Tag archives for Indonesia
Posted by An 8.6-magnitude earthquake, and a strong aftershock, struck off the coast of Indonesia yesterday. The earthquake was followed by a small tsunami, unlike the December 2004 earthquake, which was followed by a major tsunami. “The waves were just below 1 meter [3.3 feet],” said Emile Okal, a geophysicist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. “That is significant, but it’s not going to do much damage.”
The major earthquake that devastated Japan last year had a magnitude of 8.9 and triggered a deadly tsunami.
Read more about Wednesday’s earthquake on National Geographic News.
Read about the 2011 earthquake in Japan on News Bites.
Photograph by Heri Juanda, AP
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Scientists have observed chimps using tools to get food, but scientists were surprised to see octopuses using tools–and not for food-gathering, either! As seen in the video above, octopuses near Indonesia were seen using the coconut shells as mobile shelters. Sometimes they would even fit two halves of a coconut together to make a hiding place. Even though the octopuses moved more slowly carrying coconut shells, they always have a place to hide from predators if they bring them along.
The sight of the octopuses moving across the ocean floor carrying the coconut shells wasn’t just surprising. It was also very funny! “It was hard not to laugh underwater and flood your [scuba] mask,” said biologist Mark Norman.
Read more about the coconut-carrying octopus on National Geographic News.
Learn more about octopuses on National Geographic Kids.
Findings published by the journal Current Biology
Video courtesy Museum Victoria
