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Friday, July 15, 2011

Tsunami, Earthquake and Static Discharge in the UK.: Volcano In the Making?

Tsunami, Earthquake and Static Discharge in the UK, no it is not the comeback album from the Sex Pistols. But, it is a strange series of events in the UK. Mostly its strange because of the reports of large build ups of static electricity during the Tsunami. To make it even more strange, now there has been a follow on 3.9 earthquake in the region.

Reports have blamed the static on changes in air pressure; that's a very dubious explanation given that static IN THE WATER made the fish jump out of the water. The Tsunami was also conjectured to have been caused by an underwater land slide; But underwater landslides don't generate static on that scale. However it is possible for geological-scale static to move water and potentially cause a mini-tsunami. A James Bond level villian might even be able to create such an effect; but given the scale of such an effort, it seems less than economically plausible.

So what gives? Possible rapid magma movement, that certainly would help explain today's 3.9 earthquake. But it might also portend a volcano in the making in the Channel. Lets hope not.

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