New Mexico Is Stretching, GPS Reveals

Velcroman1 writes "New Mexico's borders are gradually gaining girth, according to the Albuquerque Journal. It's not much, and it's not happening very fast — the state is getting about an inch wider every 40 years — but the state is unquestionably expanding, according to University of Colorado geophysicist Henry Berglund and his colleagues. Using a collection of 25 extra-precise GPS receivers planted across New Mexico and Colorado, Berglund determined that the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe are creeping away from each other. The rate of change seems ever so slow to the untrained ear, described as approximately 1.2 'nanostrains' per year."

Black Mesa

[bonch]

But the effect in continental interiors -- on states not near the edge of those plates -- was a new one, the scientists said. Whether an upwelling in the gooey mantle that lies beneath the crust or a sag in the plates themselves, what exactly drives the growth remains a mystery.

Probably those experiments over at Black Mesa. By the way, the portrayal of New Mexico in Half-Life always amused me, with the cartoonish Looney Tunes cliffs and plateaus. With the exception of the northern area of the state, it's mostly just weeds as far as the eye can see [imgur.com], littered with the occasional beer can. We have good Mexican food, though.

There go my plans

[rbowen]

So much for driving to California next summer. It'll be farther away by then.

The Obesity Epidemic

[Anonymous Coward]

...is so bad in the United States now, even the GROUND is getting fatter.

Not News

[sunderland56]

Yeah, yeah, we know - America is getting fatter.

Bugs Bunney was a trickster....

[rts008]

You took a wrong turn in Albuquerque....