Cameron Adamiyatt
For this current event, I read an article on the causes and consequences of the earthquake that devastated Japan in March, 2011. The 9.0 quake was so powerful it then created a tsunami at the Japan trench, only a couple hundred miles off the coast. The monster wave that ensued wreaked havoc on the island nation, killing thousands, and displacing millions more. In addition to this, the high waves easily surpassed the flood walls that protected the Fukushima power plant on the east coast of Japan, damaging multiple reactors and releasing fatal amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. The article then moves on to discuss where the fault that slipped was and explains how that altered the effects of the disaster. Between the Pacific plate and Eurasian plate, which spans about 500 miles north to south, parallel to Japan, pressure had been building up due to plate movements for an estimated thousand years, which most likely was the reason for the earthquake’s huge magnitude. The article then goes on to highlight how the Japanese have built ample defenses to prevent damage, including strict building codes for high-rise buildings and extremely sensitive seismic sensors, which detect the P and S waves that are exulted from the focus point of earthquakes. Furthermore, it then touches on how the disaster literally moved both land and sea, stating that the Japanese island of Honshu moved about 8 meters to the east. That may not seem like much, but when speaking of an island that weighs that much, it gives good perspective to the power of the quake. Shining a new light on the disaster, it then discusses how scientists Changsheng Chen from the University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth and Robert Beardsley simulated the tsunami that caused so much destruction. Using a very complex formula that integrated dozens of variables that could have changed how the tsunami hit, they created FVCOM, or the Finite volume Community Ocean Model. By studying the pattern of movement of the tsunami, Chen and Beardsley were able to approximate how the fault ruptured and how much the surrounding crust actually changed shape. It then reflects back on the last radiation disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine, which effectively destroyed all life near the plant.
For this current event, I read an article on the causes and consequences of the earthquake that devastated Japan in March, 2011. The 9.0 quake was so powerful it then created a tsunami at the Japan trench, only a couple hundred miles off the coast. The monster wave that ensued wreaked havoc on the island nation, killing thousands, and displacing millions more. In addition to this, the high waves easily surpassed the flood walls that protected the Fukushima power plant on the east coast of Japan, damaging multiple reactors and releasing fatal amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. The article then moves on to discuss where the fault that slipped was and explains how that altered the effects of the disaster. Between the Pacific plate and Eurasian plate, which spans about 500 miles north to south, parallel to Japan, pressure had been building up due to plate movements for an estimated thousand years, which most likely was the reason for the earthquake’s huge magnitude. The article then goes on to highlight how the Japanese have built ample defenses to prevent damage, including strict building codes for high-rise buildings and extremely sensitive seismic sensors, which detect the P and S waves that are exulted from the focus point of earthquakes. Furthermore, it then touches on how the disaster literally moved both land and sea, stating that the Japanese island of Honshu moved about 8 meters to the east. That may not seem like much, but when speaking of an island that weighs that much, it gives good perspective to the power of the quake. Shining a new light on the disaster, it then discusses how scientists Changsheng Chen from the University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth and Robert Beardsley simulated the tsunami that caused so much destruction. Using a very complex formula that integrated dozens of variables that could have changed how the tsunami hit, they created FVCOM, or the Finite volume Community Ocean Model. By studying the pattern of movement of the tsunami, Chen and Beardsley were able to approximate how the fault ruptured and how much the surrounding crust actually changed shape. It then reflects back on the last radiation disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine, which effectively destroyed all life near the plant.
This topic still
remains relevant today for a multitude of reasons. The first and most obvious
is that innumerable people still are displaced and living on the aid of groups
like the American Red cross and Salvation Army, along with the support of the
United Nations. Although it has been 3 years since the disaster, Japan is still
recovering and needs external assistance in order to help its citizens restart
their lives. In addition, the fact that an event like this, which will most definitely
occur again in the future, almost caused a nuclear disaster in a country with
very good defenses against such things spread fear all across the world as
other plants are susceptible. For example, as we spoke about in class, the
Indian Point power plant, which is only a few miles away from Bronxville, has
been tested to only withstand 6.0 or lower magnitude earthquakes, but higher
ones are a morose reality.
As a whole, I
thought this article was very well written and held many strengths, but definitely
had its weaknesses. First off, it was separated into different topics well and included
interesting and informative facts about the scientific end of the disaster. In
addition, it had clear points of relevance that the average reader could
connect with. However, it really lacked details on how the event created
hardships for the Japanese people and how they have progressed as a country in
the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. To me, this article reinforced the
fact that the United States, as well as the rest of the world, needs to improve
disaster prevention and relief programs.
Kostel, Ken. "Lessons from
the 2011 Japan Quake." : Oceanus Magazine. N.p., 9 Mar. 2012. Web.
12 Jan. 2014. <https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/lessons-from-the-2011-japan-quake>.
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