Geobulletin alpha

Earthquake Primers - The Big Bad Earth - Part 2 

We have this big roiling Earth, and what does that have to do with earthquakes?  Simply that the earth has gone with the most efficient method of heat removal which is convection, and transfers that heat to the radiator fins of the ocean crust.  It's an operating air conditioner.  The upper convection is in the mantle, just below the solid crust, and is responsible for our earthquakes.  There

Earthquake Primers - The Big Bad Earth - Part 1 

I'm writing this primer series for all my fans who are making their way in first-class containers to Canada, with Internet.  We welcome you all, as long as you are willing to open up good restaurants in our horrible monoglot places such as Flin Flon or Montreal.  :)  I used to do illustrations, but it was too much work.  You can see many of my illustrations on Wikipedia, from when I was in a

Earthquake Primers - What kills you - Part 2 

Here's where I make a bold statement:  Plop down your house anywhere in the world, on solid rock, and your seismic risk of death is zero.  Said with 95% confidence, a reasonable house, and 'solid rock' defined by Canadian standards, not Callie. The statement is backed up by an extensive study I once made at work on ground motions for rock and soil.  Once I had this study, I went into the

Earthquake Primers - What kills you - Part 1 

Barring a great big wall of water (tsunami), what will kill you is something falling on your head.  The odds of getting killed in an earthquake are probably below that of getting hit by a bus, while drinking coffee in Starbucks. Any given structure is designed to get live loads, such as wind, people dancing, etc.  Buildings collapse all the time without earthquakes, from corrosion or