Richard Walker
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richardthomasw.bsky.social
Richard Walker
@richardthomasw.bsky.social

Geologist studying earthquakes, active faults, and regional tectonics. Based at Oxford University. You can find out more about my work at https://quakesincentralasia.org

Chemistry 20%
Geology 20%
UTTERLY SURREAL LOW ANGLE GLACIER SLIDE!! 😮😱

On Saturday at 11:00 am, a 2 km-long, 25 m-high, and 150-200 m in width section detached off the Ismoil Somoni Glacier (Tajikistan) and slid down the gorge! 🧊🌊

asiaplustj.info/en/node/354309
📽️ via @volcaholic1

Reposted by Richard Walker

Published in #GJI Geophysical Journal International: "Fault creep in the fluid-rich Kura Basin, Azerbaijan, imaged with InSAR", Johnson et al. This is Fig. 11: read the paper at academic.oup.com/gji/article/... @oxfordacademic.bsky.social @royalastrosoc.bsky.social

Reposted by Richard Walker

Zakeria Shnizai was featured on the BBC Science in Action podcast this week, speaking about the recent #earthquakes in #Afghanistan and the main causes of the country’s vulnerability to earthquakes

Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
BBC Sounds - Music. Radio. Podcasts
Listen without limits, with BBC Sounds. Catch the latest music tracks, discover binge-worthy podcasts, or listen to radio shows - all whenever you want.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Richard Walker

Reposted by Richard Walker

Section 👇 from Shnizai & Walker in Tektonika 2024 @wearetektonika.bsky.social shows structure of Jalalabad basin, E #Afghanistan.
It's not right across the recent #earthquake but more to the W. The earthquake may have occurred on a thrust fault equivalent to the one to the left of the section. 1/2 ⚒️

Yes, completely. We were just passing through and had a short stop

We happened to visit the rupture today, on their anniversary!

Reposted by Richard Walker

2 August 1885 21:20 UT (2:20 of 3rd LT)
M6.9-7.6 earthquake destroyed Belodovskoe and Karabalta, west of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), killing 54 people. Other Northern Tien Chan EQs in 1887, 1889 and 1911.
caiag.kg/en/projects/...
academic.oup.com/gji/article/...
nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83045...

Reposted by Richard Walker

Eos @eos.org · Feb 27
Deep groundwater may be more common than once thought and could offer solutions to water scarcity in some parts of the world, write Claudia Bertoni @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social + colleagues from Ruden AS.

eos.org/opinions/dee...
Deep Groundwater Might Be a Sustainable Solution to the Water Crisis - Eos
Scientists are finding fresh groundwater buried deep underground, but questions remain about the scale of these resources, how they’re resupplied, and whether they can be used sustainably.
eos.org

Reposted by Richard Walker

Very happy to share this documentary that documents some of the work of our team and our collaborators in learning more about the earthquakes of Central Asia. @jrarrowsmith.bsky.social
SPEECHLESS BEFORE / AFTER #BLATTEN

The magnitude of destruction after the 3:24 pm collapse of Birch Glacier is immense! 😱

All the forest has been razed and the ice/wood/debris dammed the Lonza river 🌊

Some buildings of Blatten are buried 🏠

📷 Pomona

Reposted by Richard Walker

Watch the ground break and move during the magnitude 7.7 #Myanmar #earthquake. This footage shows the incredible power of the earthquake that devastated parts of Myanmar and #Thailand. My thoughts are with the people impacted by this event. 💔

🧪⚒️

Reposted by Richard Walker

10 May 1997 7:58 UT
Mw7.3 Zirkuh earthquake along Abiz Fault, east of Qaen, South Khorasan, NE Iran, destroyed 10,000 houses, killing 1567 people in Iran and 5 in Afghanistan. The seismic sequence begun in 1968.
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...
doi.org/10.1111/j.13...
nyshistoricnewspapers.org

Reposted by Richard Walker

1 May 1929 15:38 UT
Mw7.2 earthquake and aftershocks, in the Kopet Dag, at Iran-Turkmenistan border, destroyed villages and caused 3800 deaths, most in Iran. The Quchan 1871-95 EQs were in the same fault zone.
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...
jstor.org/stable/74468...
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Reposted by Richard Walker

25 April 1966 23:23 UT (5:23 of 26th LT)
Mw5.2 earthquake destroyed Tashkent, Uzbekistan, killing 15 to 200 people and leaving 300,000 homeless - very shallow and near urban center.
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...
doi.org/10.1016/j.so...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Ta...
e-newspaperarchives.ch

Reposted by Richard Walker

We are excited to be a part of a new multidisciplinary research initiative for sustainable natural resources. The Oxford EARTH programme aims to address the challenges in natural resources underpinning the net zero energy transition 🌎

Reposted by Richard Walker

A short introduction to the Miocene paleogeography of #Almeria and the #Alboran sea by Hannah Fry ‘Geology is cool man..’

youtube.com/shorts/jt9Wv...
The Mediterranean Sea wasn't always a sea
YouTube video by Hannah Fry
youtube.com

Our blog has been a bit quiet over these winter months, but I have added a new article describing our recent trip to Morocco, working with scientists from Mohammed V University in Rabat to understand more about earthquake sources around the Atlas mountains.

quakesincentralasia.org/research-upd...
Earthquakes in North Africa: a reconnaissance of active faulting along the margins of the Atlas mountains of Morocco – Earthquakes in Central Asia
quakesincentralasia.org

The team is now fully assembled for the Atlas mountains fieldtrip! Looking forward to seeing some faults tomorrow

These deep water sources are likely to be increasingly important, but we know so little of their global distribution due to lack of data and study. Repurposed industrial data may hold the key!

Many thanks for the link @dpmanchee.bsky.social

Reposted by Richard Walker

A new study highlights the rising risks of sliding slopes in High Mountain Asia nsidc.org/news-analyse...

Supplementing the research paper, the researchers released a new dataset, the 'High Mountain Asia Daily 5km Landslide HazaAccrd Indicator'.

@davepetley.bsky.social @richardthomasw.bsky.social
Rising risks of sliding slopes in High Mountain Asia
A new study has predicted an increase in landslide hazards in High Mountain Asia. The study authors linked higher emissions of greenhouse gases to the potential for higher risks from landslides.
nsidc.org

Reposted by Richard Walker

Beautiful 3D view of the surface rupture from the last event in Southern Tibet

1.95.66.59/t/3b94a72379...
西藏定日6.8级地震地表破裂带
1.95.66.59

Reposted by Richard Walker

16 December 1902 5:07 UT
M6.4 earthquake, near Andijan, Uzbekistan, near border with Kyrgyzstan, destroyed entire villages, killing 4722 people. Destructive aftershocks for two days.
ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/h...
caiag.kg/en/projects/...
nyshistoricnewspapers.org
trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

The 'Get it in 10' podcast series is aimed at high school students, featuring scientists talking about their work.

I recorded one on continental collisions, which you can find here, thanks Harri for the invite! @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social @uk-comet.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/0L0j...
S2E4 The collision boundary
Get it in 10 · Episode
open.spotify.com

My first post on here. A view of folded basin sediments viewed across the waters of the Toktogul reservoir, #Kyrgyzstan. I am going to start putting on news, field photos, updates relating to #earthquake research with a central Asia focus.