Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Kennecott landslide so big it triggered earthquakes



Accelerating to speeds of up to 100 mph, April’s massive landslide in Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon mine actually triggered earthquakes, the first time that is known to have occurred. A study by University of Utah scientists, published Monday on the cover of the Geological Society of America’s magazine, GSA Today, said 16 small earthquakes were set off by the earth movement, which was mobilized by two rock slides 90 minutes apart.  "We don’t know of any case until now where landslides have been shown to trigger earthquakes," said Jeff Moore, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the U. "It’s quite commonly the reverse."  Moore teamed with author Kris Pankow, associate director of the university’s seismograph stations, who noted that numerous ground-movement sensors around the mine provided scientists with an immense amount of data about the April 10 landslide. "This is really a geotechnical monitoring success story," Pankow said...more

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