Dam May Have Triggered China Quake

The damming-up of 320 million tons of water in a reservoir above a geological fault line may have contributed to the earthquake that left 80,000 dead or missing last year in China’s Sichuan province, US and Chinese geologists say. Whether or not the scientists are right, the suggestion is likely to spark political turmoil in China, reports the New York Times.

Experts stress that though the weight of water in Zipingpu Reservoir could have triggered the magnitude 7.9 temblor, the earth would almost certainly have shifted on its own anyway sometime during the next couple of centuries. The question is a volatile one, however, as China is constructing additional hydroelectric dams in the earthquake-prone southwest. (More China stories.)