• Question: would we be able to make earth,earthquake proof??

    Asked by bvbarmy1234 to Angus, Christian, Hannah, Laura, Simon on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Simon Holyoake

      Simon Holyoake answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      I don’t think we would, earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates shifting around (amongst other things) and the forces involved are pretty awesomely huge!

      trying to fasten all of the tectonic plates together would be almost impossible due to the forces from inside the earth below

      There are also scientists who think tectonic plates are required for life to evolve and exist

      I think our best way forward is to continue to study earthquakes in the hope that we can learn a way to predict them and ensure we avoid them when they happen!

    • Photo: Christian Maerz

      Christian Maerz answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Simon is right, earthquakes have always been an important component of the evolution of Earth’s surface.
      Regarding the possibility to improve our earthquake predictions to a point that early warnings could avoid the loss of lives: There has been some progress over the last decades, but it is still very difficult to predict earthquakes. Scientists have pretty good ideas about where earthquakes will most likely happen (places like Turkey, Japan, New Zealand…), but when exactly the earthquake will strike is almost impossible to say.

    • Photo: Angus Ferraro

      Angus Ferraro answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Simon and Christian have answered this very well.

      To stop earthquakes we would have to fasten all the tectonic plates together. This would mean we wouldn’t generate any more mountains! Mountains are formed when tectonic plates crash together and ‘buckle up’. If we stopped this then the existing mountains would very (and I do mean very) slowly erode away and things would look a lot flatter.

    • Photo: Hannah Bentham

      Hannah Bentham answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      If we were to have no earthquakes, there would be no tectonics and it would mean our planet has died. In this case evidence shows Earth would be inhabitable.

      Majority of earthquakes do not cause us any harm. I agree we need to focus on researching the science behind earthquakes and where they are likely to occur. Also we need to promote better building regulations to prevent catastrophes like the earthquake in Haiti last year.

      Remember “Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do” … not entirely true but let’s say 95%!

    • Photo: Laura Roberts Artal

      Laura Roberts Artal answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      I can’t really add much to what the other scientist have already said.

      I’m with Hannah on this one. Whilst I doubt we can make the Earth earthquake proof, I think we can make buildings safer for people who live in earthquake prone zones. I also think educating people about the enviroment they live in and what they can do in the event of a large natural disaster can mean more people can stay safe. If I won the Earth Zone, I’d donate about half the money to a small charity working in Afghanistan to train teachers and school children how to protect themselves and stay safe in the event of an earthquake.

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