Meltdown Now Official

A day after the Japanese government downplayed the dangers of the damaged nuclear reactors, radiation levels have surpassed those at the Three Mile Island disaster, the second worst nuclear incident in history.

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NYTimes.com Explains Nuclear Situation in Japan

Great article from The New York Times on the potential meltdown of one or more reactors in Japan heavily damaged by the 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan on this past Friday. The Bohunk would like to thank Prof. McRivette of GVSU for his contribution to geologists in Japan; the Guy deserves some recognition for his expertise and effort over the weekend helping gather and analyze data.
NYTimes: Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say

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Japan’s Nuclear Crisis

The first reactor explodes in Japan, but more threats remain….

The Japanese government says that a second explosion at a nuclear facility is very possible after hydrogen gases are said the have built up to dangerous levels. In the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and over a hundred aftershocks, the Japanese people still face the threat of nuclear meltdown and widespread radiation dangers.

The explosion that rocked the first reactor in the Fukishima plan gave the world a scare, but the threat for another such event strains the already fatigued and mourning population in the country. The third reactor is likely the explode though operators have worked to release the built up hydrogen gases that caused explosions. The danger is that such a blast would break the concrete structure housing the main reactor itself, which would cause the leak of dangerous radioactive materials.

In an effort to conserve energy, the Japanese government has called for three hour blackouts in order to confront the roughly 10 million kilowatt shortage faced by the shutdown nuclear facilities.

The government has repeatedly promised that no radiation dangers currently exist, though other sources claim that radiation levels around the plant have been higher in a single hour than in an entire year. Nine people have been tested for high radiation levels but doctors have no yet released their findings. Roughly 200, 000 people live within twelve miles of the plant.

To help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, please visit http://www.redcross.org/ .

Check back with the Update throughout the day for more…

Japanese Tsunami

As always, the Bohunk waits a day on major news story so that more actual information can be included in the post. By waiting these 24 hours, the events in Japan have only gotten worse and more complicated.

Tsunami wave crashes almost six miles inland over the Japanese coastline…

As an ‘virtual’ seismologist (dedicated readers will remember the online documentation) the Bohunk would like to give a quick analysis of a tsunami. In a subduction zone, the lighter, less dense continental plate ‘floats’ on top of the thicker, more dense ocean plate. As the ocean plate is subducted under the continental plate, it catches and is dragged down as well, though not far. Because the plate is far enough away from the molten mantle layer underneath the crust, it remains brittle but retains some aspects of elasticity. At some point, at a certain degree of stress, it snaps back up to its former position. We cannot say just how power this action is. The crust affected by this movement could be miles thick of rock; the amount of force needed to move anything this rigid and heavy in unthinkable. The force is so strong that it moves the ocean above it, causing a ripple with a surge of water high than the actual sea level. The result is a tsnami, which travels over 500mph toward show. The amount of force in the weight of this water is equally astounding.

The tsunami reached as far away as Chile in South America…

The effect on Japan has been unbelievable as well. Estimates are now at over 1,000 dead with over 10,000 officially listed as missing, 9,500 of them in one small coastal town. Traffic is completely stopped though some limited railways have reopened away from the coast. Cars have been deemed useless, with bike shops selling out of bikes, bought by people desperately trying to get home, if they have a home left. The USGS has measured over 89 aftershocks over a magnitude of 5 in the past 21 hours, making the rescue efforts even more dangerous. Fires still burn from broken gas lines and nuclear power plants are beginning to overheat, one already reportedly giving off radiation levels in an hour equal to that given off in an entire year. The additional aftershocks are continuing to damage and weaken the buildings still standing, causing delayed failures in buildings thought to be safe by survivors.

The wave carried cars, houses, boats and everything else it met for miles inland, dumping them far from the coastline before retreating…

Overseas, thousands of miles from the epicenter, little damage has been reported. Hawaii and Midway survived a 3-6 foot wave and the surge never quite reached the North American coast the way it was expected, measuring under two feet in height. South America fared just as well, with negligible damage. Tsunami alert systems were tested by the event and experts are impressed with the effectiveness of the systems from the US, Canada and South America as well. Buoys miles off shore measure tsunami surges and relay that information to the coast, giving warning to residents near the sea. All tsunami warnings have been cancelled in North and South America.

The tsunami rising over the coast and sweeping inland…

The 8.9 magnitude that triggered the tsunami is the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history. The epicenter was less roughly 100 miles off the coast of Japan, closest to the Sendai region onshore. The Bohunk counted 39 aftershocks over 5.0 magnitude in the first three hours after the initial quake. Much, much more on this as news comes out, with a special focus on the nuclear reactor, currently believed to be in danger of a meltdown and already leaking massive amounts of radiation relative to normal emissions…