Japan 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

The 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami was caused by a 9.0-magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred 11 March, 2011. The epicenter was approximately 72 kilometers (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku.

The earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 29.6 m (97 ft) that struck Japan minutes after the quake, in some cases traveling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. The Japanese National Police Agency has officially confirmed 11,362 deaths, 2,872 injured, and 16,290 people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. The earthquake and tsunami caused extensive and severe structural damage in Japan, including heavy damage to roads and railways as well as fires in many areas, and a dam collapse. Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water.

Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen gas that had built up within their outer containment buildings after cooling system failure. On 18 March, Yukiya Amano—the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency—described the crisis as "extremely serious." Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and a 10 km (6 mi) radius of the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated. - Wikipedia

 

Yellowstone, the world's first national park, was established this day in 1872

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone was the first national park in the world, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant.

- Wikipedia

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Model a geyser and determine the effect that depth has on timing of geyser eruption.
Subject: Geology
Grade level: Middle School, Grades 6-8
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Science Buddies
Description: The mechanism consists of a boiling flask and a plastic container connected vertically by glass tubing. The flask is heated and after the geyser erupts it will reset itself by sucking the cool water from the plastic container, placed above, back into the flask, and the process starts again. Length of glass tubing is changed and the time between eruptions is recorded.
Link: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Geo_p040.shtml