No Link Between 'Super Moon' and Earthquakes

上周六晚現身的“超級月亮”照亮瞭各國的夜空，同時也打破瞭其與日本地震相關的傳言。據報道，周六晚間月球與地球之間的距離不到36萬公裡，為兩者之間最近的距離，這種現象叫做“最大近地點”，每18年才會發生一次。之前網上傳言，“超級月亮”現身期間，地球會出現地震、洪水以及火山爆發等自然災害。而在日本特大地震發生後，這一說法引起瞭更多網友的關註。對此，美國地質學傢表示，雖然地月距離引發的潮汐變化會對地質活動產生輕微的影響，但日本大地震是多種地質條件共同影響的結果，與“超級月亮”並無明顯關聯。另外，日本地震發生時月亮並未處於離地球最近的位置，而當時海洋潮汐也處於相對最低潮期間，因此，將日本地震歸罪於“超級月亮”是不合理的。 The 'maximal perigee' on Saturday night has only a minimal effect on seismic activity and cannot be linked with last week's earthquakes in Japan. The rare lunar occurrence, when Earth's natural satellite is only a mere 356,575 kilometers out in orbit, brings the moon to its closest position to Earth. This phenomenon of extreme proximity, known as 'maximal perigee,' only occurs once every 18 years. In addition to appearing to be uncommonly big to stargazers, the moon will also be in its full phase. However, what some might see as an interesting astronomical event raises concerns for others. Despite opinions being dispersed over the Internet that the 'super moon' will lead to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions, geologist Bill Burton with the US Geological Survey says that this is unlikely. "There are just too many factors that go into seismic activity to make that statement," Burton told Discovery News. "I think you'd be hard pressed to see a difference in tectonic activity during different lunar phases." Severe natural disasters such as the earthquake off the coast of Japan last week can raise questions about all of the factors involved. Research geophysicist Malcom Johnston with the USGS says that blaming such events on the moon's orbit is not a new idea. "This idea of blaming natural disasters on the phases of the moon goes way back to the Greeks. It has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years," Johnston said. These ideas, Burton adds, are largely unfounded. He noted, however, that a higher tide does have a very slight effect on tectonic activity. "Obviously the oceans are affected by the moon; whether it causes earthquakes is under debate," Burton said. "Some minor, very shallow quakes might take place during full tide and perigee." He explained that an increase in water pressure caused by the lunar phases might cause very minor tremors, but only if other conditions were already aligned for an earthquake to occur. Seismologists theorize that the higher tide could cause an earthquake to occur just a few days or hours earlier than it would have at normal tide. "This might be the little push that would cause the tectonic plates to slip," Johnston told Discovery News. "Overall, the effect is negligible. But if you take data on ten thousand earthquakes, you can show there is a significant correlation between minor quakes and where the moon is in its orbit. Looking at one quake, no." While the phases of the moon might have a minimal effect on small movements of the tectonic plates, Burton says that the correlation with major seismic activity is near nonexistent. He also stressed that the maximal perigee had nothing to do with the events in Japan. "The Japanese quake didn't occur while the moon was close to Earth at all, so we can't link those events. It occurred a week before the lunar perigee, while the ocean was at weak tide." Burton predicts that the only earthly change that will occur because of the moon's increased proximity will be a slightly higher tide.