Taxonomy term

natural hazards

Giant quake sloshed fjords half a world away

On the morning of March 11, 2011, Leif Hus and his wife Gry Melas Hus were having breakfast in their kitchen overlooking Sognefjord in Leikanger, Norway. It was low tide on a calm and windless day with near-freezing temperatures. As they stood, coffee cups in hand, looking out the window at the fjord, they saw an unusual wave roll in. The wave continued to rise, surging over the seawall into their backyard before receding back into the fjord. Then another wave surged in, and another. As the water rose, engulfing the ladder on their dock, Leif grabbed his cell phone and started filming.

02 Dec 2013

Old photos help scientists relocate 1906 San Francisco quake rupture point

Portola Valley, just south of San Francisco, is famous for its progressive approach to geology. The town was the subject of the first geologic map of California and the first municipality in the state to hire its very own resident geologist. There’s a good reason: The section of the San Andreas Fault that produced the deadly San Francisco quake of 1906 runs right through the town. But where exactly the fault trace lies has long been a mystery. Now, in a new study, researchers have used a combination of new technology and old photographs to relocate the fault line.

25 Nov 2013

A public service announcement: Improve geologic literacy starting on the home front

In lieu of doing a "year in review" issue this year, EARTH asked our staff and some frequent contributors to write a short commentary on something that grabbed their attention in 2013. We gave everyone carte blanche. What follows is a collection of extremely varied, often very personal insights into how the planet impacted each individual. In this essay, EARTH's managing editor Megan Sever discusses how she annoys her friends and family with geologic trivia and why you should do the same.

19 Nov 2013

Bailing through the Boulder flood: One neighborhood's experience

In lieu of doing a "year in review" issue this year, EARTH asked our staff and some frequent contributors to write a short commentary on something that grabbed their attention in 2013. We gave everyone carte blanche. What follows is a collection of extremely varied, often very personal insights into how the planet impacted each individual. First up? The experience of EARTH's associate editor and her family in dealing with the Colorado floods.

18 Nov 2013

A hurricane by any other name: How Sandy changed the way we issue storm warnings

As last year's Superstorm Sandy bore down on the Northeast, storm watchers could tell it would be worse than anything seen in decades, but the storm warnings were missed by many. One disconnect came from strict protocols about how federal agencies issue warnings. Since the devastating storm, federal officials have been revising their protocols to avoid a repeat situation. Will it be enough?

13 Sep 2013

A personal plea

On Oct. 29, Gary Szatkowski, the meteorological chief at the National Weather Service office in Mt. Holly, N.J., issued this personal plea to residents in his area:

13 Sep 2013

Scientists demonstrate strengths and shortcomings of method for determining ancient earthquake size

“A giant Cascadia earthquake, with its accompanying tsunami, has the potential to be the biggest natural disaster in this history of the U.S.,” says Simon Engelhart, a seismologist at the University of Rhode Island. On Jan. 26, 1700, a magnitude-9 earthquake associated with the nearby Cascadia Subduction Zone struck the Pacific Northwest.

12 Sep 2013

Arsenic levels in China may be predicted by modeling

In China, arsenic poisoning from groundwater has been a known chronic health issue since at least the 1970s. From 2001 to 2005, the Chinese Ministry of Health tested 450,000 wells, 13 percent of which exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) arsenic standards. However, numbers could be far worse, as only about 12 percent of Chinese counties were screened.

11 Sep 2013

Arsenic in wells in Vietnam suggests dig-deeper approach has issues

For years, scientists and public health officials have known that arsenic threatens the water supplies of millions of people in the heavily populated floodplains of Southeast Asia. A recent study centers on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, but has profound implications for the people of the entire region. In Vietnam, arsenic is naturally hosted in sediments drained off the Himalayas, which wash into the Mekong.

10 Sep 2013

Trans-Niño years could foster tornado outbreaks

Individual tornadoes can’t be predicted, but new research relying on both historical records and meteorological computer modeling suggests that severe tornado outbreaks may be linked to specific weather patterns during so-called Trans-Niño years.

08 Sep 2013

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