Latest news with #Musson
Observer
15 hours ago
- Science
- Observer
Massive Russian earthquake struck on ‘megathrust fault'
The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a 'megathrust fault', where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors - and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. 'The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm per year,' said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. 'Subduction' events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than 'strike slips', such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds. The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a magnitude 9 event in November 1952, wiping out the town of Severo-Kurilsk and causing extensive damage as far away as Hawaii, Musson said. Shallow 'megathrust' events are more likely to cause tsunamis because they burst through the sea floor and displace huge volumes of water. With a relatively shallow depth of 20.7 km, Wednesday's earthquake was always going to create such tsunami risks, experts said. 'It is an offshore earthquake and when you have offshore earthquakes there is the potential for tsunamis,' said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Centre. 'If you have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to rupture the surface of the ocean floor,' he added. 'We've seen in some cases you can have large earthquakes like this and not cause a tsunami because they are too deep and the shearing doesn't express itself at the surface.' Tsunami waves of around 1.7 metres reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations. Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 metres. The impact of a tsunami depends on its 'run-up' as it approaches coastlines, Pascal said. 'If you have a very long, shallow run-up to the coast, a lot of the energy can be dissipated over that run-up, but if it is a very steep shelf before you get to the coast, the wave height can be higher,' he said. Wednesday's quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude 5, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. 'This demonstrates that large-magnitude earthquakes generate aftershock sequences that start immediately, and some of these can be damaging in their own right,' she said. The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a 'foreshock'. 'Earthquakes by their nature are unpredictable,' said Pascal. 'There are no precursors that are scientifically consistent in earthquake sequences. Before this morning, those other ones were the main shocks.' Bigger aftershocks cannot entirely be ruled out, he added, but their magnitude and frequency normally tend to decrease over time. 'You can expect large aftershocks to continue for some time, but the frequency of large, damaging events will reduce as time goes on,' he said. 'There is always a chance of a larger event, but that larger event will usually occur relatively soon after, within days or weeks.' — Reuters
GMA Network
20 hours ago
- Science
- GMA Network
Massive Russian earthquake struck on ‘megathrust fault'
Tsunami waves flood an area after a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, in Severo-Kurilsk, Sakhalin Region, Russia, July 30, 2025, in this still image taken from video. Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences/ Handout via REUTERS SINGAPORE — The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a "megathrust fault," where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors—and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicenter near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. "The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year," said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. "Subduction" events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than "strike slips," such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds. The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a magnitude 9 event in November 1952, wiping out the town of Severo-Kurilsk and causing extensive damage as far away as Hawaii, Musson told Reuters. Shallow "megathrust" events are more likely to cause tsunamis because they burst through the sea floor and displace huge volumes of water. Tsunami risks With a relatively shallow depth of 20.7 km (13 miles), Wednesday's earthquake was always going to create such tsunami risks, experts said. "It is an offshore earthquake and when you have offshore earthquakes there is the potential for tsunamis," said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Centre. "If you have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to rupture the surface of the ocean floor," he told Reuters. "We've seen in some cases you can have large earthquakes like this and not cause a tsunami because they are too deep and the shearing doesn't express itself at the surface." Tsunami waves of around 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations. Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 meters (13 ft). The impact of a tsunami depends on its "run-up" as it approaches coastlines, Pascal said. "If you have a very long, shallow run-up to the coast, a lot of the energy can be dissipated over that run-up, but if it is a very steep shelf before you get to the coast, the wave height can be higher," he said. Foreshocks and aftershocks Wednesday's quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude 5, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. "This demonstrates that large-magnitude earthquakes generate aftershock sequences that start immediately, and some of these can be damaging in their own right," she said. The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a "foreshock." "Earthquakes by their nature are unpredictable," said Pascal. "There are no precursors that are scientifically consistent in earthquake sequences. Before this morning, those other ones were the main shocks." Bigger aftershocks cannot entirely be ruled out, he added, but their magnitude and frequency normally tend to decrease over time. "You can expect large aftershocks to continue for some time, but the frequency of large, damaging events will reduce as time goes on," he said. "There is always a chance of a larger event, but that larger event will usually occur relatively soon after, within days or weeks." — Reuters
The Star
20 hours ago
- Science
- The Star
Massive Russian earthquake struck on 'megathrust fault'
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a "megathrust fault", where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia's Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors - and bigger aftershocks cannot be ruled out, they said. With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011, which caused a tsunami that sent Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into meltdown. "The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year," said Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey. "Subduction" events, in which one plate pushes under another, are capable of generating far stronger earthquakes than "strike slips", such as the one that hit Myanmar in March, where plates brush horizontally against one another at different speeds. The Kamchatka area is particularly vulnerable and experienced a magnitude 9 event in November 1952, wiping out the town of Severo-Kurilsk and causing extensive damage as far away as Hawaii, Musson told Reuters. Shallow "megathrust" events are more likely to cause tsunamis because they burst through the sea floor and displace huge volumes of water. TSUNAMI RISKS With a relatively shallow depth of 20.7 km (13 miles), Wednesday's earthquake was always going to create such tsunami risks, experts said. "It is an offshore earthquake and when you have offshore earthquakes there is the potential for tsunamis," said Adam Pascal, chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Centre. "If you have a relatively shallow earthquake it is more likely to rupture the surface of the ocean floor," he told Reuters. "We've seen in some cases you can have large earthquakes like this and not cause a tsunami because they are too deep and the shearing doesn't express itself at the surface." Tsunami waves of around 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) reached as far as Hawaii, less high than originally expected, but scientists warned that such waves do not have to be especially big to do damage to the relatively low-lying coastlines of Pacific island nations. Parts of French Polynesia were told to brace for waves as high as 4 metres (13 ft). The impact of a tsunami depends on its "run-up" as it approaches coastlines, Pascal said. "If you have a very long, shallow run-up to the coast, a lot of the energy can be dissipated over that run-up, but if it is a very steep shelf before you get to the coast, the wave height can be higher," he said. FORESHOCKS AND AFTERSHOCKS Wednesday's quake has already triggered at least 10 aftershocks above magnitude 5, and they could continue for months, said Caroline Orchiston, director of the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. "This demonstrates that large-magnitude earthquakes generate aftershock sequences that start immediately, and some of these can be damaging in their own right," she said. The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a "foreshock". "Earthquakes by their nature are unpredictable," said Pascal. "There are no precursors that are scientifically consistent in earthquake sequences. Before this morning, those other ones were the main shocks." Bigger aftershocks cannot entirely be ruled out, he added, but their magnitude and frequency normally tend to decrease over time. "You can expect large aftershocks to continue for some time, but the frequency of large, damaging events will reduce as time goes on," he said. "There is always a chance of a larger event, but that larger event will usually occur relatively soon after, within days or weeks." (Reporting by David Stanway;Editing by Alison Williams)
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
5 Used Luxury Cars That Are a Good Investment for Retirees
A used luxury car can give retirees the chance to drive a high-quality vehicle and enjoy its premium features without paying the brand-new price tag. Discover More: Read Next: 'Cars depreciate most rapidly when they're new. It's not uncommon for a new car to depreciate by 50% over the first five years,' said Melanie Musson, auto industry expert with 'If you can find a vehicle that is four or five years old, you can take advantage of a vehicle that has already gone through the bulk of its depreciation. You'll pay less, and your car will lose value more slowly.' According to experts, here are five used luxury cars that are a good investment for retirees. Cadillac CT5 'The CT5 is one of the most reliable vehicles, so when you invest in one, you shouldn't have to worry about frequent, expensive repairs,' Musson explained. The vehicle also comes with a six-year, 70,000-mile powertrain warranty. If something should happen to the engine, transmission or powertrain during that time, Cadillac will take care of it, she added. 'The CT5 delivers a smooth ride that's hard to beat,' Musson wrote. 'It is equipped with excellent safety features that will help drivers avoid accidents and stay safe if an accident occurs.' For You: Lexus RX 350 The Lexus RX 350 is best known for its comfort, reliability and premium interior. It also has lower maintenance costs than similar luxury vehicles. 'Lexus vehicles, especially the RX models, tend to hold their value well, and have lower maintenance costs compared to other luxury brands,' explained Joe Giranda, a car expert and director of sales and marketing at CFR Classic. 'Plus, they come with advanced safety features, making it a great option for retirees who prioritize comfort and peace of mind.' Mercedes-Benz E-Class The Mercedes-Benz E-Class combines high-tech features with luxury. In addition, if you buy certified pre-owned, it comes with warranty coverage, according to Giranda. 'Used models, particularly those from recent years, are packed with comfort features and advanced technology,' Giranda pointed out. 'Mercedes-Benz vehicles are engineered for longevity, and when properly maintained, they can offer years of reliable service.' Lexus LS 400 If you want a full-size luxury sedan, then the Lexus LS 400 is a must. The 400 offers ergonomic seating and an intuitive infotainment system. 'The 400 is an excellent investment for retirees,' Musson stated. 'If you can afford to be comfortable in your retirement, you should prioritize your driving experience.' It's also one of the most reliable. According to Musson, the 400 often reaches 300,000 miles of dependable service. Acura MDX The Acura MDX, a mid-size crossover SUV, is a solid investment for retirees. Musson noted that the MDX is a good investment for retirees, and most owners love their MDX and would recommend it to others. 'It's a good size for seniors and is one of the more easy cars to climb into and out of,' she added. 'The roomy interior is comfortable for the driver and passengers. It's a great car for road-tripping and hanging out with friends or grandchildren.' More From GOBankingRates 10 Used Cars That Will Last Longer Than the Average New Vehicle This article originally appeared on 5 Used Luxury Cars That Are a Good Investment for Retirees
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
I Have Driven Over 250 Car Models: These Are the 3 Best and Worst for Your Money
With so many models and options on the market, choosing the right car for your money isn't easy. The wrong choice leaves you trapped in a money pit, draining your finances with repair costs, poor gas mileage and lack of options to recoup your investment. But the right car purchase serve you well for years with affordable upkeep, great fuel economy and strong resale value. Find Out: Check Out: To help you get the most bang for your buck, we spoke to Melanie Musson, an auto industry expert with to get her opinion on the car models she thinks are the best value, as well as which are the worst. Best Values Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact sedan with great fuel efficiency, with an EPA rating of up to 36 mpg combined for models with the 1.5L turbo engine. The base model 2024 Honda Civic LX has a starting MSRP of $23,950. Don't let the small size fool you — the Civic's well-designed interior gives you plenty of room for passengers and cargo. Its strong resale value and low maintenance costs make it a smart choice for those seeking a dependable and economical vehicle. 'They have very few problems even when they reach high mileage,' said Musson. 'They're luxurious at a budget price.' Good To Know: Honda Odyssey If you're looking for a minivan, the Honda Odyssey is a great pick. The cavernous interior provides comfortable seating for up to eight passengers, and the powerful V6 engine delivers smooth performance while still achieving a respectable 22 mpg combined. The starting MSRP is $38,240, and it will serve you well for over 200,000 miles with just routine maintenance. 'The Honda Civic and Honda Odyssey are two of the most reliable vehicles,' said Musson. 'Their safety features make you feel secure.' Subaru Outback The Subaru Outback is a rugged midsize SUV with all-wheel-drive capability and solid fuel efficiency at 29 mpg combined. The roomy interior carries a lot of cargo. Subaru is also known for its durability — you should expect it to last well beyond 200,000 miles with proper maintenance. 'Subaru Outbacks are great buys for your money,' Musson said. 'The all-wheel-drive standard feature is hard to beat. The interior has a great, user-friendly design. They're workhorses and will provide reliable service for years.' Worst Values Ram 2500/3500 Diesel If you're in the market for a truck, you may want to think twice about the diesel engine RAM 2500 or 3500. You might be drawn to the macho image of heavy-duty trucks, but diesel engines require more expensive maintenance and repairs. 'One of the worst vehicles for your money is a Ram diesel,' Musson said. 'The parts on a diesel truck are ridiculously expensive. Not every mechanic will work on a diesel, so your options for repair shops are limited. The parts fail, and you'll need repairs frequently.' But what makes these trucks a bad value is their poor fuel economy. With an estimated 15-20 mpg combined, you'll spend big bucks at the pump. Diesel fuel also tends to be more expensive than gas, which will add up over time. Land Rover Range Rover Another worst buy, according to Musson, is the Land Rover Range Rover. While they're undeniably stylish, she says they're a maintenance nightmare. 'Their starting price is high, so you'd expect reliability,' said Musson. 'That's not the case though. They're one of the least reliable vehicles, and they're frustrating when parts start breaking down.' The starting MSRP for the 2024 model is $107,400. For most buyers, these luxury SUVs just aren't worth the financial pain. Ford Focus The Ford Focus has been a popular choice for car buyers on a budget for a long time. Ford has recently stopped making the Focus. You might be tempted to get an even better bargain by picking up a used one. But even for the price, they underperform consistently. One of the main issues is poor reliability. 'Skip the Ford Focus,' said Musson. 'It's a budget car to begin with, so at least you're not spending a ton on the purchase price. However, it's the kind of car that just has a lot of annoying problems like window electronics that stop working and a noisy ride.' You might get a great deal upfront, but the high likelihood of costly repairs and low resale value make it a poor choice. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth This article originally appeared on I Have Driven Over 250 Car Models: These Are the 3 Best and Worst for Your Money
