EARTHQUAKES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 22 November 1927, Page 8

EARTHQUAKES

EARTH’S CRUST SETTLING.

SIR OLIVER LODGE’S EXPLANATION.

Sir Oliver Lodge, the world-famous scientist, gives the following explanation of the recent earthquakes and tidal waves:—

“There is no doubt,” says Sir Oliver, “that the earth’s crust is settling down There is nothing abnormal in the operation except the improved methods of communication which broadcast the news of earthquakes and typhoons all over the world in a few seconds.

“A century ago typhoons and earthquakes such as have happened in Japan. Mexico and the Black Sea would have been unheard of for many months.

“The crust of the earth is continually settling down. Sometimes, and this has been abundantly evidenced during the no“ ver. this is accom-

>nied by earthquakes and kindred disturbances.

“The fact that earthquakes and tidal waves have taken place in three distantly separated parts of the earth does not mean that they result from three different causes.

“If a crack appears in the fabric of a house the house does not necessarily collapse at that spot, though another part of the building may fall because of the crack. Similarly a crack in the earth in the Pacific may cause another crack in a different part of the world.

Professor Muskaytov, director of the Russian Geological Survey, puts forward the hypothesis that Africa and India are “sliding” northward. He formed his opinion of the northward movement of India more than a year ago, and went out at once on an exploring expedition into Turkestan to prove his theory. “I found old rock formations over new ones,” he said. “Formations which lie on the surface north of tile cleavage lie deep under the surface to the south of it. while formations which normally are well buried were found lying on top of rock formations which are normally on the surface.”

He attributes this northward slide to the cooling and shrinking of the earth’s surface.

New York, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow- and othert large cities lie far enough off the line of earth movements to be out of danger of destruction by shocks, though they may feel slight earthquakes, he said.