AMESBURY — Seismic waves pulsated all the way from yesterday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan to Amesbury hours after the tremor.
Don't believe it?
Just ask Amesbury Middle School science teacher Gale Regis and her students, who watched seismic waves register on a seismograph in their classroom.
While the local students shared in the heartache felt worldwide, Regis said the science on earthquakes has been fascinating for students to see in action.
"(The students) are going crazy," Regis said yesterday. "They're coming in so excited."
A monitor in the hallway also posted the data collected by Regis' seismograph so the rest of the school could follow the developments.
The massive earthquake hit Japan just around 1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time yesterday and resulted in a monstrous tsunami that is believed to have killed hundreds of people.
Earthquakes are a daily occurrence all around the world, including here in the Merrimack Valley. Some are so minor they are never felt on the surface, and others are massive like the one in Japan.
When strong earthquakes occur, they send out seismic waves all around the world.
"They liken it to throwing a rock and watching the ripples go in all directions," Regis said.
The waves don't stop until they run out of energy.
Regis' seismograph can pick up those waves from large earthquakes that are stronger than 6.2 on the Richter scale. Yesterday's earthquake is the biggest tremor Regis' seismograph has recorded. She received the device through a grant from the Amesbury Educational Foundation four years ago.
Since September, Regis' students have learned about earthquakes and how and why they happen. From the start of the school year through January, a seismologist visited the classroom once a week to teach a class.
Along with following the Japan quake, Regis' students have seen seismic waves coming from earthquakes in New Zealand, Antarctica and Concord, N.H.
See the waves
If you want to see the seismograph's data, visit Gale Regis' website at www.amesburyma.gov/webpages/gregis/index.cfm?subpage=231453, go to related links and click on AMS Seismograph.
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
