<
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20241115-the-benefits-of-precarious-boulders>
'They look like you could blow them over with a sneeze. Across the world,
thousands of "precariously balanced rocks" are perched in strange positions,
poised to topple. Once they would have been mere geological curiosities. Now
they are improving our understanding of earthquake risk.
The fact that these delicately positioned boulders still stand provides windows
into deep history, long before modern-day seismometers could measure the
shaking ground. "The only witnesses that we can consult are these precarious
rocks – they're the witnesses of what once happened," says geologist Dylan Rood
of Imperial College London in the UK.
This, in turn, is allowing us to prepare for the future, by improving the
earthquake hazard maps which inform disaster plans, insurance premiums and
building codes. These wobbly, gravity-defying rocks are even helping engineers
stress-test nuclear power plants, radioactive waste repositories and enormous
dams.'
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
