Earthquakes are violent events that change the face of the planet. In many cases, these changes occur below the surface and gradually become visible for only thousands of years. However, sometimes the effects of the earthquake are not just felt – they are seen. It is even less often to shoot one of those moments on a camera, but according to seismologists at the Japanese University of Kyoto, the footage emphasizes the famous video of a impact-slip damage first. Their analysis published in Seismic recordled to new discoveries based on real -time visual evidence for tectonic movement.
The Magnitud 7.7 event took place on March 28 on the sag of sagging with an epicenter near the second largest city of Myanmar, Mandalay. Although the initial rupture process lasted only 80 seconds, he and numerous afters were ultimately responsible for 5 456 confirmed deaths and over 11,000 injuries. The short estimates have indicated that the earthquake is the second most domestic in modern history, as well as the most powerful that has hit Myanmar for more than a century. According to the document of a separate group, published in the same journal, the southern part of the rupture arose at an amazing 3.7 miles per second – fast enough to qualify as a “speed of ultra -row”.
Against the background of the crash, an external CCTV camera of about 74.5 miles south of the epicenter recorded a visceral illustration of its power. In just a few moments, what at first seems like a single part of the earth seems suddenly it seems suddenly divided and horizontally shifts one past the other in opposite directions. Completely by chance, the camera recorded a direct appearance of impact-slip damage, something analyzed earlier than remote seismic instruments. For researchers at the University of Kyoto, the video was not just a scene for the jaw drop-it was an opportunity to study damage to shock slip using visual data.
“We did not imagine that this video would provide such a wide variety of detailed observations,” said correspondent and geologist Jesse Kirsce in a statement. “Such kinematic data are crucial to the advancement of our understanding of the physical source physics.”
Kearse and his colleagues used a technique called Pixel Cross Correlation to analyze the movement of a frame based on a frame by frame. Their findings indicate that the error slipped horizontally by 8.2 feet in just 1.3 seconds, at a maximum speed of about 10.5 feet per second. While the movement corresponds to the existing knowledge of experts on lacerations, short duration and speed were new developments.
“The short duration of movement confirms a pulse -like rupture, characterized by a concentrated slipping output, spreading along the fault, similar to pulsation, traveling down a carpet when it is thrown from one end,” Kirs explained.
Additional reviews have also proven that the sliding path is slightly curved, confirming previous observations recorded elsewhere in the world. This means fine bending of shocks instead of completely linear, it can be a rule, not an exception.
“In general, these observations have established a new indicator of understanding the dynamic rupture processes,” the study authors wrote, adding that the video offers real -time confirmation of curved sliding paths, while helping to “deepen our understanding of the physical mechanisms that control the rapid sneery of the fault.”
Such discoveries can also help seismologists, geologists and urban planners design a more resistant architecture to ensure that when major earthquakes appear inevitably, their damage is minimized.