Earthquake Hazard from Precarious Rocks

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GeoNews

Earthquake Hazard from Precarious Rocks

Written by Randy Post

Sunday, 04 March 2007

A team of geologists from University of Nevada, Reno have come up with a unique way of assessing seismic hazards - precariously balanced rocks.

The work has been carried out and published by Purvance, Brune and Anooshepoor in the American Scientist. According to a press release from UNR, the theory is that these large, precariously balanced rocks have acted as "witnesses" to prehistoric seismic events. Through careful measurement and even load testing of these rocks, information can be gathered regarding the magnitude of earthquake forces that would be required to topple them, thereby giving some clues as to recurrence intervals of earthquakes of various magnitudes in the area.

I'm curious to hear what our members think about this. Does this represent a credible way of supplementing information on the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes in a particular area? Feel free to add your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

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