NewsWhore
08-06-2010, 04:20 PM
A 2005 oceanography study sponsored by the Spanish government found evidence that an active deformation has developed off the south coast of the Dominican Republic that has created large undersea landslides of high seismic danger and, in certain ways, of tsunamis.
The investigators of the "Caribenorte" project found that the so-called Megasplay of the Muertos Deformed Belt, located in the middle section of the incline of the Muertos Deformed Belt (MDB) is very similar to another that exists off of Nankai, Japan and which has caused earthquakes measuring 8 on the Richter scale.
According to the oceanographic researchers, "the Megasplay of the MDB was almost certainly the cause of magnitude 8 (on the Richter scale) earthquakes in 1751 and of magnitude 6.7 in 1984". The former was the cause of destruction in the south of what is now the Dominican Republic. The scientific finding implies increased vulnerability for the country due to the geological faults that cross its territory and because the experts classify the northern zone as sensitive and earthquake prone. US geophysicist Eric Calais recently said that if he would have had to make a bet, he would have said that the first earthquake would happen in the north of the Dominican Republic and not in Haiti, referring to the quake that devastated the neighboring nation on 12 January this year.
"Research has shown that we are dealing with an area of active deformation, with seismic dangers and in certain ways tsunami risks... The highest risk area is that which has been defined as the Muertos Megasplay", says an abstract of the study by the Spanish team, as quoted in Diario Libre. "The available data indicate that the Megasplay cuts the sea bed and has caused large undersea landslides, which implies that it is active", say the investigators. The Megasplay is identifiable along 260 kilometers and is in addition to another of less intensity located near San Pedro (de Macoris). Both deserve to be studied further.
A summary of the report can be downloaded in PDF format from http://eprints.ucm.es/5880/1/COMUNIC_BATHY2.pdf
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
The investigators of the "Caribenorte" project found that the so-called Megasplay of the Muertos Deformed Belt, located in the middle section of the incline of the Muertos Deformed Belt (MDB) is very similar to another that exists off of Nankai, Japan and which has caused earthquakes measuring 8 on the Richter scale.
According to the oceanographic researchers, "the Megasplay of the MDB was almost certainly the cause of magnitude 8 (on the Richter scale) earthquakes in 1751 and of magnitude 6.7 in 1984". The former was the cause of destruction in the south of what is now the Dominican Republic. The scientific finding implies increased vulnerability for the country due to the geological faults that cross its territory and because the experts classify the northern zone as sensitive and earthquake prone. US geophysicist Eric Calais recently said that if he would have had to make a bet, he would have said that the first earthquake would happen in the north of the Dominican Republic and not in Haiti, referring to the quake that devastated the neighboring nation on 12 January this year.
"Research has shown that we are dealing with an area of active deformation, with seismic dangers and in certain ways tsunami risks... The highest risk area is that which has been defined as the Muertos Megasplay", says an abstract of the study by the Spanish team, as quoted in Diario Libre. "The available data indicate that the Megasplay cuts the sea bed and has caused large undersea landslides, which implies that it is active", say the investigators. The Megasplay is identifiable along 260 kilometers and is in addition to another of less intensity located near San Pedro (de Macoris). Both deserve to be studied further.
A summary of the report can be downloaded in PDF format from http://eprints.ucm.es/5880/1/COMUNIC_BATHY2.pdf
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)