Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: tectonic plates

tectonic plates stories: 11 news summaries

 Desert Rift Creating 
 New African Sea—Slowly 

Crack created by volcanic eruption will eventually meet with Red Sea

Nov 3, 09 2:14 PM CST
(Newser) - Africa is getting a new ocean—in a million years, give or take. It's starting with a 35-mile rift in the Ethiopian desert caused by the eruption of a volcano in 2005. The rift will eventually meet with the Red Sea, allowing the waters to spill in, say scientists. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Africa • Ethiopia • volcano • tectonic plates • Red Sea • new ocean in africa

UPDATED

4 Earthquakes Strike Off Mexican Coast

No damage reported; 6.9 tremor felt as far away as Phoenix, LA

Aug 3, 09 3:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - A series of four earthquakes hit within an hour today under Mexico’s Gulf of California, BNO News reports. The second of the tremors, which at 9 miles deep were relatively shallow and thus more dangerous, registered a 6.9 on the Richter scale. No damage was immediately reported, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
tsunami • Mexico • Pacific Ocean • Richter scale • US Geological Survey • Pacific Tsunami Warning Center • tectonic plates • earthquake • Baja peninsula

(Newser) - There’s nothing like a 7.8 magnitude earthquake to bring two countries together—literally. The temblor that hit New Zealand last week has shoved its southern island about 12 inches closer to Australia, TVNZ reports. That might not sound like much, but considering that New Zealand typically moves about... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • geology • New Zealand • geologist • tectonic plates • earthquake

 6.0 Quake Shakes Mexico City 


Apr 27, 09 12:40 PM CDT
(AP) - A strong earthquake struck central Mexico today, causing tall buildings in the capital to sway and sending office workers into the streets. The 6.0-magnitude quake was centered near Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of Mexico City, and 50 miles from the resort of Acapulco, according to the US Geological... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Latin America • Mexico City • natural disaster • tectonic plates • earthquake • seismology

 Undersea Volcano Erupts 
 in Pacific 'Ring of Fire' 

It's not yet a threat to islanders, animal life

Mar 19, 09 8:20 AM CDT
(AP) - Scientists sailed today to inspect an undersea volcano that has been erupting for days near Tonga—shooting smoke, steam, and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean. The eruption doesn't pose any danger to islanders at this stage, authorities say, and there have been no... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pacific Ocean • volcano • tectonic plates • Tonga • Ring of Fire

 Powerful Quakes 
 Rock Indonesia 

Dozens injured by swarm of strong quakes north of Sulawesi

Feb 12, 09 4:39 AM CST
(Newser) - A series of powerful earthquakes injured at least 50 people and damaged hundreds of buildings in Indonesia's Talaud Islands today, reports CNN. A 7.2 magnitude quake centered north of Sulawesi was followed by some 20 strong aftershocks. Islanders fled to higher ground after a tsunami warning was issued; it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Indonesia • tsunami • tectonic plates • earthquake

 Volcano Showers 
 Tokyo With Ash 

Residents warned larger explosion may follow

Feb 2, 09 3:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Powdery ash showered Tokyo this morning as Japan's Mount Asama volcano erupted 90 miles away, Reuters reports. Smoke burst a mile into the air and rocks flew onto sparse neighboring towns, but there was little damage and no visible lava from the explosion. Scientists have warned people not to approach... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • Japan • Earth • Tokyo • volcano • tectonic plates • volcanoes • Mount Asama

 China Quake Beat the Odds 

Unusual seismic conditions led to disaster, scientists say

Jun 30, 08 4:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - The earthquake that leveled parts of China’s Sichuan province last month was a geological oddity arising from usually inactive faults, LiveScience reports. The bizarre seismological coincidences behind the quake explain why no one was able to predict the event, which claimed 69,000 lives. More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • Tibet • tectonic plates • earthquake • Sichuan province • China earthquake • seismology

Big Quakes Beget More Shakes Worldwide

Study of large tremors finds spikes in activity directly afterward

May 27, 08 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Massive earthquakes like this month's in China's Sichuan province can quite literally make waves on the other side of the Earth, a new seismology study finds. The surface tremors resulting from events like Indonesia's tsunami-triggering quake in 2004 lead to increased seismic activity around the globe—from two to five... More »

MORE ABOUT:
tectonic plates • earthquake • China earthquake • seismology

  Scientists Stumped 
  by Oregon Quakes

Rumbling of 600 quakes in 10 days caught by underwater microphones

Apr 12, 08 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - A swarm of more than 600 earthquakes off the Oregon coast has scientists stumped, the Oregonian reports. The activity started around 10 days ago and a research ship has been diverted to the area to look for answers. The earthquakes resemble those that happen before a volcano erupts but there... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Oregon • geologist • Richter scale • tectonic plates • underwater • earthquake

Earth's Mystery Core Plumbed

Japanese geophysicist floats theory of lifecycle for Earth's plates

Jan 27, 08 9:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Climate change has sparked heated debate about the Earth’s surface, but a controversial new theory is directing scientists to its core, Der Spiegel reports. To explain why contintental plates drift on the surface of the Earth's molten mantle, Maruyama Shigenori, a leading geophysicist, argues that continents actually have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Japan • Earth • geology • continents • life cycle • Maruyama Shigenori • tectonic plates • volcanoes • molten rock • Earth's interior

11 Stories


from our news partners