Volcanoes that arise from nothing or that erupt away from the boundaries of tectonic plates. Mountains that grow naturally in places where they are not expected. U.S. scientists say some mountains, including the south of the Spanish Central Plateau and other examples of the Mediterranean, can grow under the pressure of the mantle of the Earth slurry, which pushes the crust from below. The research was published in Nature. (more…)

The energy released by an earthquake in Chile amounts to 20,000 million tons of TNT (which is 1 333 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb). With this power, the quake has caused more than 700 fatalities, has had another effect. Its strength has been enough to shift slightly (about 8 cm.) Axis of the Earth and, therefore, shorten the length of days. According to the data used by NASA since last February 27 on hard earth 1.26 millionths of a second less than before.

Shortening that will be added to that already took place in 2004, following the Sumatra earthquake (a magnitude of 9.1). Since that terrible event, the length of the days had been shortened by 6.8 millionths of a second. (more…)