PASADENA, Calif., March 2 (UPI) — NASA scientists say February’s magnitude 8.8 Chilean earthquake might have shifted one of the Earth’s axes and shortened the length of an Earth day.
Researchers at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., say their preliminary calculations suggest the Feb. 27 earthquake shortened the length of a day by about 1.26 microseconds — a microsecond is one-millionth of a second — and moved Earth’s figure axis — about which the planet’s mass is balanced — by about 3 inches. The scientists noted Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, with the two being offset by about 33 feet.
JPL scientist Richard Gross said the same computer model was used to estimate the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake and it showed last week’s event, although of a lesser magnitude, had a bigger impact on the planet because it was located in Earth’s mid-latitudes — not near the equator. Also, the fault that caused the Chilean quake dips into the planet at a steeper angle, making it more effective in moving Earth’s mass vertically and shifting Earth’s figure axis.
Gross said his calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
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WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) — The White House is developing a U.S. nuclear strategy that would reduce the country’s arsenal and outline when nuclear weapons would be used, aides said
Defense Secretary Robert Gates was to present President Barack Obama with several options to address unresolved issues, The New York Times reported Monday.
Obama’s strategy will be in “Nuclear Posture Review,” a document all presidents develop.
Among the unresolved issues is the question of how — or whether — to narrow the circumstances under which the United States will declare it might use nuclear weapons. Aides said the administration rejected a proposal that the country state it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons.
White House officials said the new strategy commits the United States to developing no new nuclear weapons. Obama already announced he will seek funds to update U.S. weapons laboratories to ensure reliability of a nuclear arsenal anticipated to be much smaller.
“It will be clear in the document that there will be very dramatic reductions — in the thousands — as relates to the stockpile,” an administration official told the Times.
Much of the reduction would come from the retirement of of weapons now in storage, the official said.
The review also shows the United States moving toward more non-nuclear defenses, relying on missile defense, the Times said.
But how the administration describes the purpose of the country’s nuclear arsenal remains a looming issue, the Times said.
Some key Democrats, such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, asked Obama to state that the “sole purpose” of the country’s nuclear arsenal is deterrence.
However, officials inside the Pentagon and the White House have urged Obama to be more ambiguous — stating deterrence is a primary but not sole purpose of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 2 (UPI) — Flood-producing heavy rains in Haiti killed at least 13 people, sent residents scurrying to rooftops and trapped people in vehicles and homes, officials said.
Several communities in southern Haiti have been flooded since Saturday, a civil emergency spokesman told The Guardian. U.N. troops and Haitian police moved 500 prisoners from a jail in Les Cayes as water engulfed the coastal city. Witnesses told the British newspaper houses collapsed and people fled for high ground.
The Haitian government, the United Nations and several international relief agencies are raising concerns about dangers posed by the Caribbean rainy season that runs from March or April into fall. Haiti still is recovering from the 7-magnitude earthquake Jan. 12 that killed more than 200,000 and left about 1.3 million people homeless, many living in overcrowded makeshift camps with little or no sanitation.
U.N. officials said the non-government organization plans to provide all families with two plastic tarps by May 1. Red Cross officials said about 40 percent of the population left homeless by the earthquake have received tents, tarps or shelter tool kits.
With the rainy season looming, officials have begun trying to cull tent city populations by registering families whose homes can be quickly repaired and rebuilt, The Guardian said. Other camp dwellers are being encouraged to move in with friends or relatives.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
PASADENA, Calif., March 2 (UPI) — NASA scientists say February’s magnitude 8.8 Chilean earthquake might have shifted one of the Earth’s axes and shortened the length of an Earth day.
Researchers at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., say their preliminary calculations suggest the Feb. 27 earthquake shortened the length of a day by about 1.26 microseconds — a microsecond is one-millionth of a second — and moved Earth’s figure axis — about which the planet’s mass is balanced — by about 3 inches. The scientists noted Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, with the two being offset by about 33 feet.
JPL scientist Richard Gross said the same computer model was used to estimate the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake and it showed last week’s event, although of a lesser magnitude, had a bigger impact on the planet because it was located in Earth’s mid-latitudes — not near the equator. Also, the fault that caused the Chilean quake dips into the planet at a steeper angle, making it more effective in moving Earth’s mass vertically and shifting Earth’s figure axis.
Gross said his calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
OTTAWA, March 2 (UPI) — Chile has formally asked Canada for specific relief assistance after Saturday’s catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 700 people.
In Ottawa, Chilean Ambassador Eugenio Ortega told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. his country had asked Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon for a temporary field hospital, generators for hospitals, a pontoon bridge and satellite phones.
Officials initially asked other countries not to rush in with relief until damage assessment was better completed after the magnitude 8.8 quake and more than 100 aftershocks.
President Michelle Bachelet Sunday said there would be a need for water purification plants and experienced rescuers to relieve Chilean workers, the report said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said on its Web site 520 Canadians living in Chile had been located, although 337 still haven’t been found by family, friends or consular officials, the CBC said.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 2 (UPI) — The countdown is under way at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for the launch of the latest in a series of U.S. meteorological satellites.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P — nicknamed GOES-P — is set for lift off atop a Delta IV rocket Thursday during a 6:17 p.m.-7:17 p.m. EST launch window.
The spacecraft is designed to observe storm development and weather conditions on Earth, officials said. It will also detect ocean and land temperatures, monitor space weather, relay communications and provide search-and-rescue support.
GOES-P was built by Boeing Launch Services for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under NASA’s technical and project management, officials said. The launch is being managed by the United Launch Alliance under a Federal Aviation Administration license.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
ATHENS, Ohio, March 2 (UPI) — U.S. and Canadian scientists say they’ve discovered antifreeze proteins that prevent freezing in cold conditions also prevent melting in warmer environments.
Researchers from Ohio University and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, said their findings mark the first direct measurements of the “superheating” of ice crystals in antifreeze protein solutions and have implications for various technologies that use superconductor materials and nanoparticles.
Antifreeze proteins are found in insects, fish, bacteria and other organisms that need to survive in low temperatures, the researchers said. The proteins protect the organisms by arresting the growth of ice crystals in their bodies.
“During recrystallization, a larger ice crystal grows while a smaller one melts. Antifreeze proteins can help control both of these processes,” said Ohio University Associate Professor Ido Braslavsky, who worked on the study with doctoral student Yeliz Celik and Queens University Professor Peter Davies.
The research that also included postdoctoral fellow Maya Bar of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Queen’s University Assistant Professor Laurie Graham and postdoctoral researcher Yee-Foong Mok is reported in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
KAMPALA, Uganda, March 2 (UPI) — Landslides in Uganda’s coffee-growing district of Mbale have killed at least 50 people, officials said Tuesday.
In addition, local authorities said hundreds of people were missing after homes were washed away in Bududa district, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Officials said that at least 50 bodies were recovered Tuesday morning, expressing fears the death toll would rise because at least 300 people were missing.
“Our rescue team is on the ground,” said Judith Nabakoba, a Ugandan police spokeswoman. “We hope to find some survivors.”
Mbale is the leading coffee producing region in eastern Uganda.
People living on mountain slopes have been asked to leave the area, Uganda’s Ministry of Disaster Preparedness said. People living in low-lying, flood-prone areas have also been asked to leave.
Uganda has had above-normal rainfall this year, the Journal said. The country’s weather agency predicts heavy downpours will continue up to May.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
SANTIAGO, Chile, March 1 (UPI) — Three aftershocks rocked Chile Monday as rescue efforts pressed forward from an 8.8-magnitude weekend earthquake that killed more than 700 people.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the death toll of 708 was likely to rise and ordered soldiers into the most devastated areas to provide security and help distribute aid, The New York Times reported.
The earthquake Saturday was “an emergency unparalleled in the history of Chile,” Bachelet said.
The National Office of Emergency said the number of displaced people was 2 million.
Bachelet said the government had struck an agreement with grocery store chains to give away food to needy residents. Her office also called on residents not to hoard staples.
Rescue workers used power tools and their bare hands to remove rubble to reach people who were trapped.
“It’s very slow, dangerous work because on top of it all it’s still shaking there,” said Victoria Viteri, a spokeswoman with Chile’s national emergency office in Santiago.
The first of the three aftershocks had a magnitude of 4.8, striking south of Valparaiso, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Within the next 90 minutes, two more shocks, registering 4.9 and 5.3, hit the Maule region south of Santiago, the Times said.
Bachelet, during a news conference Sunday, called on power companies to work quickly so service could be restored.
“We need energy first,” she said, noting that cell phone communications, medical care and water distribution depended on it.
The president said the majority of the known dead were in the Maule wine region and Bio-Bio, the Times reported. The military will handle emergency operations in those areas for the next month, Bachelet said. A limited curfew was imposed.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would go ahead with a visit to Chile that was planned as part of her mission this week to Latin America. Clinton is scheduled to meet with Bachelet, who leaves office this month, and President-elect Sebastian Pinera.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 28 (UPI) — The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile Saturday was the fifth-strongest in the world since 1900, geologists said.
The strongest quake recorded since 1900 also occurred in Chile — a 9.5-magnitude quake that struck near Concepcion in 1960, killing more than 2,000 people and leaving more than 2 million homeless, The New York Times reported Sunday. Following a 7.8-magnitude quake in Valparaiso in 1985, officials imposed strict building codes and one result is that the death toll and extent of damage from Saturday’s quake are likely to be much less than what Haiti suffered from a 7-magnitude quake Jan. 12, Andre Filiatrault, the director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research at the University at Buffalo, said.
Bachelet Sunday declared a “state of catastrophe” and said Saturday’s quake was “one of the worst tragedies in the last 50 years” in Chile.
Paul E. Simons, the U.S. ambassador to Chile, told the Times in a telephone interview from Santiago the United States has offered aid but Chilean authorities had yet to request help. The International Federation of Red Crosses and Red Crescents said the Chilean Red Cross had not indicated a need for outside help, the Times said.
Santiago was reported calm Sunday but in Talca, 167 south of the capital, there were reports people slept outdoors, keeping warm with fires made using wood from destroyed buildings. In Chillan, 69 miles from Concepcion, 300 prisoners escaped through a crumbled prison wall and started a riot, the Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported. More than 200 of the escaped convicts were still at large Sunday afternoon, the report said.
Operations were halted at major seaports and airports.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.
SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 28 (UPI) — The death toll from the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile has risen to more than 700, President Michelle Bachelet said Sunday,
About 2 million people were hurt or without homes, and chaos reigned in some of the worst-hit areas, the Los Angeles Times said in a report from Bogota, Colombia. Power and telecommunications systems were disrupted, a condition that made search and rescue operations more difficult, The New York Times reported.
A spray of about 30 aftershocks hit the country Sunday, including one that registered 6.1, the National Office of Emergency said.
Bachelet said the death toll jumped to 708 Sunday as crews reached outlying areas, but untold numbers were missing following one of the worst earthquakes on record this century. She said Chilean military personnel will distribute basic necessities to affected areas.
Tsunami warnings were lifted Sunday, with waves not reaching expected heights across the Pacific, including the shores of Japan, Hawaii and Southern California.
The Los Angeles Times report said looting broke out Sunday in some of the most heavily damages areas, and crowds overran supermarkets in the port city of Concepcion. The crowds made off with food, water and diapers — but also television sets. Several banks were looted, the report said.
Police sprayed looters with water cannons from armored vehicles, the Times reported, and arrested several people.
Bachelet held an emergency meeting of her Cabinet Sunday, then said she would send army troops into the Concepcion area, about 70 miles south of the quake’s offshore epicenter. The troops would restore order and assist in recovering bodies and searching for survivors.
In the coastal town of Constitucion alone, 350 people were killed, state television reported.
In Concepcion, dozens of people were trapped in a flattened 14-story apartment building. A biochemical lab at the University of Concepcion caught fire and cars lay smashed and upended on streets littered with utility cables, The New York Times reported.
In Santiago, about 200 miles from the quake’s center, about 600 travelers escaped from the terminal at the main airport when much of the roof collapsed. The runways were intact but the airport was closed because of the internal damage, The Washington Post reported.
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI’s prior written consent.