Japan earthquake rocks Edwards Aquifer

Less than 15 minutes after the earthquake in Japan, the water level at the J-17 well of the Edwards Aquifer started to vibrate. For two hours is oscillated like a seismograph.

It's not uncommon for earthquakes to cause movements in monitoring wells, Geary Schindel, chief technical officer at the Edwards Aquifer Authority, said in an email. Given the 9.0 magnitude of the Japanese earthquake, he said, similar vibrations would be found in wells around the world.

At the J-17 well the initial vibrations were more than a foot high and then quickly tapered to movements of a few inches.

The J-17 well has also recorded earthquakes in Chile, Sumatra, Haiti, Mexico, San Francisco and Alaska.

No damage was reported because of the water movement. To see an image of the well readings visit: http://bit.ly/japansa.