Earthquakes may endanger New York more than formerly believed

User rating: 4.3 / 5 after 25 vote(s)

All known quakes greater New York-Philadelphia area 1677-2004 graded by magnitude (M). Peekskill NY near Indian Point nuclear power plant is denoted as Pe. Credit: Adapted from Sykes et al.
All known quakes, greater New York-Philadelphia area, 1677-2004, graded by magnitude (M). Peekskill, NY, near Indian Point nuclear power plant, is denoted as Pe. Credit: Adapted from Sykes et al.

A study by a group of prominent seismologists suggests that a pattern of subtle but active faults makes the risk of earthquakes to the New York City area substantially greater than formerly believed. Among other things, they say that the controversial Indian Point nuclear power plants, 24 miles north of the city, sit astride the previously unidentified intersection of two active seismic zones. The paper appears in the current issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.


Full story »

All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for August 22, 2008

NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' movie WALL-E from Pixar Animation ...

Astronaut outside space station loses tool bag

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut whose grease gun erupted in a backpack-sized tool bag accidentally let go of the tote outside the international space station Tuesday, and it floated off along with everything ...

Calif. utilities must use 33 percent renewable energy for power generation by 2020

12 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
California utilities, already struggling to meet a law requiring more renewable energy, saw the bar raised even higher Monday.

Global warming predictions are overestimated, suggests study on black carbon

12 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A detailed analysis of black carbon -- the residue of burned organic matter -- in computer climate models suggests that those models may be overestimating global warming predictions.

Scientists discover new planet orbiting dangerously close to giant star

12 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A team of astronomers from Penn State and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland has discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The ...