First Location: Shizuoka Prefecture

Well, here I am in Shizuoka!

This city is very different from Seattle. Shizuoka is a city located in the southern area of Japan. A lot of the locals here are very interested in rugby! Who would have guessed? Also the sushi and ramen noodles here are AMAZING. Anyways, after some research, I found that earthquakes occur in Shizuoka (34°58'32.02"N 138°22'57.94"E) about every hundred years. In fact, it happens so periodically and consistently that the earthquakes have been given a name and are called the Tokai Earthquakes. The Tokai Earthquakes are known to be of disastrous proportions. In March of 2011, the Shizuoka Prefecture was hit with another supposed Tokai Earthquake that had a magnitude of 6.2. Although the initial earthquake did not hurt the city too much, another earthquake with a magnitude of 9 hit a week later and devastated the city of Shizuoka. Luckily, the city has been doing well in recovering from the impact and is faring well today.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6354.html

After more research, I found that the cause of the earthquakes is not a divergent boundary, but rather a convergent subduction boundary. In a divergent boundary, two plates move apart and leave a gap for molten rock to fill in and form a boundary. Convergent boundaries are the opposite. In the case of a convergent boundary, the plates smash together and form an entirely new type of boundary. A convergent subduction boundary is a special type of boundary in which one of the plates slides under the other plate and moves into a lower layer of the earth, known as the mantle.

A diagram showing a subduction boundary

http://www.geo.cornell.edu/hawaii/220/PRI/PRI_PT_subduction.html

Shizuoka is very close to a subduction boundary. The subduction boundary is probably what causes all of these massive Tokai Earthquakes. As the plate slowly moves under Shizuoka, it causes earthquakes in the city that can be felt every hundred years or so. This solves the mystery of the recurring earthquakes in Shizuoka, but I still have no idea about my friend Jimmy! Knowing him and how he pursues his dreams, he probably went to search for a divergent boundary. After talking to a Japanese professor, I learned of another type of boundary in San Andreas, California. Maybe Jimmy has traveled there to find proof of a divergent boundary! Well, California, here I come!

See'ya around! Jerry Wu