On March 27, 1964, the second-largest earthquake in recorded history struck southern Alaska. “Suddenly 114 people were killed, thousands were left homeless, more than 50,000 square miles of the state was tilted to new altitudes, and the resulting property damage disrupted the state's economy,” wrote USGS geologists in a paper that followed the event. Twenty-five years minus three days later, the massive oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. The resulting 11 million-gallon spill is today considered one of the world’s worst ecological disasters. This week, Alaska is commemorating the anniversaries of two of its worst disasters with events across the state. Here today, we have a panel of experts ready to answer your questions about the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Good Friday Earthquake. The panel:
• Angela Day, doctoral candidate and author of Red Light to Starboard: Recalling the Exxon Valdez Disaster
• John Cloe, Alaska historian
• Sara Bornstein, Alaska State Library historical collections librarian
• David P. Schwartz, geologist with the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.
• Gary Fuis, geophysicist with the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.
• Andrew Goldstein, curator of collections at the Valdez City Museum
• Cindi Preller, tsunami program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Region
• Joel Curtis, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Juneau
• Toby Sullivan, director of the Kodiak Maritime Museum
• and James Brooks, editor of the Capital City Weekly newspaper and author of 9.2: Kodiak Island and the World's Second-Largest Earthquake.
Panelists will be rotating in and out throughout the day as their schedules allow. If your question isn't answered immediately -- don't worry! Someone will get to it.
Prior to Exxon Valdez, what kinds of safety measures existed - both on the tankers as well as land based reaction - to deal with these kinds of spills?
Was the scope of the damage simply due to unpreparedness for a spill of that magnitude, or were there mistakes leading up to it and in the response that might have prevented it from reaching the levels that it did?
What kind of reforms in the tanker business have we seen in reaction to the spill, and have they proven effective?
The magnitude estimate is 9.2.We don't use the term Richter magnitude anymore. That was a a specific magnitude measurement from a specific instrument that is no longer in use. This magnitude is called a moment magnitude and it is based on length and width of the rupture (its area) and the average amount of slip along the rupture plane. The largest recorded event is the 1960 M9.5 Chile earthquake. Both are huge ruptures
Thanks for doing this AMA!
Although Alaska is certainly part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," it doesn't spring to mind as quickly as say California when it comes to earthquake risk. A couple of questions:
What new regulations (if any) made their way into building plans, building codes, or in general the way structures were built and/or cities were planned in Alaska in the wake of the earthquake?
Before the Kodiak Island quake, what were some other notable quakes in Alaska's history?
What (if any) precautions did Alaska natives take to mitigate risk from quakes? What does Alaska native lore have to say about quakes?
Thanks again for doing this! Any answers are appreciated.
So I looked around, and I noticed that there've been a number of oil spills larger than the Exxon Valdez. Were those comparable ecological disasters? If not, what made the Exxon Valdez so damaging? If so, how did their cleanup efforts compare, and do those disasters have similar levels of awareness as the Exxon Valdez in the US?
Thanks!
edit: And a huge thank you for the comprehensive answers!
How is the state commemorating the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Is blame assigned? I wonder if you could reflect briefly upon how the efforts to memorialize these events treat the natural event of the earthquake, which caused many deaths, versus the Exxon spill - which caused no deaths but an environmental calamity. Does the recentness of the second event alter the discourse of those involved in the commemorative activity? Do people still feel victimized?
Thanks for the AMA!
The 1964 earthquake is something that those who live in the mainland US don't usually hear about, other than rare, vague references. What was the impact of the change of altitude of the state, if there was one? Were there any positive results from the quake - say, an increase in regulations, a new method of detection, etc? How deeply remembered is this earthquake in Alaska, and was the public memory of the event comparable to Hurricane Katrina in the years following the quake?
Thanks so much for your time! :)
How far did the oil spread? Did the spill hitched a ride on the currents and spread to Canada or Japan?
Thanks for your time, you mention the "second largest earthquake in recorded history", what did this earthquake measure on the Richter scale?
Why was third mate Gregory Cousins not prosecuted for his role in the Exxon Valdez disaster? From the research I have done, it seems like he is the person most responsible for the grounding of the ship.
A few years ago a Tanker captain did an AMA and claimed that Cousins was arguing with his girlfriend(who was the lookout) and his inattention during this time lead to the grounding. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9sszo/iama_captain_of_an_oil_tanker_amaa/c0ea0qh
Is this an accurate assessment?
Pictures of the Alaskan earthquake show huge fissures or cracks in the aftermath.
How deep were the fissures in this earthquake and were there any stories of people getting swallowed or lost in these cracks?
Does anyone have questions on the 1964 Tsunamis?
Has there been any significant progress in changing the way oil companies operate after these disasters happened in Alaska?