October 1, 2005
-
Landslide
A
couple of weeks ago, an estimated 65 million cubic yards of rock and
ice slid from the south face of Mount Stellar in the Chugach
Range. It raised eyebrows in seismic circles around the planet as
it registered on seismographs everywhere. The energy released by
the slide was equivalent to a 3.8 magnitude quake, on the Richter
scale. Perhaps because of its remote location, it was weeks
before it hit the news media.The slide descended 8,000 feet and spread six miles, ending in a fan
across the Bering Glacier. Clearly not an earthquake, on
seismographs it registered as a slow, rolling signal lasting for three
minutes. Its sub-sonic rumble, too low for human hearing,
triggered sensors in Fairbanks, 340 miles away.No earthquake triggered the slide, and one theory about its cause is
that global warming had melted ice and loosened the rock. That
theory can’t be tested until someone goes in there on the ground and
looks at the composition of the slide.The low-frequency pulse that propagated through the entire planet was
unlike an earthquake in its form, and in that its origin couldn’t be
pinpointed. It was glacier pilot Paul Claus who responded to
email from seismologists, overflew the area with a photographer, found
the slide, did measurements, and revealed its location.One source said that the displaced rock, if it had slid down across Anchorage, would have buried the city thirty feet deep.
Photo by RUEDI HOMBERGER / Courtesy Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Comments (11)
That’s kind of scary….
This is the first I’ve heard of it.
^Guess you heard, Don Adams is dead, at the age of 178.
Would you believe, 82?
Seriously–another Xgram–the training I mentioned would require a total of over $9,000 from me–they claim their cost is over $7,000 and I just don’t believe it. So–never mind! Oh, and it would take like two years–shit, I might not live that long, and tuition is not refundable!
Very interesting. I can feel the global warming here in CA,too. I think we’ve gotten into perpetual summer mode.
Holy shit.
We heard nothing about it here in Los Angeles. Not surprised, though. Thank goodness this didn’t happen anywhere near populated areas. I wonder how many animals died or if they sensed the shift before it happened and left the area.
hugs,
wf
Wow. It’s hard to know…with all of the weird and wonderful things happening lately if there is any *SAFE* place to live, ie. not close to oceans, mountains, etc.
I briefly noticed something the other day about temperatures at the North Pole being alot warmer with this past summer’s being the warmest.
^ In my view, you are actually safe no matter where you are, since you are always with God and God is always with you, and you have an immortal soul.
Granted, this may be easy to forget when, say, a brown bear has your leg in his mouth and just decided to have you for dinner.
Xgram for today–note for C (don’t forget); also, I need to get some winter stuff when I am there (I assume it is in the back room somewhere); it frosted here over night for the first time, I need gloves and stuff–all I could find was a pair of cotton jobs.
Xgram 2–blogged bout WGW.
Weather looks promising–20 percent chance of precip today and tomorrow, 60 percent chance for Wednesday.
Xgram3 and done–I just noted the posting time of the WGW blog–11:23 –SHEESH!!!
Wow, what a reminder how both beautiful and threatening nature can be. I’m relieved that no actual harm came to anyone this time. Amazing photo.
Aqualung, yes! LOL!…..
Thanks for subbing again! Have a great day and I’ll talk to you again later!