Deadly Japan Earthquake Upgraded to 9.0-Magnitude

NASA map of Japan foreshocks and aftershocks — This map shows the location of the March 11 earthquake, as well as the foreshocks (dotted lines), including a 7.2-magnitude event on March 9, and aftershocks (solid lines). The size of each circle represents the magnitude of the associated quake or shock. The map also includes land elevation data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and ocean bathymetry data from the British Oceanographic Data Center.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at a depth of 15.2 miles (24.4 km) beneath the seafloor.

(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

The deadly earthquake that struck Japan last week has been upgraded from an 8.9 to a 9.0-magnitude, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced today (March 14).

This magnitude places the earthquake as the fourth largest in the world since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings began 130 years ago, according to the USGS.

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The temblor ruptured 231 miles (373 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo and 80 miles (130 km) east of Sendai, Honshu, in the Pacific Ocean near the Japan Trench. The Japan Trench is a subduction zone, where the Pacific plate — beneath the Pacific Ocean — dives underneath the North American plate — beneath Japan. This violent movement, called thrust faulting, forced the North American plate upward in this latest quake.

Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.