Unusual earthquake gave Japan tsunami extra punch
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 08:30
in Earth & Climate
The magnitude 9 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 were like a one-two punch first violently shaking, then swamping the islands causing tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. Now Stanford researchers have discovered the catastrophe was caused by a sequence of unusual geologic events never before seen so clearly.