In the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, some observers are questioning if the Three Gorges Dam could have played a role in triggering the massive temblor. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Now, there is speculation that the world’s largest and perhaps most controversial dam was a factor in causing the killer Sichuan province quake. Scientists from around the world have long theorized that the sheer weight of the reservoir created by the dam could cause seismic shifts in the area. A recent article in Scientific American explained the issue and said 19 earthquakes in China over the past 50 years could be blamed on dams.
Though no one has directly fingered Three Gorges as the reason for the earthquake, Probe International, a Canadian non-profit that monitors China’s dams and their environmental and humanitarian fallout, raises the possibility.
The article from Scientific American mentioned above, from March 2008, is here. Read more on this topic from Three Gorges Probe.
