CONSPIRACY theorists have taken to the internet to claim that Japan's devastating earthquake was caused by the Moon.
On March 19, the Moon will be at its closest distance from the Earth in 18 years. The event - known as a lunar perigee - happens when a full or new Moon comes within 90 per cent of its closest approach possible.
For months amatuer scientists, weather bloggers and astrologers have been making doom-laden predictions of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes.
Now they have seized upon the catastrophe in Japan as proof of their theories.
Blogger Daniel Vogler wrote on weather website AccuWeather: "The last extreme supermoon occurred on January 10th, 2005, right around the time of the 9.0 Indonesia earthquake. That extreme supermoon was a new Moon."
Astrologer Richard Nolle said he was convinced that perigees cause natural disasters. "Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes."
The fact that these theories are being lapped shows a worrying disregard for science and suggests an almost hysterical, apocalyptic reaction to the natural disasters that have pounded the globe in recent months, including the Queensland floods and the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Scientists said that although the Moon can have an effect on tides, it cannot cause earthquakes.
Professor George Helffrich, a seismologist at the University of Bristol in the UK, said: "Complete nonsense. The moon has no significant effect on earthquake triggering."
Geologists said that the deadly Ring of Fire bordering the Pacific Ocean was the cause of yesterday's earthquake.
The vast series of mountain chains and deep trenches is renowned for its volatility, and when it rumbles under the volume of the world's largest ocean, the scene is perfectly set for devastating tsunamis.
Dr Roger Musson, of the British Geological Survey, said: "The cause of this earthquake is that the Pacific Plate, which is one of the largest of the tectonic plates that makes up the crust of the Earth, is plunging deep underneath Japan.
"It's being pushed down and it can't slide down smoothly so it sticks. It sticks for tens of years and then eventually it breaks and moves very suddenly down and as it does so it buckles and gives the seabed a sudden kick over areas of hundreds of square kilometres and that displaces an enormous volume of water."
Chris Ryan, co-director of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre, said the Pacific Ring of Fire was also behind Christchurch's deadly quake last month.
But what turned yesterday's tremors into a devastating tsunami was the sheer force with which the earth shook.
Measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, Japan's quake is the seventh strongest ever recorded - up to 1000 times more powerful at its epicentre than New Zealand's.
It struck 10km below sea level, 125km off Japan's eastern coast. Several quakes had preceded yesterday's monster tremor, including a 7.3 magnitude quake on Wednesday.
Mr Ryan said it took a specific type of quake to generate tsunami waves.
"This has been caused by movement in the sea floor," he said.
"To cause a tsunami, it has to move vertically (not side to side), pushing the water up. It takes a huge amount of energy to do that. And the larger the quake, the larger the amount of water displaced".
Despite the huge scale of yesterday's quake, Mr Ryan said it was about half as forceful as the 9.1 monster that tore across the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004, claiming an estimated 220,000 lives.
"The amount of energy generated is about double," Mr Ryan said.
Source : news.com
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