Why the 2012 Sumatra quake was a weird one

Already a curiosity for its sheer size, the 8.6-magnitude earthquake that shook the seafloor west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on April 11 appears to have been even weirder than scientists thought.

A new study reveals the quake zigzagged along four faults, three of which are set perpendicular to each other. From above, the layout looks like a city street grid. "We call it an earthquake in a maze," said Lingsen Meng, lead author of the study and a graduate student in seismology at Caltech.

"We were very excited to see this because an earthquake this large, involving this complicated a fault system, does not happen very often," Meng told OurAmazingPlanet. "This may be the only one I will see in my lifetime."

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The April Sumatra shaker was a strike-slip earthquake, in which two parts of the Earth's crust slide past each other horizontally. The quake was not only the 11th largest quakerecorded by seismometers, it's also the largest strike-slip quake on the books. It's also one of the rare big intraplate earthquakes ; that is, it happened away from a plate boundary, where two plates of the Earth's crust meet and where most of the world's largest earthquakes occur.

The results of the new study, detailed in tomorrow's (July 20) issue of the journal Science, provide the first in-depth picture of the rupture. The study also offers intriguing clues about the physics of extremely large earthquakes, and the properties of oceanic plates. The observations could shed new light on intraplate quakes and how tectonic plate boundaries evolve.

This earthquake "provides an exceptional opportunity to probe the mechanical properties of Earth?s materials deep beneath the oceans," Meng said. [ April 2012 Sumatra Quake (Infographic) ]

Seismic back-tracking
To better understand how the Earth unzipped during this quake, Meng and his Caltech colleagues applied a technique called back-projection imaging to seismic waves recorded from the Sumatra quake. The imaging process is similar to how our brain uses sound to determine the position of moving objects.

"If you close your eyes in a room and somebody walks past you, your ears measure the tiny delay in the arriving sounds to tell the source of the sound," Meng said. "It's similar to what we're doing, except we use the ground motions recorded by seismic stations."

The dense network of seismometers in Japan and Europe provided enough "ears" to track the slip-sliding faults deep beneath the Indian Ocean.

The quake first proceeded along three connected faults. It started on a northwest-southeast fault, then turned almost 90 degrees to a northeast-southwest fault. This was followed by another 90-degree turn to another northwest-southeast fault. Finally, the fourth rupture stage involved jumping northward onto a separate, but parallel, northwest-southeast fault. Two hours later, an 8.2-magnitude aftershock started on the south end of the third northwest-southeast fault, and also jumped onto a perpendicular fault.

If that wasn't enough, yet another surprise awaited the researchers as they analyzed the seismic data: The quake took the toughest possible route available to it.

Path of most resistance
Any earthquake opens space on one side of a fault, called extension, and closes space on the other side, called compression. Typically, ruptures that jump from fault to fault head for the extensional side, following the path of least resistance.

"If you compress something, everything is solidified and it's more difficult to break it. On the extensional side, everything is looser and easier to break," Meng explained.

Two of the Sumatra quake's torturous turns were into zones of compression, the researchers found. Meng and his colleagues think it's possible that water deep in the Earth altered rock in the Earth's mantle layer along the faults. This creates low friction, Meng said, and makes it easier for the rift to veer into the compressional field. The Sumatra quake and its aftershock were 15 miles (25 kilometers) deep, down in the mantle where rocks are less brittle. [ Video - How Earthquakes Lead To Aftershocks ]

Earthquakes within continents
Faults at right angles to each other are common in oceanic crust and also occur on continental crust, but researchers have never seen them connected in a very large earthquake, Meng said. Understanding the conditions that caused such a strange quake could help scientists predict whether this mechanism is possible elsewhere on the planet.

"This information is essential for earthquake hazard assessment," Meng said. Some studieshave found fault systems in the middle of continents ? closer to where people live ? also behave differently than those on plate boundaries.

Seismologist Thorne Lay, who was not involved in the study, said the research has drawbacks because the imaging method can't resolve the earthquake's depth, nor the length each fault slipped. "The analysis here is very nice but is very limited," he said. Lay is one of hundreds of scientists dissecting the quake for what it can reveal about how oceanic plates form new boundaries.

The Sumatra earthquake faults are in a diffuse deformation zone where the giant India-Australia oceanic plate is cleaving in two. "This process of breaking a huge oceanic plate apart is clearly something that's not happening in many other places," said Lay, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "Our ability to quantify this earthquake offers important lessons about the stresses and processes by which plates break."

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48250176/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Leaked EOS M photo looks like Canon's long-awaited mirrorless camera

At this point, after strong hints and even patents, a Canon mirrorless camera is all but certain. The only question is what it'll look like and how it'll compete with other Micro Four Thirds and APS-C shooters like the Olympus E-M5 and Samsung's NX range. The image above may at least help to answer the first part of that question, if it isn't a masterful photoshop. It was reportedly leaked by retail sites and captured by Digicame-info, and it appears to show an unknown model called the EOS M (shown in the top left corner) -- which does indeed look like a thin and lightweight mirrorless ILC. MirrorlessRumors also notes the presence of an entirely new mount: the EF-M -- which may mean that Canon is moving away from the inbetween sensor size it used in the G1 X and possibly towards full APS-C. An official announcement is expected on July 23rd, so we'll know plenty more then.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Leaked EOS M photo looks like Canon's long-awaited mirrorless camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Severe sepsis, a body's dangerous defensive response against an ...

Severe sepsis, a body's dangerous defensive response against an infection, not only diminishes the quality of life for patients - it puts their spouses at a greater risk of depression, a joint University of Michigan Health System and University of Washington School of Medicine study shows. Wives whose husbands were hospitalized for severe sepsis were nearly four times more likely to experience substantial depressive symptoms, according to the study released ahead of the August publish date in Critical Care Medicine...

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Source: http://www.kiefit.com/Health_Fitness/as-severe-sepsis-becomes-a-silent-epidemic-among-the-elderly-greater-mental-health-screenings-may-be-necessary-for-spouses/

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Lakeshore - [child] She comes home tomorrow, musings on ...

the_child comes home tomorrow on the evening train from Seattle. lillypond, a/k/a my sister, is picking her up at the train station at the same time I'm picking seanan_mcguire up at the airport, then we're all meeting for dinner, along with mlerules, Team E? and kenscholes (assuming he's over his case of the screaming crud by then). Which will be an apropos welcome home for her, as the last time I saw my kid was when I took her to the George R.R. Martin party in Seattle two weeks ago.

This summer she has flown to California by herself. She is training back from Seattle tomorrow by herself. She has spent time with her grandmother learning to use the Portland area bus and light rail system, and is now allowed to make trips around town by herself. She is also seriously talking about what kind of job she wants next summer, when she's fifteen and a half. One of the current favorites of hers is working in the office of our family attorneys (with whom she is friends) because, "Lawyers know how to get people to tell them things, and I'd like to learn that."

I think my little kid is growing up.

Every step closer to adulthood, to maturity, is one less brick on my chest over the cancer. Perhaps my greatest fear is dying while she's still in childhood. It is a terrible thing to lose a parent at any age, but that is the way of the world. (Consider the alternative, that the parent loses their child.) Losing a parent before you've really gotten a solid start on finding yourself is much, much harder.

As it happens, there has been a recent cancer death in Mother of the Child's extended family, which has me pondering once again parenthood and illness. And of course, the leading echoes of what is to come for me on these next tests, as always. To see the_child being a little more mature, increasingly self-reliant, and better directed... those are a comfort and a blessing. They are to every parent, I know, but it all has a special meaning to me.

Love that kid.

Source: http://jaylake.livejournal.com/2892067.html

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Bernanke: Fed's efforts have helped the economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the House Financial Services Committee to deliver his twice-a-year report to Congress on the state of the economy, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Bernanke sketched a bleak picture of the U.S. economy yesterday at the Senate Banking Committee warning it will darken further if Congress doesn't reach agreement soon to avert a budget crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the House Financial Services Committee to deliver his twice-a-year report to Congress on the state of the economy, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Bernanke sketched a bleak picture of the U.S. economy yesterday at the Senate Banking Committee warning it will darken further if Congress doesn't reach agreement soon to avert a budget crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the House Financial Services Committee to deliver his twice-a-year report to Congress on the state of the economy, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Bernanke sketched a bleak picture of the U.S. economy yesterday at the Senate Banking Committee warning it will darken further if Congress doesn't reach agreement soon to avert a budget crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers Wednesday that the Federal Reserve's efforts to bolster growth have helped lift the U.S. economy out of the Great Recession. But he acknowledged that growth remains weak and the Fed can only do so much.

"I don't think it is the case that there has been no progress. The recovery has been slower than we like but clearly we have made progress," Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee.

Bernanke was on the Hill to deliver his twice-a-year report to Congress on the state of the economy. But he spent part of the hearing defending the Fed's previous two rounds of large-scale bond purchases against Republican criticism.

The economy has weakened since the start of the year, and Bernanke said the Fed is prepared to take further action if unemployment stays high. He didn't specify what steps the Fed might take or whether any action was imminent.

His comments were similar to those he made Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

Many economists interpreted the remarks to mean the Fed will likely launch a third round of bond purchases, perhaps in the fall. That's because few expect the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month, to fall much further by then.

The bond purchases seek to lower long-term interest rates and encourage more borrowing and spending.

Bernanke noted that the economy, after growing at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the second half of 2011, slowed to roughly 2 percent from January through March. And it likely weakened further in the April-June period.

Manufacturing has slowed. Consumers are spending less. And job growth has slumped to an average of 75,000 a month in the April-June quarter from 226,000 a month from January through March.

But Republicans on the panel questioned the Fed's use of large-scale asset purchases to lower long-term interest rates. They say the bond purchases have increased the risk of inflation without providing much help to the slumping economy.

"We have anemic growth, probably half of what it should be by historic standards," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. Hensarling questioned what another round of bond purchases would do.

Bernanke said the first effort in the middle of 2009 helped lift the economy out of the recession, which ended in June 2009.

The second, launched in Nov. 2010, kept the economy from suffering a bout of deflation, he said. Deflation is a prolonged period of falling prices which the United States hasn't seen since the Great Depression.

"I think the previous efforts did have productive effects," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-18-US-Bernanke/id-06b1ef7a01c247fea25f831c22b3ea86

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FDA approves highly anticipated weight-loss pill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration is approving a weight loss drug from Vivus Inc. that many doctors consider the most effective therapy among a new generation of anti-obesity pills.

The agency cleared the pill Qsymia (CUE-simm-ee-ah) for adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

Patients taking Qsymia for one year lost 11 percent of their body weight, on average. That was more than two other weight loss pills recently reviewed by the FDA.

Qsymia is the second weight loss drug approved by the FDA in less than a month. In late June the agency approved Arena Pharmaceutical's pill Belviq. Previously the agency had not approved a new drug for long-term weight loss since 1999.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-17-Obesity%20Drug-FDA/id-9b1eedf4faa64abf815914df1aaddde4

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Double Your Online Marketing Without Doubling Your Budget

Guest Post by Bob Edelstein

Remember what marketing was like before the internet?

If you?re as old as I am you do?

As a small business owner, you probably did most of your business locally.? Your marketing was expensive and limited to space ads in the local newspaper, Yellow Pages, and perhaps some direct mail.

What a difference a few years can make!

Today, with just a few clicks on your computer, you can sell your products and services to nearly anyone.? Your prospects can be anywhere in the world.

One of the marketing tools made possible by the internet is email.? If you aren?t using email in your marketing mix you are truly missing a huge opportunity because a few well written emails can easily boost your response rates by a factor of 2.

So how can you double the response rates on your current marketing with just a few emails?

Well, we all know the best time to sell to someone is when they have just made a purchase from us.? At that time, your customer has just identified themselves as someone who wants your product plus they?ve demonstrated they trust you enough to open their wallets and buy from you.? Why wouldn?t you take that opportunity to reinforce the buying decision, up-sell, cross sell, or down-sell?

A few well-crafted and strategically timed emails can do all of this for you.? And email doesn?t cost you anything.? It?s not going to bust your budget.

Here?s what I mean?

You should be capturing your customer?s email address with each purchase.? In fact, you should be getting prospects who visit your website to give you their email address by promising something of value in return.? For example, a free report on how your product solves their problem, a free appetizer on the next visit to your restaurant, you get the idea.? You are doing this already, right?

Then immediately follow-up each sale or inquiry with an email.

?Hang on, Bob? I hear you say, ?I don?t have time to be writing email all day.?

You?re right.? You have better things to do.? But the exciting think about email marketing is you can automate it using an autoresponder!

You may have heard of this.? Email autoresponders allow you to automatically send emails to your customers and potential customers.? An autoresponder platform or service can be set up to send automatic emails whenever you desire with whatever you?d like to say.

These emails are written in advance, but can be personalized with the customer?s name and other details, and are preset to mail on a schedule you choose.

For example, how about sending a ?thank you? email to every customer or client who makes a purchase from you.? Since people tend to make a buying decision based on emotion, use this email to make the sale stick by reminding them of the many benefits and logical reasons for their purchase.? Just imagine how that would reduce product returns in your business.

Then maybe follow-up a few days later to see how Ms. Customer is enjoying her purchase, reinforce the benefits of her new program, and offer another product or service that compliments her recent purchase or perhaps a discount on her next visit.

You could even schedule a series of monthly newsletters to stay in front of your customers for a period of a year or more if you wished.

The advantages of using an email autoresponder are many but here are a few others that jump to mind:

Advantages of using an autoresponder email series:
??? ?Build a relationship with your customers and prospects.? People tend to do business with those they know, like, and trust.? An email series is the perfect tool to do this.
??? ?Build awareness in your prospect of you and your product or service.? The majority of customers do not make a purchase the first time they see a product.? It often takes 4, 5, or more reminders about the advantages of a product or service.? With an autoresponder, you can send this type of information to clients at regular intervals and be in front of the prospect when the time is right.
??? ?Email autoresponder campaigns can work just as well for your lead generation marketing.? You can begin marketing campaigns with your email autoresponder with joint venture partners or even rented lists.
??? ?Track your marketing effectiveness.? Your autoresponder service can tell you how many of your customers have read your emails and how many have clicked the links back to your website.
??? ?A high-quality autoresponder service will allow you to segment your marketing and advertising campaigns. For example, you can set up one segment for those folks who have purchased a given product and another one those who have expressed an interest but have not yet purchased.? You can then send different mails specifically designed for each market segment.
??? ?Optimize your time.? Instead of posting emails individually, you can create them beforehand and upload them to your autoresponder to be sent on a predetermined schedule.? You can even go on a vacation while your autoresponder continues to send emails to your clients and prospects.

There are many free autoresponder services available.? You can start with one of these to keep costs down, but be aware you tend to get what you pay for.

Once you find email marketing is working for you, you?ll want to move your lists to a paid service.? For as little as a few dollars a month, a full service autoresponder platform will give you more features, options, and better customer service.? For example, the paid services typically have staff dedicated to ensuring a higher delivery rate for your email.

Another useful feature useful found on the paid services are spam checks which review your emails before you send them to alert you to anything which may cause your emails to land in your prospects spam filter never to be seen again.

So, now you have an idea of how email can be an important tool for your marketing and a very effective way to win over prospects and gain new business.? But how do you write one?

Crafting a winning email

Of course just sending any old email isn?t going to win new clients or close the sale.? It isn?t that easy.? But with a few tips, you can write an email message that evokes the action you want.

Here are 7 of my best tips for email copywriting to get you penning emails that get opened?? get read?? and get the desired response:

??? ?The ?From? line.
The very first thing your prospect sees when your email pops into their inbox is who it is from.? Email is a social media and it should be from another person ? not just a company name.

??? ?Write a great subject line
The subject line needs to immediately catch the reader?s attention and get them to open the email and read on.? It might state or imply the benefit of opening the email, ask a question, or evoke curiosity.? But it must grab attention and engage the reader.

??? ?Avoid spam filters
You want to ensure your emails get delivered and don?t end up in a spam folder.? Avoid too many capitalized words, repeated words, exclamation marks.? In short, don?t be over-the-top in an effort to sell something.? You?ll end up in a spam folder and it?s likely to turn-off the reader, too.

??? ?Make a clear offer
Make it clear what exactly you are offering the reader.? You?ve only got a few seconds before the reader decides if an email is worth reading or trash.? If she has to search for what the email is about, you?ve lost her.

??? ?Keep the reader engaged
People read email differently than they read a print document.? You?ve got to engage your prospect and keep them reading.? There are many people who are skimmers and scanners, so break up the text with bullet points, headlines, and sub-headlines to pull them back into the email.

??? ?Get the right tone
Email tends to be less formal than printed letters.? Keep your tone conversational but not overly familiar.? Write as though you were speaking directly to your prospect one-on-one.? You?d speak differently to a 20-year old college student than you would to a retiree.? Do the same with your writing. This is the reason marketing teachers tell you to ?know your ideal client??so you can speak directly to them.

??? ?Make it clear what you want the reader to do
Make it painfully clear what it is you?d like them to do after reading the email ? call for more information, make a donation to your charity, or click on a link which takes the reader to your website where the ?heavy lifting? of a sale can be made.

Any small business can use email effectively to boost your return on marketing dollars spent.? Following these tips can successfully boost the results from your current marketing whether its online, off-line, or even direct mail.

I was reading the other day where 94 % of internet traffic is email and it?s the dominant method of business communication ? beating social media, mobile, and phone usage by wide margins.

Shouldn?t you be using email in your marketing mix?

Let me know how you?re using email autoresponders, and if you?re not, why not?

???????????????????????????????????????????????????
Bob Edelstein is a freelance marketing strategist and writer specializing in helping small businesses use email and autoresponders to get the most for their marketing dollars.? You can learn more about Bob at BobEdelsteinCopywriter.com

Source: http://workvibrant.com/2012/07/double-your-online-marketing-without-doubling-your-budget/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=double-your-online-marketing-without-doubling-your-budget

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