Solving an Earth-Sized Jigsaw Puzzle 39
aarondubrow writes "Three years ago, researchers from Caltech and The University of Texas at Austin came together to create a computational tool that could model the Earth and answer the most pressing questions in geophysics: What controls the speed of plates? How do microplates interact? How much energy do the plates generate and how does it dissipate? Using a new geodynamics software package they developed, the researchers have modeled plate motion with greater accuracy than ever before. The project is also a finalist for the Gordon Bell Prize — high performance computing's Oscar — at this year's SC10 conference."
Now you're beginning to understand... (Score:3, Funny)
Ah now you've uncovered the truth about the Theory of Natural Earthquakes. The whole field of geophysics is running a big scam, made to funnel money into the earthquake prediction business, give politicians more power over how we construct our buildings, and assure these "scientists" get more grant money!
Earthquakes are actually caused almost entirely by the weight of buildings placed on tectonic plates. It changes the friction between the plates, causing them to slip.
Did you ever notice that whenever an earthquake happens, buildings are under construction? Coincidence? I think not. Do you think tsunamis happen because of eathquakes? An alternative theory is that ship wakes eventually grow into tsunamis, which then trigger earthquakes. There is a lot of controversy over this. Of course nature does play some role, but it's greatly overstated. The earthquake predictions made by these "scientists" are wildly inaccurate, and it's quite safe to ignore these warnings. Anyone with some common sense can understand this.
Preparing for an earthquake will only damage the economy. Besides I'm sure in the future our descendants will find a way to go back in time and prevent earthquakes from happening, so it would be premature to take any action now. Don't let these doomsayers scare you.