Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields

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Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields
A fishing port on the Noto Peninsula before (left) and after (right) the earthquake, showing new coastal land appeared.Geospatial Information Authority of Japan/JAXA
  • Japan's Noto Peninsula has newly exposed beaches due to the earthquake that struck Monday.
  • The quake raised land along the coast, extending the coastline by up to 820 feet in some places.
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According to satellite imagery, Japan's Noto Peninsula was rattled and slightly enlarged when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck on January 1.

Preliminary satellite analysis and on-the-ground surveys have found that the earthquake raised land along the coast — a process called uplift — by as much as 4 meters, roughly 13 feet.

Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields
Muck on the side of structures at Kaiso Fishing Port shows where they used to be underwater, after the earthquake uplifted the land. Newly exposed sea floor is visible beside the platform.Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo

That means the sea floor along the coast has now risen above the water in many places on the Noto Peninsula, creating newly exposed beaches.

Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields
A region of the western Noto Peninsula in June 2023 (left) and January 2024 (right) showing coastal expansion after the earthquake.Geospatial Information Authority of Japan/JAXA

In some places, the earthquake extended the coastline by as much as 250 meters, or about 820 feet, according to a statement from the University of Tokyo. That's about the length of 2.2 American football fields.

Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields
A gif shows how the coastline changed using two satellite images, one from June 2023 and the other from January 2024, due to uplift from the earthquake.Geospatial Information Authority of Japan/JAXA

Locals fishing in a bay on the peninsula reported that "the entire coastline was uplifted at the time of the earthquake, that the uplift in the bay occurred at the same time as the earthquake, and that the tsunami in the bay did not run up to the raised port," the university's statement said, according to a Google translation from Japanese to English.

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Space photos show Japan's 7.6-magnitude earthquake lifted land out of the sea, extending parts of its coastline by as much as 2 football fields
An area where the coastline has moved forward due to the earthquake, east of Kaiso Fishing Port, was photographed two days after the quake.Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo

The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan published a preliminary satellite analysis of the Noto Peninsula. Comparing satellite images from June 2023 with images from the days after the earthquake, the agency identified multiple regions where new coastline has emerged.

The university said its investigation along the coast was ongoing.

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