Searching for Clues Along the Ring of Fire
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Some scientists predict that the 9.0-magnitude Richter-scale quake in Japan will touch off even more Pacific temblors in the years ahead. It's a frightening prospect, yet also an opportunity for seismologists and geophysicists trying to unlock the secrets of a mosaic of fault lines along the Pacific Rim, the world's most quake-prone region.
Japan's quake released so much energy that it is estimated to have shifted the planet's axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the seismic event actually moved the coastline of the country's main island of Honshu by eight feet.