Thread: Teachable Moment- Thursday Anniversary of M9.2 Alaska Earthquake

Started: 2014-03-25 17:43:19
Last activity: 2014-03-25 17:43:19
It has been such a long time since we have had a large earthquake, we
thought we would share some new animations in time for the 50th anniversary
of the magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27, 1964. IRIS
offers a set of three animations made in collaboration with the
U.S.Geological Survey and the Alaska Earthquake Center.

*1) The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake*. Description of the magnitude 9.2
megathrust earthquake, 2nd largest earthquake ever recorded by modern
instruments. The animation explains the magnitude (*Just how big is 9.2*?),
rupture processes, elastic rebound, and resulting tsunami. Data from this
earthquake confirmed important aspects of the then-new theory of plate
tectonics.
http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/animations/31

*2) Tsunamis Generated by Megathrust Earthquakes*. An animation about
tsunami-generating megathrust earthquakes uses examples from Japan, Chile,
and Alaska to describe structures that generate deadly tsunamis including:
megathrust plate-boundary displacement; deformation of the overriding plate
by splay faulting and/or folding; and earthquake-generated landslides.
http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/animations/33

*3) Tectonics & Earthquakes of Alaska**--More than just plate
boundaries.* Describes
earthquakes of the Aleutian subduction zone boundary, one of the most
seismically active in the world, and the Queen Charlotte Transform Fault.
Explains how Yakutat terrane accretion drives mountain building and crustal
fault earthquakes like the 2002 M7.9 Denali earthquake.
http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/animations/34


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the University of Portland

http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/

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