Scientists warn of massive earthquakes in 2018
03 Jan 2018
The slowing rotational speed of planet earth, could trigger devastating and massive earthquakes causing huge destruction in 2018, according to scientists.
Scientists have warned that the year 2018 would see more powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or more.
''On five occasions in the past century a 25-30% increase in annual numbers of [earthquakes of magnitude of 7.0 or higher] has coincided with a slowing in the mean rotation velocity of the Earth,'' according to an abstract of a study by Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado in Boulder and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana, published by the Geological Society of America as part of the GSA Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA-2017.
The earth's rotation slowed slightly about four years ago and although the decrease was not enough to be noticed, the earth's slower rotation might spark an increase in severe earthquakes for 2018, the predicted in the fall.
According to the researchers there may be a trend between slower earth rotations and more global earthquakes. The past 100 years have witnessed a 25 to 30 per cent increase in the number of significant earthquakes associated with a slowdown in the earth's rotation.
The researchers say that at certain times the earth's spinning speed fluctuates, which can change the length of day and nights. Over a period these nearly immeasurable changes add up causing the earth to rotate more slowly, and eventually cause an increase in high-magnitude tremors.
''The Earth offers us a five-years heads up on future earthquakes, which is remarkable,'' says Bilham. According to the publication, when the Earth's spin slows down, there's a five-year lapse before the larger-scale earthquakes begin.
The researchers say the earth began slowing down four years ago in 2013, which makes the beginning of 2018 the most dangerous point in these periodic fluctuations.
Last year 113 earthquakes above 6.0 on the Richter scale were recorded and six, 7.0+, which caused wide-scale damage and hundreds of deaths.
