experience magnitude 6 and 7 earthquakes for several more months. True, powerful earthquakes cannot be completely ruled out. We have already discussed this issue - a short-term reliable forecast is not yet possible. But one thing is absolutely certain - there will be no apocalypse.
What should Russia expect in this regard? Which territories in our country are considered seismically dangerous?
These are Altai, the Caucasus, Transbaikalia. The most difficult region in this regard is Kamchatka. At the moment, there is no indication that anything out of the ordinary will happen there in the near future. But earthquakes on the peninsula are commonplace and are quite likely in the future. Therefore, this region should be on high alert for such events. At the moment, two federal programs have been developed for this purpose, aimed at seismic strengthening of existing buildings. Thus, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, buttresses are being built that strengthen the structure of the building. Those houses that cannot be strengthened will be demolished. Thanks to the efforts of seismologists, there are no dangerous industries in Kamchatka. Our institute and Academician Fedotov are now actively cooperating with the federal and regional Kamchatka authorities, trying to provide everything possible.
- In Japan there is Fukushima, which today is already being compared to Chernobyl. There is information that the power plant had mistakes in its design made by the American company that built this nuclear power plant. This is true?
Yes, it was built by specialists from the USA. There is even information that one of the developers left the company due to disagreement with management related to design flaws. The disaster confirmed that the location for the construction of the nuclear power plant was chosen incorrectly - directly opposite the source of the powerful earthquake of 1923 and a few tens of meters from the coast. The power plant was built in the 70s. Even then it was clear that in the event of an earthquake there would also be a tsunami, from which it was almost impossible to completely protect ourselves. But the authorities did not listen to the arguments and still built a nuclear power plant on the shore, since it required a lot of water, and this seemed like a good safety measure. Time has shown the fallacy of this opinion.
- Fortunately, there are no nuclear power plants in Kamchatka...
You're right. But in the early 70-80s of the last century there was such a project. Through the efforts of scientists, including the Kamchatka Institute of Seismology and Volcanology, this construction was canceled precisely because of the high seismic activity of the region. Our seismologists stubbornly insisted on their position and did not sign the project for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kamchatka, because they clearly understood the consequences of the possible danger in the event of a powerful earthquake or volcanic eruption.
It should be noted that since Soviet times, the conclusion of seismologists on the construction of such important facilities as nuclear or hydroelectric power plants is absolutely mandatory. And if we talk about the general trend, nuclear power plants are not built in seismically dangerous areas.
Therefore, it can be argued that, in accordance with long-term forecasts and seismic zoning of territories, humanity is able to pursue a responsible policy regarding the construction of important economic facilities. And then the number of man-made disasters and other evils due to natural disasters will be significantly less. This is a direct result of experience and scientific research.
Based on materials from planeta.moy.su
The desktop globe is a perfect sphere, so it rotates smoothly around a fixed axis. However, the Earth is not a sphere, and its mass is unevenly distributed and tends to move around. Therefore, both the axis around which the planet rotates and the poles of this axis move. Moreover, since the axis of rotation is different from the axis around which the mass is balanced, the Earth wobbles as it rotates.
Scientists predicted this oscillation back in the era of Isaac Newton. And to be precise, this fluctuation consists of several.
One of the most important is the Chandler Oscillation, which was first observed by American astronomer Seth Chandler Jr. in 1891. It leads to pole movements of 9 meters and completes the full cycle in 14 months.
Throughout the 20th century, scientists have put forward a variety of causes, including changes in the storage of continental waters, atmospheric pressure, earthquakes, and interactions at the boundaries of the Earth's core and mantle.
Geophysicist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, solved the mystery in 2000. He applied new meteorological and oceanic models to observations of the 1985-1995 Chandler Oscillation. Gross estimates that two-thirds of these fluctuations are caused by pressure fluctuations on the seafloor and one-third by changes in atmospheric pressure.
"Their relative importance changes over time," says Gross, "but at present this cause, a combination of changes in atmospheric and ocean pressure, is considered the main one."
Water wears away stones
Seasons are the second largest factor related to the Earth wobble. Because they lead to geographical changes in the amount of rain, snow and humidity.
Scientists were able to determine the poles using the relative positions of stars as early as 1899, and have been assisted by satellites since the 1970s. But even if you remove the influence of the seasonal and Chandler oscillations, the north and south rotation poles still move relative to the earth's crust.
Before 2000, the Earth's axis of rotation moved toward Canada at a rate of two inches per year. But then measurements showed that the axis of rotation changed direction towards the British Isles. Some scientists have suggested that this may be the result of ice loss due to the rapid melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice.
Adhikari and Ivins decided to test this idea. They compared GPS measurements of the pole positions from data from GRACE, a study that uses satellites to measure changes in mass across the Earth. They were able to find out that the melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice explains only two-thirds of the recent shift in the directions of the poles. The rest, according to scientists, should be explained by the loss of water on the continents, mainly on the Eurasian landmass. 
The region suffers from aquifer depletion and drought. However, at first the volume of water involved seems too small to cause such consequences.
Therefore, scientists took a look at the situation of the affected areas. "We know from the fundamental physics of rotating objects that the motion of the poles is very sensitive to changes within 45 degrees of latitude," says Adhikari. That is, exactly where Eurasia lost water.
This study also identified continental water storage as a plausible explanation for another wobble in the Earth's rotation.
Throughout the 20th century, scientists could not understand why the axis of rotation shifted every 6-14 years, moving 0.5-1.5 meters east or west of its general drift. Adhikari and Ivins found that from 2002 to 2015, dry years in Eurasia corresponded to swings to the east, and wet years to swings to the west.
“We found the perfect match,” says Adhikari. "This is the first time anyone has successfully identified the perfect fit between interannual polar motion and global interannual dryness-wetness."
Technogenic influence
The movements of water and ice are caused by a combination of natural processes and human actions. But there are other effects that influence the Earth's wobble.
In 2009, Felix Landerer, also of JPL, calculated that if carbon dioxide levels doubled from 2000 to 2100, the oceans would warm and expand so much that the North Pole would shift 1.5 centimeters per year toward Alaska and Hawaii for the next century .
Similarly, in 2007, Landerer modeled the effects of ocean warming caused by the same increase in pressure and circulation from carbon dioxide on the ocean floor. He found that these changes could shift mass at higher latitudes and shorten the day by about 0.1 milliseconds.
It's not just large volumes of water and ice that affect the Earth's rotation as they move. Displacement of rocks also has this effect if they are large enough.
Earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates that make up the Earth's surface suddenly begin to rub together as they pass by. This could also contribute. Gross measured a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the coast of Chile in 2010. In an as-yet-unpublished study, he calculated that plate movement shifted the Earth's axis relative to mass balance by about 8 centimeters.
But this is only based on the model's assessment. Since then, Gross and others have tried to observe real shifts in the Earth's rotation from GPS satellite data on earthquakes.
So far this has been unsuccessful because it is quite difficult to remove all the other factors that influence the Earth's rotation. "The models are not perfect and there is a lot of noise masking small earthquake signals," says Gross.
The movement of masses that occurs when tectonic plates pass nearby also affects the length of the day. Gross calculated that the magnitude 9.1 earthquake that hit Japan in 2011 shortened the length of the day by 1.8 microseconds.
Tremors
When an earthquake occurs, it sets off seismic waves that carry energy through the Earth's interior.
There are two types. "P-waves" repeatedly compress and expand the material they pass through; vibrations travel in the same direction as the wave. Slower "S-waves" rock rocks from side to side, and the vibrations travel at right angles to their direction of motion.
Intense storms can also create weak seismic waves, similar to those that cause earthquakes. These waves are called microseisms. Until recently, scientists could not determine the source of S-waves in microseisms.
In a study published in August 2016, Kiwamu Nishida of the University of Tokyo and Ryota Takagi of Tohoku University reported using a network of 202 detectors in southern Japan to track P and S waves. They traced the origins of the waves to a major North Atlantic storm called a "weather bomb": in this storm, the atmospheric pressure in the center drops unusually quickly.
Tracking microseisms in this way will help researchers better understand the Earth's internal structure.
Moon influence
Not only terrestrial phenomena influence the movements of our planet. Recent studies have shown that large earthquakes occur during full and new moons. Perhaps this is because the Sun, Moon and Earth are lined up, thus increasing the gravitational force acting on the planet.
In a study published in September 2016, Satoshi Ide of the University of Tokyo and colleagues analyzed tidal stresses during two-week periods before major earthquakes in the last twenty years. Of the 12 largest earthquakes measuring 8.2 or greater, nine occurred during a full or new moon. For small earthquakes such a correspondence was not found.
Ihde concluded that the additional gravitational influence that appears at these moments can increase the impact of forces on tectonic plates. These changes should be small, but if the slabs are already under tension, the additional force may be enough to trigger large fractures in the rocks.
However, many scientists are skeptical of Ihde's findings because he only studied 12 earthquakes.
Trembling sun
Even more controversial is the idea that vibrations originating deep inside the Sun could explain a number of shaking phenomena on Earth.
When gases move inside the Sun, they create two different types of waves. Those created by changes in pressure are called p-modes, and those formed when dense material is sucked in by gravity are called g-modes.
The P-Mode takes several minutes to complete a full cycle of vibrations; g-mod requires from ten minutes to several hours. This amount of time is called the "period" of the mod.
In 1995, a team led by David Thomson of Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, analyzed patterns of the solar wind—the flow of charged particles that flows from the Sun—from 1992 to 1994. They noticed oscillations that had the same periods as the p- and g-modes, suggesting that the solar vibrations were somehow related to the solar wind.
In 2007, Thomson again reported that unexplained voltage fluctuations in undersea communications cables, seismic measurements on Earth, and even dropped telephone calls had frequency patterns consistent with waves inside the Sun.
However, scientists believe that Thomson's statements are based on shaky ground. According to the simulations, these solar vibrations, especially the g-modes, should be so weak by the time they reach the solar surface that they would have no effect on the solar wind. Even if this is not the case, these patterns should have been destroyed by the turbulence of the interplanetary medium long before reaching Earth.
Perhaps Thomson's idea is not correct. But there are many other reasons why our planet shakes and sways.
In the last decade, seismologists, climatologists, hydrologists and other scientists studying the Earth have been talking about an increase in natural disasters. And this is not due to improved statistics or detection methods. After a major earthquake in Japan, which happened quite recently, statements even appeared on the Internet that the Earth was entering an era of global earthquakes. But no one can yet name the reason for such shocks. Without claiming to have a final solution to this riddle, I will try to take the first step in this direction. But first we have to remember some basic physics.
Probably, many still remember how in school physics lessons we were told about potential and kinetic energies: we throw a ball into the air and give it kinetic energy EK, which is converted into potential energy EP as it rises, and then the potential energy is again converted into kinetic energy during falls. And according to the law of conservation of energy, EK=EP. Everything is fine in this explanation as long as we consider free fall solely under the influence of gravity, neglecting the forces of air resistance. But as soon as we move on to a non-free fall, irremovable contradictions immediately arise.
For example, consider what happens when water flows from top to bottom inside a vertically placed pipe under the influence of its own gravity. Suppose we raised a certain amount of water into a high tank and transferred potential energy to it. Then we open the tap on the pipe and the water flows down by gravity. Let's select a certain elementary volume of water in the pipe and monitor its movement. As it descends, the potential energy of a given elementary volume constantly decreases. But due to the constancy of speed, the kinetic energy remains unchanged. Question: Where does potential energy disappear if kinetic energy does not change? In the heat of friction? Nothing like this. Any specialist in heat transfer and hydrodynamics will answer that with a uniform flow of water in a pipe, no friction heat is released in it, no matter how the pipe is oriented in space: vertically, horizontally or obliquely (there is friction, but friction heat is not released - this is such a paradox !). In addition, this follows from the most general provisions of physics: the release of heat (that is, a change in energy) is possible only when work is performed, which is calculated as A = FL or A = maL, from which it can be seen that at zero acceleration (exactly our case) work does not occur and therefore heat cannot be released.
Having stumbled upon this paradox, I began to look for how the ideas about potential and kinetic energy arose and their formulas were obtained. And I found out the most amazing things. It turns out that potential energy is an error and this form of energy does not exist in nature, but instead there is the energy of the gravitational field. The concept of potential energy was put forward by Galileo Galilei (only in his time a different name was used; the term “energy” itself began to be used only in the 19th century). While throwing objects from the leaning Leaning Tower of Pisa, Galileo wondered: where does a falling body get its kinetic energy? He noticed that before throwing a body from the tower, he must lift it onto the tower and at the same time do some work. Therefore, Galileo suggested that the work he performs is spent on increasing some latent energy, which is subsequently converted into kinetic energy. But he was wrong. His experiments can be explained from two different positions: 1) by lifting a body onto a tower, we do work on the body with an increase in its latent energy, which is then converted into explicit kinetic energy as the body falls; 2) lifting the body onto the tower, we do work on some invisible medium with an increase in its energy, which is then converted into kinetic energy as the body falls. In Galileo's time there was no concept of this invisible medium (gravitational field), so he could only draw the first conclusion. He did it, and it later became the official point of view of all science.
The second mistake was made by Isaac Newton, who gave an incorrect derivation of the potential energy formula. He reasoned approximately as follows: “Let there be an object in my palm. I will raise my palm very slowly and evenly so that the force of the weight FG is equalized by the reaction force of the palm FN, and the kinetic energy would be practically zero. When lifting, the work A = INT( FG dh). Describing the weight force FG according to the 2nd law, we obtain the formula A=mgh. This work was spent on increasing the potential energy of the body, which will then be converted into kinetic energy if the body is allowed to fall freely." The error in this conclusion is as follows: when forces F1, F2, F3,... act on a body and their resultant force is FS, then when calculating the total work done by all forces together, it is necessary to substitute the resultant force under the integral sign, and not private Newton used a partial force (weight force) in his calculations. Since the resulting force in our case is zero (the reaction of the palm balances the force of the weight), the overall result will also be zero. That is, no work is done on the body being lifted and its energy does not change. If it was equal to zero at sea level, it will remain equal to zero regardless of the height of the rise. In other words, potential energy does not exist.
This conclusion may seem erroneous at first glance, because practice shows that when lifting an object we always have to do some work. But the whole point is that the work is not done on the object being lifted, but on what prevents it from rising: above the gravitational field. If we describe the work performed in terms of field potentials, we get the classic formula A=mgh. Therefore, measurements cannot indicate the correctness of the traditional point of view; with the same reason, they can indicate the correctness of an alternative position.
Why did Newton make a mistake? Most likely, he was not ready to admit the fact that the gravitational field can have energy, since in his time it was believed that only mechanical energy exists and only mechanical bodies can have such energy. And such a worldview has survived to this day. In some books on mechanics or astronomy, we can even read the following definition of gravitational energy: gravitational energy is the mechanical energy of an object located in a gravitational field. According to this definition, the gravitational field itself has no energy.
The third mistake about the impossibility of extracting energy from the gravitational field was made by the German physicist and mathematician Carl Gauss. In the middle of the 19th century, he proved the following proposition: the total work done when moving a body along a closed loop in a potential field is zero. I translate this from the language of physics into human: no matter how intricate the trajectory we move the body in the potential field, but when it comes to the initial starting point, here its energy becomes what it was at the moment the movement began, therefore the total change in energy is equal to zero and the work is not being done. The gravitational field is a type of potential field, so the conclusion made by Gauss seems to be fully applicable to gravity. But Gauss did not notice (and no one still notices) that in relation to the gravitational field a very important feature appears that can radically change the result: the additional buoyant force of Archimedes. If we calculate the circular integral of the product of the gravity force of an object and the displacement differential, it will be equal to zero. Adding Archimedean force to the weight force does not change anything if the Archimedean force remains constant. But if it changes in different parts of the contour, such an integral will no longer be equal to zero. And its difference from zero indicates that work is being done and it becomes possible to extract energy from the gravitational field, despite its potential. It is very easy to change the Archimedes force using the phase transitions evaporation + condensation or melting + crystallization. The first case takes place on our Earth (a change in the density of water and steam circulating in the atmosphere), the second case is observed on Jupiter’s satellite Io (the interior of Io is heated due to a change in the density of rocks in the processes of melting and crystallization and absorption of the energy of Jupiter’s gravitational field). And when I corrected these three mistakes made by the geniuses of science at different times, I got the reason for what many today call the end of the world: the advent of the era of global earthquakes due to the constant extraction of energy from the Earth's gravitational field by falling precipitation.
When water evaporates from the surface of oceans and seas under the influence of solar radiation, some energy Q is spent on evaporation. The rise of steam to the upper layers of the atmosphere occurs without energy expenditure. Why? But because such a rise occurs evenly, and work and energy expenditure take place only for uneven movement. When steam condenses at the top, exactly the same amount of energy Q is released as was expended during evaporation at the bottom. Consequently, solar energy leaves this process. The formed raindrops are not retained, fall down at an accelerated rate and acquire kinetic energy, which is then spent on the destruction of rocks and their processing into mineral fertilizer (water erosion). Where do they get their kinetic energy from? Only from the energy of the gravitational field, nowhere else. And this happens in full accordance with the rule I discovered: through a change in the density and buoyancy force of Archimedes through phase transitions evaporation + condensation. For this reason, the energy of the gravitational field is constantly decreasing. This happens slowly, but not unavoidably. And this is what follows from here.
The energy density of the gravitational field is directly proportional to the square of the field strength. Therefore, a decrease in one leads to a weakening of the other. The gravitational field of our planet can no longer attract all objects on the surface of the Earth with the same force as before. That is, the pressure with which all objects press on the base drops. This includes a decrease in the pressure with which the overlying rocks press on the underlying ones. And these underlying rocks, which were previously compressed under strong pressure, begin to expand when the pressure is released. This phenomenon of expansion of deep-seated rocks was discovered in our ultra-deep well in the area of the Kola Peninsula: the samples raised from below were all in cracks; they were split by internal stresses as the sample was lifted, pressure was released and it expanded.
So, the planet begins to expand in volume, and its surface begins to stretch. This process can be called gravitational swelling. My calculations showed that the earth's radius increases by 3-5 cm per year. And if this process is calculated into the past, then in 200 million years we will get a situation where the Earth will decrease in diameter by about one and a half times, and all the continents will close into one, covering the entire surface of the shrunken planet and not leaving a single piece for the oceans. This coincides very well with what fixists are talking about today - supporters of the concept of the immobility of continents. Among geophysicists today there are two points of view: the majority (mobilists) is of the opinion that continents move along the underlying asthenosphere, the minority (fixists) rejects this point of view and considers the continents motionless on a swelling planet, which creates the appearance of their continental drift. But recently there has been a tendency to combine these two positions: the drift of continents along the asthenosphere and the swelling of the globe occur simultaneously. But there is no general consensus yet about the cause of the swelling.
Due to the fact that the surface of the planet is by no means rubber, stress gradually accumulates in the subcrustal and mantle rocks, which sooner or later provoke earthquakes. Due to the fact that the planet is constantly swelling (it always rains and snows somewhere), and earthquakes do not happen very often, the accumulated stresses cannot be completely discharged. They accumulate more and more, causing earthquakes more and more powerful. As a result, earthquakes intensify to such an extent that they become global and cover the entire globe, and their force becomes so enormous that it destroys the entire technical infrastructure. As a result, civilization dies, and the lone survivors, after the end of the era of global earthquakes, build a new civilization.
There has already been such an era of global earthquakes on Earth, when the ice was rapidly melting and the ice age was ending. In those days, the rocks pressed deep down under the weight of the ice fields began to rise and expand, and this caused strong earthquakes. Their strength was such that a so-called stone tsunami arose: like a wave, but running not through water, but through land rocks. The remains of such stone tsunamis are found today in Scandinavia: a stone shaft several hundred kilometers long. And if during the Ice Age there was a developed technical civilization, it could well have died.
Unfortunately, I cannot say with what frequency the era of global earthquakes occurs and when we should expect its onset. My formulas say nothing about this. And whether the ominous Mayan predictions about the end of the world in December 2012 can be associated with this process - I also don’t know. But the fact that the planet is shaking more and more often and more is alarming. There is another phenomenon that greatly worsens the situation. But more about him in the next article.
All news columns around the world are full of alarming news. Hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes began to occur on our planet almost every day. Powerful earthquakes shook China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran and Kamchatka.
Strange tremors have been observed in Chelyabinsk and Volgograd. And if in Volgograd the culprits of underground fluctuations of 2-3 points are considered to be the military exploding outdated ammunition, then no one can explain the reasons for the fluctuations in Chelyabinsk. After all, this zone is considered aseismic. The military, as has historically happened, disowns their “gifts,” but the cities continue to be shaken by an unknown force. And these shocks are enough to make you wary.
As for Kamchatka, earthquakes have become a common occurrence here. What happened 100 km away. from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in July of this year, the underwater earthquake was particularly powerful and alarming. The first tremors measured 4.0 on the Richter scale, but after two hours their power reached 6.2. In Indonesia, earthquakes occur one after another with increasing power. And if the magnitude of the first shocks was only 4 points, then the shocks that almost immediately followed were already 6.2-7.7 points.
Earthquakes in China, Iran and Egypt occurred almost simultaneously, one after another, as if passing the baton from October 25 to 28. Their power averaged 4.0 on the Richter scale, and the epicenter originated at a depth of no more than 10 km.
What is this - a coincidence or a pattern? Is something really happening to our planet or is it all due to the news channels vying with each other to try to attract as much attention as possible with shocking news?
Skeptics will say that everything goes as usual and there is a scientific explanation for everything. That earlier the technology was worse, and it was not possible to register all earthquakes.
Indeed, about a million earthquakes occur on our planet every year, and only a few of them are truly dangerous. Earthquakes, which can cause widespread destruction, occur on our planet approximately once every two weeks. And earthquakes with a magnitude of 8 or more occur approximately 1.3 times a year. The rest occur almost every day and do not exceed more than 5 points on the Richter scale. It seems like encouraging information, if not for one “but”.
If we take the statistics of earthquakes over the past decade, then for 1990. 16,590 of them were recorded, and in 2008 there were already 31,777. And if 2009 turned out to be relatively calm (14,428 in total), then the beginning and middle of 2010 already “compensated” for this calm.
In addition, earthquakes began to occur in places where previously there were aseismic areas. Take Egypt, for example. The local travel agencies, inviting tourists, proudly declared: “We don’t have earthquakes.” October 28, 2010 everything changed, and southern Egypt was rocked by a magnitude 4.0 tremor. And this is just the beginning. According to scientists' assumptions, the number of earthquakes and seismic zones by 2015 will be will only increase. This means that tomorrow an earthquake could happen in your home.
It is difficult to give scientific explanations for such changes, only assumptions. Therefore, can we look at the problem from the other side and take into account the point of view held by our ancestors?
According to the legends of different peoples of the world, our planet is a single living organism that lives and improves, like a person. Has his own thoughts, feelings and desires. And our planet doesn’t like what we’re doing to it at all. She is ill. And the Earth is indignant at our actions as best it can. According to the latest NASA research, our planet is expanding and “growing” by about 1 mm. per year, the level of the World Ocean rises, the continents diverge and creep on each other. The disturbance comes out in the form of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. With such bursts, the Earth seems to ask us to stop and think. She could easily destroy us all, as she has done several times before, but first she simply asks. Maybe it's time to think about it?
1. The Earth has become seismically active over the past 15 years or so, says geophysicist Stephen Gao of the University of Missouri.
2. San Francisco is moving towards Los Angeles at a rate of about 5 cm per year - that’s how fast a person’s nails grow. This occurs due to the displacement of the San Andreas tectonic plates relative to each other. Thus, in a few million years, both megacities will “meet.” There is one more news. Good: California will not collapse into the ocean because the plates are moving in opposing north and south directions.
3. March is not a month that is “loved” by earthquakes. Although, indeed, in the USA, in Alaska, powerful tremors with magnitudes of 9.1 and 9.2 were recorded in March 1957 and 1964, respectively. However, three subsequent powerful earthquakes struck North America in February, November and December.
A devastating earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a magnitude of 9.3 occurred on December 26, 2004. It caused a devastating tsunami with tens of thousands of casualties.
4. Every year about 500 thousand earthquakes are recorded on Earth by instruments. People feel approximately 100 thousand of them. 100 or so aftershocks cause destruction. In the Southern California region alone, up to 10 thousand earthquakes occur every year. Residents don't even know about most of them.
5. The Sun and Moon - our two luminaries - cause earthquakes. In particular, as scientists know, the interaction of luminaries stimulates the occurrence of earthquakes deep in the San Andreas fault.
6. The earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 in Chile on February 27 moved the city of Concepcion to the west by 3 meters. Due to the impact of the elements on our planet, scientists believe that the orbital period has slightly changed - the day has shortened.
7. There is no such thing as “earthquake weather.” According to observations by the US Geological Survey, the underground element does not give rest in cold, heat, or rain. And so on.
Neither weather nor atmospheric pressure can influence underground processes - their effect is too small and incomparable with the forces acting deep in the Earth.
8. The Indonesian earthquake of 2004 with a magnitude of 9.3 slightly modified the Earth, smoothing out its bulge in the middle part. Thus, the planet became somewhat more rounded.
9. The most active region on Earth, from a geological point of view, is the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire.” It encloses the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean, including the coastal areas of North and South America, Japan, China and Russia. This is where the largest number of earthquakes in the world occur.
10. Oil production can cause small earthquakes, which, however, are not reported - they are insignificant and occur when solid rock is displaced in place of the pumped-out oil.
11. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded occurred in Chile on May 22, 1960. Its magnitude reached 9.5.
12. Earthquakes that occur on one side of the planet can touch and shake the other half. Thus, according to seismologists, the December 2004 earthquake off Sumatra in the Indian Ocean partially eased the tension in the San Andreas tectonic fault.
The 1960 Chilean earthquake shook the planet for many days in a row. This phenomenon is called "vibration" or "swinging".
13. The deadliest earthquake occurred on January 23, 1556 in Shanxi in China. Then, according to available estimates, about 830 thousand residents of the region died.