At first glance, the streets of Taft, in central California, are no different from the streets of any other city. North America. Houses and gardens along wide avenues, parking lots, street lights every few steps. However, more gaze discovers that the line of the same lamps is not entirely straight, and the street seems to be twisted, as if it were taken by the ends and pulled in different directions.
The reason for these oddities is that Taft, like many of California's major urban centers, is built along the San Andreas Fault - cracks in earth's crust, 1050 km of which pass through the United States.
The strip, which stretches from the coast north of San Francisco to the Gulf of California and extends approximately 16 km inland, represents the line between two of the 12 tectonic plates on which the Earth's oceans and continents are located.
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The average thickness of these plates is about 100 km, they are located in constant movement, drifting on the surface of the liquid inner mantle and colliding with each other with monstrous force as their location changes. If they creep on top of each other, huge mountain ranges such as the Alps and Himalayas rise into the sky. However, the circumstances that gave rise to the San Andreas Fault are completely different.
Here are the edges of the North American (on which most of this continent rests) and the Pacific (which supports most California coast) tectonic plates are like poorly fitted gear teeth that do not fit one on top of the other, but also do not fit neatly into the grooves intended for them. The plates rub against one another, and the friction energy generated along their boundaries has no outlet. Where such energy accumulates in the fault determines where the next earthquake will occur and how strong it will be.
In the so-called “floating zones,” where plate movement occurs relatively freely, the accumulated energy is released in thousands of small tremors, causing virtually no damage and recorded only by the most sensitive seismographs. Other sections of the fault - they are called “locking zones” - seem completely motionless, where the plates are pressed against one another so tightly that no movement occurs for hundreds of years. The tension gradually increases until finally both plates move, releasing all the accumulated energy in a powerful jerk. Then earthquakes occur with a magnitude of at least 7 on the Richter scale, similar to the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
Between the two described above lie intermediate zones, whose activity, although not as destructive as in the castle zones, is nevertheless significant. The city of Parkfield, located between San Francisco and Los Angeles, lies in this intermediate zone. Earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 6 on the Richter scale can be expected here every 20-30 years; the last one happened in Parkfield in 1966. The phenomenon of earthquake cyclicity is unique to this region.
Since 200 AD e. There have been 12 major earthquakes in California, but it was the 1906 disaster that brought the San Andreas Fault to the attention of the whole world. This earthquake, with its epicenter in San Francisco, caused destruction over a colossal area stretching from north to south for 640 km. Along the fault line, the soil shifted 6 m in a matter of minutes - fences and trees were toppled, roads and communications systems were destroyed, water supplies stopped, and fires that followed the earthquake raged throughout the city.
As geological science has developed, more advanced measuring instruments have appeared that can constantly monitor the movements and pressure of water masses under the earth's surface. For a number of years before a major earthquake seismic activity increases slightly, so it is quite possible that they can be predicted many hours or even days in advance.
Architects and civil engineers take into account the possibility of earthquakes and design buildings and bridges that can withstand a certain amount of ground vibration. Thanks to these measures, the 1989 San Francisco earthquake destroyed mostly older structures without causing damage to modern skyscrapers.
Then 63 people died - most due to the collapse of a huge section of the double-decker Bay Bridge. According to scientists, California is facing a serious disaster in the next 50 years. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale is expected to occur in southern California, in the Los Angeles area. It could cause billions of dollars in damage and claim 17,000-20,000 lives, with smoke and fires potentially killing an additional 11.5 million people. And because frictional energy along a fault line tends to accumulate, each year that gets us closer to an earthquake increases its likely severity.
Lithospheric plates move very slowly, but not constantly. The movement of the plates occurs approximately at the rate of growth of human nails - 3-4 centimeters per year. This movement can be seen on roads that cross the San Andreas Fault: displaced road markings and signs of regular road repairs are visible at the fault site.
In the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, the asphalt of streets sometimes bulges as forces accumulating along a fault line put pressure on the mountain range. As a result, on the western side rocks shrink and crumble, annually forming up to 7 tons of fragments, which are getting closer and closer to Los Angeles.
If the strata stress is not discharged long time, then the movement occurs suddenly, with a sharp jerk. This happened during the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, when in the area of the epicenter the “left” part of California shifted relative to the “right” by almost 7 meters
The shift began 10 kilometers under the ocean floor in the San Francisco area, after which, within 4 minutes, the shear pulse spread across 430 kilometers of the San Andreas Fault - from the village of Mendocino to the town of San Juan Bautista. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. The whole city was flooded.
By the time the fires broke out, more than 75% of the city had already been destroyed, with 400 city blocks in ruins, including the center.
Two years after the devastating earthquake in 1908, geological research began, which continues to this day. Research has shown that over the past 1,500 years, major earthquakes have occurred along the San Andreas Fault approximately every 150 years.
Plate tectonics is a major process that largely shapes the appearance of the Earth. The word “tectonics” comes from the Greek “tekton” - “builder” or “carpenter”; in tectonics, plates are called pieces of the lithosphere. According to this theory, the Earth's lithosphere is formed by giant plates that give our planet a mosaic structure. It is not continents that move across the surface of the earth, but lithospheric plates. Moving slowly, they carry continents and the ocean floor with them. The plates collide with each other, squeezing out the earth's surface in the form of mountain ranges and mountain systems, or are pushed deeper, creating ultra-deep depressions in the ocean. Their mighty activity is interrupted only by brief catastrophic events - earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Almost all geological activity is concentrated along plate boundaries.
San Andreas Fault The thick line running down from the center of the picture is a perspective view of the famous California fault San Andreas. The image created using data collected by SRTM (Radar Topographic Imaging) will be used by geologists to study the dynamics of faults and the shapes of the Earth's surface resulting from active tectonic processes. This segment of the fault is located west of Palmdale, California, about 100 km northwest of Los Angeles. The fault represents an active tectonic boundary between the North American Plate on the right and the Pacific Plate on the left. In relation to each other, the Pacific platform is away from the viewer, and the North American platform is towards the viewer. Two large mountain ranges are also visible: the San Gabriel Mountains on the left and the Tehachapi Mountains on the upper right. Another fault, the Garlock, lies at the foot of the Tehachapi Range. The San Andreas and Garlock faults meet in the center of the image near the town of Gorman. In the distance, above the Tehachapi Mountains, lies California's Central Valley. Antelope Valley can be seen along the base of the hills on the right side of the image.
The San Andreas Fault runs along the line of contact between two tectonic plates - the North American and Pacific. The plates move relative to each other by about 5 cm per year. This leads to strong tension in the cortex and regularly causes strong earthquakes with its epicenter on the fault line. Well, small tremors happen here all the time. Until now, despite the most careful observations, signs of the coming major earthquake it didn't work out.
The San Andreas Fault, which cuts across the west coast of North America, is a transform fault, that is, one where two plates slide along each other. Near transform faults, earthquake foci are shallow, usually less than 30 km below the Earth's surface. Two tectonic plates in the San Andreas system they move relative to each other at a speed of 1 cm per year. The stresses caused by the movement of the plates are absorbed and accumulated, gradually reaching a critical point. Then, instantly, the rocks crack, the plates shift and an earthquake occurs.
Often, some time after the birth of the first or subsequent children, disagreements arise in the family, since the head of the family is not one hundred percent sure that he is the father. The only way out One of the ways to solve this situation is to conduct a DNA test to check the degree of relationship between the child and his parents. In many regional centers and just major cities(for example, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, etc.) there are special medical clinics, where you can take everything necessary tests and do a genetic examination.
How to do a DNA paternity test?
A DNA test, which can be used to check paternity, is carried out in special laboratories. For this procedure, certain genetic material is taken from the child and his intended father (or even fathers), which can be saliva, drops of blood, sperm, hair, or nails. If possible, then for greater accuracy of the result, biomaterial from the baby’s mother is also provided. Then a comparison of the transmitted particles is made, and on the basis of this, a general positive or negative verdict is made, which is recorded in documents.
In addition to paternity testing, clinics provide the following tests:
- definition of motherhood;
- research using the test of sisterhood and brotherhood;
- DNA test during pregnancy, which allows you to check the presence or absence of genetic diseases of the unborn child;
- genetic analysis of the compatibility of the organ donor and the person to whom these organs will be transplanted (carried out in order to check whether the transplanted organs will take root).
What is needed for a DNA paternity test?
A paternity test can be done voluntarily or by order of the court. In the second case, the degree family connection usually required to check during a divorce in order to force ex-spouse pay alimony.
First of all, you need to choose a high-quality clinic where you can check your wife’s fidelity in this way and perform this procedure. The next step is the collection and provision of genetic material. At the end of the test you must pay. Experts will determine the results from three days to two weeks.
After completing the procedure, the clinic provides a document on which the data obtained is officially approved. If the analysis was carried out at the direction of the court, then this result must be sent to the relevant authorities, which are obliged to draw their conclusions from it in favor of the father or mother.
Cost of DNA paternity test
This test is not cheap. Its minimum cost can reach five thousand rubles, while the maximum price fluctuates around 20-30 thousand.
For example, in Moscow the average price for paternity testing is about 11 thousand rubles. If not only the father, but also the mother of the child wants to do the analysis, it will be necessary to pay another fifteen hundred. If several fathers or several children participate in the procedure, the cost will increase by another 7 thousand. Residents of Moscow can get an urgent test by paying 14 thousand, and for the use of non-standard genetic material another 5 thousand is added to the price. Moscow clinics also provide the opportunity to collect material directly from the people being analyzed at home, and this will cost them a thousand rubles.
However, such high prices (and not only in Moscow) are due to the maximum reliability of the results, because the degree of relationship can only be verified with a 99.9% guarantee using this procedure.
Where to make DNA text in Moscow and St. Petersburg
As already mentioned, this procedure has gained the greatest popularity in large cities, since that is where it is in greatest demand. Maximum amount clinics where you can do this procedure and check paternity are located in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
DNA paternity testing in Moscow can be done in the following clinics:
- Scientific Center for Molecular Genetic Research DNAOM
- Clinic Crede Experto
- Medgorod Medical Center
- Multidisciplinary medical Center Guta Clinic
- Aqua Med Clinic
- Medical Center Petrovsky Gate, etc.
You can get a DNA test in St. Petersburg by contacting the following genetic laboratories:
- Medistar Medical Center
- Medical Center A.N. Sokolova
- Family Clinic Andromeda
- Medical Center Panorama Med. and etc.
Can a DNA paternity test be done at home?
It is quite difficult for residents of small towns to check paternity in special centers, because they need to somehow get to the laboratory where the DNA test will be carried out, and find housing for the duration of the procedure, which in Moscow, for example, is not cheap. There is also a way out for them, because you can collect biomaterial at home.
Each cell of our body contains DNA, a macromolecule that ensures the storage, transmission and implementation of genetic information. Gaining access to this data appears at first glance to be a job for highly educated specialists. However, the Internet resource Popular Science has shown that the process of extracting DNA from cells is actually surprisingly simple and can be replicated at home.
Of course, it should be mentioned that the instructions described by Popular Science do not provide the “purest sample” of deoxyribonucleic acid, but, according to biologists, the extracted material can be “purified.”
To isolate DNA at home, you will need: a clean glass, saliva (source of DNA), dishwashing detergent, table salt, pineapple juice (or cleaning solution contact lenses), strong chilled alcohol (rum), a straw drinking straw and a toothpick (or glass rod).
At the first stage, it is necessary to fill the glass a quarter with saliva, since it is in saliva that there are cells of the stratified epithelium of the cheeks, from which DNA will be extracted. If it is not produced in sufficient quantities, then, according to the advice of Popular Science, you need to imagine that you are dissolving caramel in your mouth.
In the second step, add a few drops of detergent to the glass to dissolve the cell membranes.
After this, pour a small amount of pineapple juice (or contact lens cleaning solution) and throw in a pinch of salt. This will clear the solution of proteins and destroy the nuclei of epithelial cells containing DNA.
After carefully mixing the ingredients, you need to add a few drops of strong chilled alcohol. The Popular Science staff used rum as an example.
The resulting stretchy threads are deoxyribonucleic acid, which can be quite easily removed with a toothpick or glass rod. The resulting sample, according to scientists, can be used to conduct a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a description of which was previously presented by Popular Science.
