Chinese earthquake may have been man-made, say scientists

Chinese earthquake may have been man-made, say scientists

www.telegraph.co.uk

The 7.9 magnitude quake struck last May and left more than five million people homeless. It remains a raw and emotional topic for most Chinese, and the government has been quick to quash any suggestion that Zipingpu may have been responsible for the catastrophe. Researchers have been denied access to seismological and geological data to examine the earthquake further.

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[edit on 4-2-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

Scentist are saying the 7.9 Chinese earthquake last year, could have been "man made"! They are blaming the earthquake on the dam that was built in the area.

The 511ft-high Zipingpu dam holds 315 million tonnes of water and lies just 550 yards from the fault line, and three miles from the epicentre, of the Sichuan earthquake.

Now scientists in China and the United States believe the weight of water, and the effect of it penetrating into the rock, could have affected the pressure on the fault line underneath, possibly unleashing a chain of ruptures that led to the quake.

Fan Xiao, the chief engineer of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau in Chengdu, said it was "very likely" that the construction and filling of the reservoir in 2004 had led to the disaster.

Interesting, they are blaming it on a dam.....

Although Sichuan is an earthquake-prone region, many scientists were caught by surprise by the magnitude of the quake. Christian Klose, a scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said there had not been any "major seismic activity" on that fault line for millions of years.

He argued that the sudden shift of a huge quantity of water into the region could have simultaneously relaxed the tension between the two sides of the fault, allowing them to move apart, and also increased the direct pressure enough to cause a violent rupture. The effect was "25 times more" than a year's worth of natural stress from tectonic movement, he said.

This is an interesing twist below in the article:

There is a history of earthquakes triggered by dams, including several caused by the construction of the Hoover dam in the US, but none of such a magnitude.

Okay, for all the conspiracy theorist out there..... to blame an earthquake of that size on a dam being built is odd.

So the first question is... to anyone out there, that may know... is it "really" possible.

Second, why did they mention the Hoover Dam in this article?

Why would they do that? Set-up? that it could then happen here - due to the Hoover dam? But...... the Hoover Dam was built from 1931 to 1936.....

So why if after all these years, they are now saying it could cause a "huge earthquake also"? It has not caused an earthquake before..... so why now - imply it could?



www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit: fixed source link]

[edit on 4-2-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

They didn't say that it COULD cause an earthquake, they said it DID cause an earthquake during construction. They probably mentioned that one in particular because it's one of the biggest ones built.

There is a history of earthquakes triggered by dams, including several caused by the construction of the Hoover dam in the US, but none of such a magnitude.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

As for it not causing earthquakes before:

It is probable that there really were more earthquakes during the Fairbanks flood. There have been instances all over the world of earthquakes accompanying impoundment of water in reservoirs. Perhaps the most famous example in the United States is that of Hoover Dam, completed in 1935. Hundreds of earthquakes occurred as the water level rose. Since it reached its peak of 475 feet in 1939, the level of seismicity has fluctuated in direct response to water level. None of the shocks has been particularly damaging--the largest was about magnitude 5--but the area had no record of being seismically active.

www.gi.alaska.edu...

It's STILL causing earthquakes, just that they are small, non-damaging ones, that most people would barely notice if they lived near enough to feel them.

It could absolutely cause seismic activity to increase. The accumulation of that much water will have isostatic affects on the underlying lithosphere. As the water table rises behind the damn, it will intrude into the soils and could lubricate the faults.