April 17, 2013

Chris Rowan Writes About Iran's Earthquakes So I Don't Have To

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

You know, it's hard being a self-educated science blogger with a day job. Important geology stuff happens, and by the time I've got the research all done and ready, it's old news. That's why I don't stay as on top of current events as I possibly should (but if Mount St. Helens wakes up, I'm so ready!). Such as Iran. Iran's getting slammed with earthquakes right now. And I'd love to explain that to you, but what I know about earthquakes off the top of my head would fill a thimble with room left over.

However. This is not a problem when Chris Rowan is around. He knows earthquakes. He's on top of the story. If you want to know all about Iran's rather frightful plate tectonic situation, click this link:

Squashed and squeezed between the Eurasian continent to the north and the northward-moving Arabian plate to the south, it is no surprise that Iran is a seismically active country, and in the past week it has been living up to expectations. Last Tuesday, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 10 km depth shook the western Bushehr region on the coast of the Persian Gulf; this Tuesday, a much larger magnitude 7.8 rupture occurred in the western province of Sistan Baluchistan, near the border with Pakistan.

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After reading that post, I'm coming close to filling my thimble. Still, I don't know as much as I should yet. But I'll tell you what I do know, and have known for some time:

We live on a seismically restless planet, and we need to know what it's up to so we know how to prevent needless death and suffering. The more awareness spreads, the better off the world is.

This is why preparing cities for earthquakes is critical in these areas where the plates move and the earth shakes is so urgent. If you live in one of those zones, help educate your local government on the importance of earthquake preparedness. You could save lives.

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