Is it possible that the Three Gorges d**n in China is the culprit of the recent earthquake in Sichuan?

Question

just trying to take a step out of the tectonic plate theory considering modern scientific approaches can be rather two dimensional. If the India-Tibet collision was 50% responsible for the recent plate slide then what else might be held accountable? Some things to consider would be the amount weight shifted from displaced Sichuan inhabitants vs displaced water or both ...

Answer 1

No a dam does not have an effect on earthquakes. It is the movement of the tectonic plates underground.

Answer 2

No.  Dams and river courses don't cause earthquakes, although they are sometimes affected by quakes.  For instance, the Mississippi flowed backward for a time and it changed its course in part of the river after the series of 3 earthquakes at the New Madrid Fault in 1811-1812.

Thrusting on reverse fault causes China earthquake  

www.chinaview.cn  2008-05-13 11:19:19      Print



Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    LONDON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A magnitude-7.8 earthquake which occurred on Monday in China's southwest Sichuan province appears to have been caused by thrusting on a reverse fault, a seismologist here said.

    "Today's earthquake appears to have been due to thrusting on a NE-SW fault," Dr. Brian Baptie at British Geological Survey (BGS) told Xinhua in an telephone interview.

    The epicenter was in the mountains of the Eastern Margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the tectonics are related to the India-Tibet collision and subsequent extrusion, the BGS Seismic Monitoring and Information Service Project leader explained.

    The seismologist said earthquakes of this size have the potential to cause extensive damage and loss of life tens of kilometers from the epicenter.

    The 7.8-magnitude quake jolted Wenchuan County of China's southwestern Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT) Monday, claiming thousands of lives in eight affected provinces and municipalities.

Answer 3

No, somebody tried to see what happens if you get everybody in China to jump up and down at the same time.

Answer 4

The earthquake was six and a half miles down!!

There is no way that the lake formed by the dam could effect that even if the weight of water was a hundred time more!!

Answer 5

If anything (and this is a stretch) it played a very small part.  We are talking miniscule.  The forces that created the earthquake were already underway.  The extra weight of the dammed water may have instigated (again, to a very small extent) the earthquake but there is no way the actual dam did anything other than contain the water.  It is an interesting question, and I'll bet you someone is investigating right now.

Answer 6

I don't know where Editor went to school. The amount of water stored behind the Three Gorges d**n certainly could change plate tectonics the weight of the water in such a huge impoundment, not only can, but will make changes in geologic tectonics actually it was a major consideration in the finale decision for the site location of the Three Gorges dam.

To answer your question, No, the weight of the water in the T.G.D. was not a facter in the resent earth quake in China.

Answer 7

Rivers do not affect, in any way, the movement of tectonic plates miles below the earth's surface.