Everyday, somewhere, earthquakes of varying degrees occur. In August 2014, a huge crack in the ground appeared near the town of Hermosillo, Mexico. The fissure measures a little more than half a mile long and is 25 feet deep.
Researchers believe that water is the culprit behind this giant crack. According to Inocente Guadalupe Espinoza Maldonado, Head of the Geology Department at the University of Sonora, the crack was probably caused by sucking out groundwater for irrigation to the point of the surface collapsing.
Researchers at The Institute of Geology at UNAM in Hermosillo also ruled out the possibility that the crustaceous crack was a hoax or caused by an earthquake – the area is low on seismic activity and both sides of the fissure are on equal planes.
2.The crack in the ocean that is home to some of earth's most bizarre creatures
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From the most distant regions of space we go to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench. Located in the Western pacific, this crescent-shaped trench stretches for more than 2,500km (1,500 miles). This very narrow crack in the ocean floor has a depth that has been measured at 11km, seven miles down from the water's surface. That makes it the lowest point in any ocean. That's nearly 7,000 more feet deep than Mount Everest is high.
This giant crack underwater is due to one part of the seabed (the Pacific Plate) being pushed underneath the lighter continental plate.
Scientists believe that these seismic zones play an active role in earthquakes.
Even though the pressure of the Mariana trench can be up to 8 tons per square inch, there are many creatures that thrive in and around the area. Among them are translucent sea-cucumber-like animals called Enypniastes, the Blobfish (which looks like a cross between Jimmy Durante and a fish), the Hatchetfish (known to produce its own light), and the ominous Goblin Shark.
Although trenches account for only 3% of the ocean, they still make up an area the size of the United States.
3.The cracking iceberg that became a song
You've probably heard the expression, “That's music to my ears.” Well, an oceanographer at the University of Washington took that expression to heart when he recorded the cracking and breakup of one of the largest icebergs in Antarctica.
UW oceanographer Seelye Martin got the data from a seismometer that was dropped onto the iceberg and captured the sound of a giant iceberg breaking apart. Martin then sped up the recordings so the 3 ½ hours of data was compressed into 2 minutes. In describing the recording, Martin said that after it reaches a climax, “you hear this kind of eerie harmonic noise which is the remnants, the pieces of the iceberg rubbing together.”
Perhaps Martin should compile an album called The Sounds Of Global Warming Vol. 1 featuring this recording?
via:oddee.com
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