9.0 Northern Sumatra Quake

[Hofmannhp]

Not exactly. The ones that make headlines seem to cycle in threes. The situation over there is quite a bit more active...

Hey Bo,
where can we find those maps in the net?

HP

[boputnam]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/

Look down the main page there, under "Location Maps", and the last one I posted was a "10-degree" coverage (10-degrees each latitude and longitude). The database is constantly updated.

As we must realize, a quake rupture does not relieve the stresses - they are in response to the stresses, a symptom. The stresses remain. The fault hosting this Magnitude 9.0 quake was "stuck" for a long-time; now that it has released the stored energy, there will be "bunching-up" in other portions of the system. The best thing to hope for is a frequent occurrence of lower magnitude quakes. Gotta keep things moving...

[Ian Mackenzie]

Class dismissed.

Bo.

[boputnam]

On the geography has the ocean floor dropped some 10 metres along the quake line as some media report or risen as such?

Macka...

Just found this on the USGS site. They're estimating a possible 15m vertical offset. Much here repeats my interp (below) with better data. There's some other interpretive stuff I won't labor you with, but this fault may have been a reverse-thrust motion, meaning the western fault block overrode the eastern fault block. If true, that may in-part be why the wave was so devastating to Banda Aceh - not merely by proximity, but it was pushed that way...

This is one badboy.

[boputnam]

<!-- date --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript><!-- host = new String(location.hostname); host = host.toLowerCase(); if ( host.indexOf("edition.") != -1 ) { document.write('Friday, December 31, 2004 Posted: 1815 GMT (0215 HKT)'); }else { document.write('Friday, December 31, 2004 Posted: 1:15 PM EST (1815 GMT)'); }//--></SCRIPT>Friday, December 31, 2004 Posted: 1:15 PM EST (1815 GMT) <!-- /date -->


(CNN) -- -- The United States will increase its aid pledge from $35 million to $350 million to help victims of the tsunamis in south Asia, CNN has learned.

The increase followed criticism that the initial amount was far from enough.

The director of the U.S. Agency for International Development told CNN on Friday that the $35 million pledge was only the first step in U.S. aid to the countries that were devastated by Sunday's earthquake and tsunamis.

"The money was committed on Sunday when the emergency took place," Andrew Natsios told CNN's "American Morning." "It's action on the ground that is needed. We will get more than enough money from the president and I'm sure Congress later on when we need it."

...

United Nations officials said that the international community had pledged a combined half-a-billion dollars in support, and that figure jumped to more than $800 million Friday when the United States increased its pledge.
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[johnaec]

(CNN) -- -- The United States will increase its aid pledge from $35 million to $350 million to help victims of the tsunamis in south Asia, CNN has learned.

I believe $350 million covers about one day of our Iraq involvement - I'm glad at least some of our tax money is going towards good will...

Correction: I just learned we're only averaging $285 million per day in Iraq - my mistake.

John

[Ian Mackenzie]

Latest local media intel advises potentially large number Australians missing / unaccounted for according to Thailand immigration officials.

Footage from an Australian tourists high quality home video shows the unusually outgoing tide and a massive wall of white water on the horizon moments before the wave of devastation hit Patong Beach.

[lfh]

Just found this link:

http://www.geophys.washington.edu/ts...s/physics.html

(Other interesting info on the subject, too (-> TOC).)

[Audiobeer]

Bo and Ken,

Sorry if I have offended you both - I'm sat here with friends (some Thai) and we are weeping.

I love the people of South East Asia. One of the earns $4 per day and still sent me a birthday present from half way around the world last month.

I have also in my time, been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the American people, when cycling in your country. What I struggle with is the fact that the people of my small island have raised nearly as much money in 24 hours as the most powerful and resourcful government in the world is prepared to commit after 4 days. I hope you can understand the anger, and accept that occasionally hard things have to be said. I believe our very own Bob Geldof showed the way 20 years ago. Peace.

Hello Merlin. Politics and religion are always 2 topics that seem to get peoples emotions flaring. Regardless what amount the US goverment pledges.....it is always the generousity of the Ameican people that comes through. We pay for contributions via taxes, but the bulk of the contributions that doesn't ever seem to be mentioned is what goes from the Ameican citizens pocket directly to the charities that make the most impact. I would suspect that when it's all said and done that the $35 million is about 1/100th of what Americans will contribute without the Goverments help. That's the way we do things. I would sell my house, cars, audio, whatever I could get a buck for and donate it to any worthy cause in trade for the United Nations being moved out of the US along with the money we spend supporting the stagnation and coruption. there. We can't vote that out!

[boputnam]

Interesting, yet disturbing, modelling of the tsunami covering the Indian Ocean - easy to see why Sri Lanka was so impacted.

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/spotlight/t...V-INDO2004.mov

Other images and models, as well. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/spotlight/tsunami/tsunami.html

[Mr. Widget]

- easy to see why Sri Lanka was so impacted.

...but Somalia?!

Widget

[Hofmannhp]

...but Somalia?!

Widget

I think that Somalia was touched 4 hours later (the graphics show 2 hours after the big bang)
Is it right Bo, when I read the above graphics, to say that the center of the earthquake shows a fall of the ocean floor, instead of a rising?.....and what can be the reason for the peak on -16° ?

HP

[boputnam]

...Is it right Bo, when I read the above graphics, to say that the center of the earthquake shows a fall of the ocean floor, instead of a rising?.....and what can be the reason for the peak on -16° ?

Dunno, HansPeter - never seen one of them before. I'm a geologist, not an oceanographer...

But, lemme take a stab at it. The profile follows the angled transect line, coursing west of the epicenter.

0° latitude on the transect lies well west of the epicenter, so doesn't help us understand the relative sea level at the epicenter.

As to the spike at -16° latitude: there is a short data gap along the transect, positioned at -16° - "no data", that is all.

[boputnam]

Magnitude 8.7 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Monday, March 28, 2005 at 16:09:37 UTC

<B><BIG>Preliminary Earthquake Report </BIG></B>
<BIG>U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver


</BIG>

[Robh3606]

Man not again!!!! Any Tsunami warnings up!!!! Almost the same spot within a couple of hundred miles!!

Rob