We know that the Earth’s oceans and landforms can be affected by natural processes in constructive and destructive ways. Last week (April 25th) a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. This was one of the most powerful disasters to strike Nepal in since the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake. 

To detect the changes in the earth and determine the damages, scientists have been looking at before-and-after radar images from satellites. So far, they have discovered that a region 75 miles long by 30 miles wide lifted upward as much as 3 ft during the earthquake. At the same time Mount Everest dropped about 1 inch because the Earth’s crust relaxed in some areas after the earthquake released.

Read more here.

The four year drought in California continues. Places that should be covered by feet of snow are instead just dry grassy areas. The drought has become so bad that people have had to act to try to conserve this nonrenewable resource. This is the first time that water consumption has ever been restricted. The goal is to accomplish a 25% reduction.

Read the NY TIMES article here.