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Japan Has Shifted 13 Feet!


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Japan after tsunami

Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty Images

What does Japan's earthquake mean for GPS? Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake was so powerful that it actually widened Japan. While parts of the country barely moved, other regions are now 13 feet closer to the United States. The earthquake may also have tilted the earth's axis and shortened the day by 1.8 millionths of a second. Does this mean that GPS navigation systems in Japan are broken?

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