Japanese earthquake weakens Earth attraction

The magnitude of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake devastated Japan in March was the fifth most powerful earthquake in the history of the species. It also changes the mass distribution of the earth and affects gravity in the area near the epicenter.

Interpretation on Christian Science Monitor , scientists said, anything with mass also has a gravity to attract other objects towards it. The intensity of this gravity depends on the mass of the subject. Since Earth's mass is not evenly distributed at every point, some areas will have greater gravity than others.

Seismic researcher Bernd Weber, Germany pointing to the graph position shows the serious influence of the Japanese earthquake in March.

To determine how far the March earthquake distorted the Earth, scientists used the satellite chain of Climate Exploration and Gravity Recovery (GRACE) to analyze gravity in the area. Northeast Asia before and after the disaster.

Accordingly, gravity in this area has decreased by an average of 2 parts per million of Gal (Galileo stands, one unit of acceleration. 1 Gal is defined as 1 cm per second squared) due to thinning of the left shell. land . For comparison, the intensity of gravity on the Earth's surface averages 980 gal.

' We believe that the March disaster not only significantly changed the appearance on the ground but also disturbed the underground structure below Japan, ' said geologist Koji Matsuo of Hokkaido University. on OurAmazingPlanet.

The GRACE satellite chain has previously uncovered changes in gravity due to the 9.3-magnitude earthquake in the Sumatra-Andaman Islands (this is the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded) and the earthquake. 8.8 richter attacks Chile in 2010 (the eighth strongest ever recorded). They have caused Earth gravity in these two regions to be reduced to the level of Japan's Tohoku-Okia earthquake.