Could Japan become the next Atlantis?
By speakeasy
@speakeasy (4171)
United States
March 16, 2011 3:50pm CST
By now everyone knows about the disaster that happenned in Japan - 8.9 earthquake followed by a massive tsunami.
But, how many of you know that the island of Japan moved 8 feet (2.4 meters) and the axis of the Earth moved 4 inches (10 cm)?
Japan is still getting large after shocks and as we all know it is located in part of the "ring of fire" - a tectonicly unstable area know for volcanoes, earthquakes and moving tectonic plates. In this incident the tecronic plates slipped more than 18 meters (55 feet).
See this article for more details - http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-12/world/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth_1_tsunami-usgs-geophysicist-quake?_s=PM:WORLD
Even small children have heard the story of Atlantis - an island nation that sank beneath the sea.
As the earth appears to be becoming more and more unstable with massive quakes becoming more common; is it possible that Japan could also sink beneath the waves?
Is there any way to prepare for such a catastrophe? Are there warning signs that can be observed in enough time to save the people there?
We all joke about California falling into the ocean after a massive earthquake. Is the loss of Japan any less likely?
2 people like this
13 responses
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
16 Mar 11
I suppose it is likely. Has Atlantis been proven? I always thought that was a old tale that no one knew was really true or not. I think if I were living there I'd be finding a new place to live. Although i guess a lot of them probably have to anyways. There is also that thing going around about all these disasters happening on the 11th of the month. I don't know if it really is a sign or if it's a coincidence.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Actually, a Yahoo article this week said that Atlantis had been located, off the coast of Spain. They also drew correlation with what has happened to Japan. I think some of the legends of Atlantis having space travel, etc. are not true, but the fact is, it did exist and was engulfed by a tsunami. Survivors supposedly built "mamorial cities" further inland, in the mountains.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
16 Mar 11
The only part of Atlantis that is truly unproven is it's location (and it's actual name). There are too many early records all describing an island nation that sank beneath the "waves". Many treasure seekers are still trying to locate that site; but, if it actually was pulled into a fissure between the moving tectonic plates that site no longer exists.
1 person likes this
@investor211 (474)
• Mexico
17 Mar 11
well even its not proven about things happend in the past
we all know or believe how the earth was made things like tectonic pates everybody knows that in addition to that we have extract minerals,oil,gas,etc, from the ground, i forgot vulcanos , etc etc, what make us think that the water level cannot be raised?
ofcourse its gonna happend no matter what we do and i would like to think different but this is the reality.
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Thanks for sharing the article. I have not been following the news so it is helpful when such things are posted. As far as Japan sinking beneath the waves, that is a possibility. I don't know how likely it is, but it could happen. I hope that it doesn't because I don't know what would happen to all those people. I hope things settle down soon.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
19 Mar 11
Yes; but, it will take millenia to do that and in the meantime new land masses will form.
Even though a lot of people keep claiming that they know where Atlantis is; there is no real proof that any of these sites are anything more than cities that have slowly flooded over time.
If Atlantis was consumed by a fault - there would be nothing remaining by now.
1 person likes this
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
Glad I could help keep you aware of things. I do not think it is going to happen real soon; but, the island moving several feet is a major problem.
New Zealands last major quake resulted in the southern tip of New Zealand moving several inches closer to Australia. So for an entire island to move as far as Japan did is really our of the ordinary.
Some people think that places get closer to the faults where the plates slide under each other - move faster and further. Slippage at the actual fault was approx 55 ft - Japan moved 8 ft.
If that is true then, they are close; but, not quite there yet.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
17 Mar 11
Actually, when I was doing my geology class, I recall reading that eventually one land mass will go under the other. Perhaps that is what happened to Atlantis.
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
16 Mar 11
It is something to consider, but you wonder how many people would go ahead and move away. People insist on living near the water, even when their properties flood every year. As someone else said, they re checked the data and it was officially 9.0 on the Richter scale. I do not know how much difference that .1 makes, though. I guess I would also question if other nations or islands would come to the surface as the plates move back and forth on each other.
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
18 Mar 11
Same with people who live near the outer banks in the Carolina coastal areas and natives who live in houses on poles in other countries. I guess it is human nature.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
It is not sinking at this time and will not start to "sink" until it is almost on top of the fault where the tectonic plates are moving over each other.
Once it reaches that point, it would be pulled down toward the fault and eventually slide under the water. A shift of 8 feet (96 inches) in a few minutes as the result of ONE major quake is much faster than any other land mass at this time.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I hope you are right and as I said earlier I do not beleive it is going to happen immediately.
But, Japan was formed by the volcanoes in the "ring of fire" and once a land mass is formed it is still subject to "continental drift" which is moving the plate it sits on top of toward the plate it will eventually go under. The only question is - how long it will take for it to get there.
@thetigers (108)
• Philippines
16 Mar 11
Well, earthquakes are unpredictable, though we 'll practice some precautionaries, the truth is we're always be unprepared. knowing that Japan is the most prepared country for this matter but they have'nt able to save some of their lives, of this natural disaster. their plates are so mature enough to move, only they are expecting and really does'nt know when to expect. it was said that the magnitude was change as they found out that the movement reaches a magnitude of 9. And yes aftershocks with a high magnitudes are still on going. Hopefully it will stop, and hopefully Japan wont sink like the Atlantis.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
16 Mar 11
I do not think it will happen soon; but, everytime the plates slip it is moving Japan closer to the fissure that "could" swallow the island. We don't think much about it when something this large moves a few inches in a major quake; but, in this case it moved a LOT more than a few inches!
If this incident caused the tsunami as large as it did - how large a tsunami would be generated if Japan sank!
The earth's axis moved several inches - would Japan sinking through the planet's axis off even further!
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Sorry about the typeo - throw the earths axis off even further.
@rsa101 (38166)
• Philippines
17 Mar 11
Well if the earthquakes would continue on it could be. I hope it would not happen but I think there is always a possibility that it will happen. It is really sad to see that from happening at all. But time can only tell what can happen to Japan. It is sad that even one of the biggest economy in the world is helpless when mother nature's fury is released.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I do not think it is going to happen immediately. I think these quakes will die down like normal. But, I think that unless the world becomes more stable (and right now it seems to be less stable) more major quakes will be occuring within the next decade or two in that area.
If the entire island of Japan keeps moving at this rate (or even faster); the island will arrive at the fault and like any other land mass it will be pulled under the ocean and eventually be consumed in the fault.
Mankind cannot stop the tectonic plates from moving and even if they could stop the plates from shifting the end result might be far worse.
@jimmysun (401)
• China
17 Mar 11
i hope it wont comes...cuz Japan is also play an important role nowadays, esp. for its technoloy...people often use its technic products...i am a chinese and with the reason of history i should have hated the Japanese, but with the earthquake coming,esp.when there was an earthquake in China in 2008, Japanese give a hand to help our people, i feel warmly and for this time earthquale accured in Janpan, i hope the Japanese can be safty and be together to stand against the disaster...
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I also hope it will not happen; and, as I said in earlier responses, I do not think it will happen soon but I do think there is the possibility that in the next 100 years it could happen if the earth remains as unstable as it has been over the past decade.
I am also glad to hear that you are not prejudiced against the Japanese. History should teach us things so we do not repeat past mistakes; but, we should not dwell on history or blame people today for what people did hundreds of years ago.
@chocolatechilli (246)
• South Africa
17 Mar 11
I hope not, but they seem so vulnerable at the moment. There have been stories for years about the level of the sea rising and which countries would disapear when that happens. My city, Cape Town, apparently becomes an island. The home of my ancestors, the Netherlands, might disappear entirely as much of it is below sea level. The shocking thing about the Japan disaster(s) is how quickly it happen. I mean, there is nowhere to go, in ten minutes.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I also thought that global warming and the slow rise of the oceans would be the cause of any islands or other land that is lost over the next century. This would be a gradual loss and steps could easily be taken to delay the process or evacuate people. There will be time to deal with this process.
But, the very fact that an island the size of Japan moved 8 ft in a matter of minutes reminded me of the loss of Atlantis. It also was said to be a large island with mountains and volcanic activity; and, it was reported to have disappeared under the water in a matter of a few days.
I do not think this is getting ready to happen right now; but, out of all of the other places in the world; Japan is the next logical choice for a disaster of that magnitude.
@Eugene126 (124)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I hope Japan will not sink just like the Atlantis. Though I really don't know much about Atlantis but lets hope and pray that Japan will not sink down to the ocean. Let's pray for Japan to survive its current crisis.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I do not think it is going to happen at this time and I am praying for the Japanese people.
I just think that of all the places around the globe, Japan is currently the most likely to suffer from a major geological disaster within the next century.
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
17 Mar 11
Ok, I know that mass media is being over-sensationalist, and making up a lot of apocalyptic stories, but no, Japan isn't going to become the next Atlantis. There's no way in the actual condition of Japan for that to happen.
People love horror stories, and would make up anything to satisfy their greed for that 
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
The fact that Japan moved that far is fact.
The possiblity of Japan becoming the next Atlantis is my idea/conclusion - not the mass media, sensationalism, or an apocalyptic story.
An event like that would occur every few thousands of years and have major effects on the entire globe.
As I stated earlier, I do not think it is getting ready to happen now; but, I can see it happening within the next century. Since we have been able to actually measure continental drift and moving land masses; no other place has moved 8 feet at one time as the result of a major earthquake - they have only moved a few inches.
When Atlantis sank, humans did not have the abilities that they do now to know what is going on around the world. IF Japan continues to be hit with earthquakes of this magnitude and it continues to move at the same rate (or even faster) following those quakes - it stands to reason that they will arrive at the fault and the island will be pulled into the fault. Geological forces have never made exceptions simply because people happened to be there.
@tiffnkeat (1673)
• Singapore
17 Mar 11
Nothing is impossible, but we just pray it doesn't happen and more lives lost. It could happen to any place nowadays. It might happen to other countries before Japan.
Yes, we should pray for those who are hurting. It is so heartbreaking to see suffering.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
I hope it doesn't happen any time soon; but, right now Japan is the most logical choice.
Other major quakes in the past decade have only moved similar size land masses a few inches - this quake moved the entire island 8 feet.
@veproye31 (75)
• United States
17 Mar 11
No one knows the answers to the questions you are asking, but this is certain Japan has survived many Earthquakes.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Mar 11
Agreed, Japan has survived many earthquakes and will probably survive many more. But, this is the strongest earthquake that has hit Japan since they started measuring them in the 1800's.
To the best of my knowledge (and I might be wrong) this is the farthest any landmass has moved in a matter of minutes after any earthquake since we have been able to measure moving landmasses. All other recorded moving landmasses after an earthquake have been measured in inches - not feet.
So, if Japan continues to be hit with major quakes over the next few decades and moves at a similar rate, they are the most likely to "sink".
