Mar 15
We’re still watching reports of the massive human toll from last week’s earthquake off the coast of northern Japan. The quake also appears to have affected the planet itself, shifted the coastline of Japan nearly 13 feet to the east, according to the county’s 1,2000 GPS stations.
The earthquake appears to have altered the earth’s axis as well, moving it by 6.5 inches, a shift that has sped the rotation of the earth, thereby shortening the day by around 1.8 millionths of a second.
The magnitude of the earthquake may have been upgraded as well. Most outlets (ourselves included) have been reporting the 8.9 number, which came from the U.S. Geological Survey. Japan’s Meteorological Agency, however, have raised the number up to 9.0. Keep in mind that the Richter Scale marks an increase of shaking ten times the previous nunmber for every whole number increase.
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