Abstract
WALTER KNOCHE has an article with the title "La Accion Humana Como Una Causa Posible De Liberar Movimientos Sismicos"in Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina (135, Ent. IV and V, 1–41; 1943) which suggests a number of ways in which the progress of civilization can influence earth movements. A few of these will be referred to in the following brief summary. The weight of matter transported by the great rivers and deposited at their mouths depends on the denudation which takes place, and this, in turn, depends on the nature of the soil, the presence of vegetation, and other factors which are under the control of man. Variations in isostasy in the deltas of rivers as well as in the regions of denudation are, therefore, indirectly due to human agency. Then again it is pointed out that oscillations in the earth's axis might be produced by the displacements of matter through fluvial transportation, and this latter depends on man's interference with the vegetation. Another important factor is fires which destroy vegetation and so release a considerable weight over certain parts of the earth's crust. The loss of weight on land appears as an increase in the oceans, which receive a great portion of the burnt vegetation in the form of carbon and water. The weight of great cities with their inhabitants, such as San Francisco and Tokyo, is able to originate earth movements, more especially in those regions of the earth where there is a certain amount of instability. It seems possible to conduct research on the influence of re-afforestation in mitigating the danger of denudation and devastation on the earth's surface, and in this way to estimate the extent of the human factor in the production of earth disturbances.
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Man's Influence on Seismic Movements. Nature 153, 219 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153219d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153219d0