Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Triple slip of tectonic plates caused seafloor surge

n the aftermath of the tsunami that devastated coastlines around the Indian Ocean, experts are piecing together details of the seismic slip that sparked the waves. The earthquake, the world's biggest for more than 40 years and the fourth largest since 1900, has literally redrawn the map, moving some islands by up to 20 metres.

The destruction, which claimed as many as 150,000 lives, was unleashed by a 'megathrust' — a sudden juddering movement beneath the sea floor. A build-up of pressure caused the floor of the Indian Ocean to lurch some 15 metres towards Indonesia, burrowing under a tectonic plate and triggering the ferocious swells that smashed into surrounding shores.

// posted by Unknown @ 11:36 p.m.
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