EARTHQUAKES IN SWITZERLAND

Taitung earthquakes in Taiwan

Contrary to the normally observed increase in groundwater radon that occurs prior to earthquakes, we have measured anomalous decreases in radon concentration prior to the 2003 MW1⁄4 6.8 Chengkung and 2006 MW1⁄4 6.1 Taitung earthquakes that occurred within a 55 km radius from the Antung D1 monitoring well in eastern Taiwan. The v-shaped pattern of radon anomalies recognized at Antung is valuable...

Macroeconomic Earthquakes †

In the common jargon used by non-specialist commentators in newspapers or TV programs, business cycle downturns are sometimes described in terms of economic collapses, crashes or even earthquakes. Does these comparisons make any sense but for literary license? In particular, are economic recessions and recoveries governed at large by the same statistical law underlying earthquakes' occurrence? ...

Laboratory earthquakes

We report on the experimental observation of the phenomenon of, spontaneously nucleated, supershear rupture and on the visualization of the mechanism of subRayleigh to supershear rupture transition in frictionally-held interfaces. The laboratory experiments mimic natural earthquakes. The results suggest that under certain conditions supershear rupture propagation can be facilitated during large...

Glacial earthquakes.

We have detected dozens of previously unknown, moderate earthquakes beneath large glaciers. The seismic radiation from these earthquakes is depleted at high frequencies, explaining their nondetection by traditional methods. Inverse modeling of the long-period seismic waveforms from the best-recorded earthquake, in southern Alaska, shows that the seismic source is well represented by stick-slip,...

Insanity in Switzerland