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We have a pretty good idea where the plate boundaries are , what the
plates like to do to each other. If we cant stop the plates from
moving, perhaps we can at least reduce the damage but reducing the
friction and tearing of the upper crust by compromising the upper
mantle in a few hundred key
places. That way when they move around
there would be cleaner separations causing less friction related
damage.
[link]
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And when the epicenter (sp?) of the quake is in a populated
area? |
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I foresee dramatically increased respect for those road markings which take the form of broken lines. |
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21Q: We will place holes where they would be a
marked improvement over the local scenery. For example
Carson city Nevada, or Ridgecrest California, and for that
matter the entire state of Oregon could probably benefit
from being a hole. And Im not even factoring in the
potential tourism. |
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One version of earthquake theory I like is interesting in itself, and it also provides a potential method for avoiding catastrophic quakes in the future. |
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The theory suggests that there is a constant force applied by the plates, and that this force is built up at friction points along the fault line. As time goes by, the amount of force stored at these friction points builds up until something gives, at which point the amount of stored force - and by association - the severity of the quake - is proportional to the amount of time that's gone by since the last quake. |
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What's interesting (apart from the apparent simplicity of the theory) is that it would suggest that if you could somehow "help" shift the building forces before they get too large, you could manage the severity of earthquakes, and trade off the occasional mega-quake with all the damage and loss of life that comes with a sudden unleashing of years of stored tectonic activity with lots of little, low-intensity rumbles. And how might this management be achieved? Bombs. Lots of regular explosions set up along the fault line might provide enough of a lubricating effect as to avoid any dangerous build-up of tectonic force. Of course, you'd have to wait until just after a big quake to start doing this (otherwise people would blame any resulting earthquake on your activity and you'd lost your funding) but it just might save lives in the long-run. |
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[zen_tom] Also triggered my tidal activities i.e. close approach of the moon. It would make sense to schedule earthquakes by predicting them and then triggering them at a certain time with some process like a Britney concert on the fault line. Maybe even a new international earthquake anthem - Smoke on the Water ? |
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//Also triggered by tidal activities // Well yes, but the point would be to stop these events being triggers at all - using the Britney or Deep Purple methods, you'd really want to maintain a constant 24h/365d concerts going all the way down the fault-line - the constant loosening effect would mean that the plates would be able to continue their smooth, gentle march without getting stuck on a hair-trigger for a number for days/months/years that might be unleashed by the passing of the moon. |
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Didn't explain well enough. Knowing when an earthquake will be is better than not knowing. It is highly unlikely a constant earthquake is possible, but what is starting to be calculable is how much energy needs to be dumped in to trigger a minor/major earthquake before it would happen naturally. [+] but perforation lines probably exceed any practical energy input for reducing scale, so my anno direction went for timing. |
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//somehow "help" shift the building forces before they get too large//
// And how might this management be achieved?// |
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Vaseline. Gargantuan tub of Vaseline. |
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good luck with all that- the most destruction is the tsunami isn't it? perhaps blasting the oceanic plates from time to time could reduce the ocean effects. |
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zen tom, I had never heard about that theory, but I swear my
first idea involved releasing the tension though bombs.. I
had no idea there was evidence supporting the concept. Also
my second idea was large scale plate lubrication. |
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Both have been seriously proposed as projects. It's the massive scale and unpredictable outcomes that have deterred further work. |
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Some small faults have been successfully provoked into slipping (by pumping in water). However, the risk is always that because these systems are interlinked throughout the strata, triggering a single small fault to slip could lead to a cascade of other, undesired, fault movements. |
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And then what do we hear ? |
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"The earth is shaking, the earth is shaking ! Sue someone ! SUE SOMEONE !" |
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"Vaseline. Gargantuan tub of Vaseline." |
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//the most destruction is the tsunami isn't it? perhaps blasting the oceanic plates// You could just drain the oceans a bit? |
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Let's test this out on some other planet first. |
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This might work if the plates were circular, and would only spin, yet they are blobular, and combine translational and rotational movement. Press the knuckles of your hands together and then try and to rotate your hand. Lubrication or no, the movement will be jerky. |
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//It's the massive scale// Yes. You wouldn't want to release the portion of a plate in one area, to have a massive earthquake in, say, another country. Retribution might be on the cards, but not in a legal sense. |
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Besides, if you regularly released a fault line on just one side of the planet, we might end up a bit distorted after a while. |
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So, I think it would have to be globally agreed. But it might be a cheap, long-term opportunity for nuclear disarmament - I suppose the bombs need to be quite powerful ? And you'ld want to set one off once a year or so ? Sequentially along a fault line - making a kind of Mexican wave :-) |
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[is there a specific cavaet on this website somewhere, stating that none of this is to be taken seriously. I hope so...] |
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Loonquawl: Im not suggesting we even touch the plates. The
thing is that all the softer layers above the plates get taken
during a ride in an earthquake, deforming the surface or our
World. If we separate ourselves from the plates, it might
solve the problem. |
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Also, in opposition to my idea. Are there any theories that
might suggest the plates could inevitably jam themselves to
the point that they interlock and stop moving? |
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"...theories that might suggest the plates could inevitably jam themselves..." see the vast Lego Mountains Range in el Armario de Juguetes |
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// strategically ourselves from the plates // |
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Why not just construct artificial plates on top of the natural ones, with shock absorbing roller bearings in between (leaving a gap of 500 - 1000m), then scrape off all the landscape from the real plates and put it on the top of the fake one, leaving the lower surface exposed and handy for industrial plant, transportation and power distribution, and mineral extraction, etc. ? |
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Like a sort of large scale roof garden. |
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You might need steps or ladders at the edges, of course. |
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8th of 7: If it looks like Im missing a word, Im probably just
leaving space for holes. |
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