Posts Tagged ‘ Plate Tectonics ’

Aftershocks & Historic Record of Earthquakes in Chile

March 4, 2010

The February 27, 8.8 earthquake offshore Maule, Chile occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and the South American Plates. According to reports from the USGS, coastal Chile has been the location of vary large earthquakes for centuries. There has been a written record of earthquakes in Chile since the 16th Century. In 1735, when Charles Darwin, aboard the Beagle, experienced a devastating earthquake in Chile, and not only wrote about the experience, but visited damaged towns to witness the destruction caused by that quake.… Read more

Preparing for an Earthquake

By Jack Hassard

May 20, 2008

What should our students and citizens know about earthquake preparedness? Certainly, the earthquake in China is prompting us to be able to answer these questions. I’ve only experienced three earthquakes, once many years ago in Columbus, Ohio, years later in San Francisco, and in the year 2000 in Seattle. The worst of these was in Seattle, but nothing compared to the Sichuan Province quake of May 12.… Read more

Continents A-G0-Go

By Jack Hassard

January 9, 2007

There was very interesting article in the NY Times online newspaper today entitled Long-Term Global Forecast? Fewer Continents. The article discussed plate tectonics, and the work being done by some geologist in using data to make predictions about the where the plates and continents will be 50 million to 100 million years into the future. These geologists have created maps and animations to show how the plates moved in the past, and how they will move in the future.… Read more

Was New Hampshire Once Part of Africa? Roadside/Roadcut Geology

By Jack Hassard

August 27, 2006

The title is very tantalizing, isn’t it? I grew up just a few miles from New Hampshire, and studied earth science in undergraduate school. I can tell you that in our courses taught by very fine professors of geology, I never heard anyone make that claim. It would take many years after my undergraduate studies for geologists to develop a theory that would support the claim.… Read more

1906 San Francsico Earthquake Centennial

By Jack Hassard

April 18, 2006

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which hit the city at 5.12 a.m. on that day. In an earlier post, I commented on the significance of the 1906 earthquake, and recommended a book by Simon Winchester, A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906. Winchester’s book tells the story of the “new geology” and helps us understand the cause of the earthquake (and all earthquakes), and provides a deeper understanding of the earth.… Read more

The Art and Creativity in Scientific Theories

By Jack Hassard

January 19, 2006

Two of the books (by Edward O. Wilson and Simon Winchester) that I am currently reading are based on two of the most robust and important scientific theories that humans have discovered to explain two different sets of natural phenomena, namely the origin of the species, and origin and movement of crustal plates. Charles Darwin conceived the idea of evolution by natural selection (along with Alfred Russell Wallace), and the theory of plate tectonics emerged in the 1970′s through the work of a number of geologists such as Harry Hess and J.… Read more

The Earthquake of 1906 and the New Geology

By Jack Hassard

January 3, 2006

I am in the mood to write about earthquakes. I’ve written about them before, and designed activities for teachers and high school students years ago. I have only experienced three earthquakes (in Columbus, Ohio (1967), San Francisco (1985) and Seattle (2001)). In the fact the last one was a very powerful quake that rocked the Pacific Northwest. I was doing a seminar with about 100 teachers, and we had to seek shelter underneath desks in the conference room.… Read more