Is the moon's gravitational pull strong enough to...?

Question

... Cause earthquakes and volcano eruptions, tides and alterations in animal behaviour?

Tell me what you think and why.

Research has "proven" all of the above. Of course, like in any other field, the more conventional researchers would rather deny it.

Animals have been proven to alter their behaviour during the lunar cycle - but in my opinion, it is just convenience purposes. After all, it's handier looking for food in the middle of the night with a huge floodlight over your head.

As for quakes and volcano eruptions; certain more unconventional scientists have proven with an 80% accuracy - have yet to research this number and check for myself if their theory is correct - that the lunar cycle - mostly full moons or new moons, not to mention solar eclipses, which might make sense considering the aligned gravitational pull of both sun and moon - cause volcano eruptions or earth quakes on the part of this planet aligned with the earth.


I found this very interesting, though not entirely proven yet.

*aligned with the moon, not earth... damn my multitasking!

Answer 1

Earthquakes occur because of the disturbances of earth`s field force. Not only by the MOON, and these disturbances are brought about by the incessant motion of all the planets. The planetry groupings can release the accumulated energy resulting in a quake. In my studies earthquake may be triggered by MOON & MERCURY...... Probably , aug- 28/ 29--2007, planetry position, and leo- aquarius, and taurus- scorpio-- aixs, clearly indicate possibility of a earthquake. (indian vedic astrology). want more mail: [e-mail]

Answer 2

It's strong enough to cause tides, and this has been proven by the position of the moon relative to high and low tides. This is not a subject of debate.

As for animal behavior, it's not strong enough. People think because we are 80% water that it affects us, but this isn't true. The reason it affects the tides is not because it is water, but because it is a giant *movable* mass. Since we are not giant, it does not affect us as much, but also we are movable as a whole, not just our body fluids. So if gravity even affected us, it would affect us as a whole, not just the liquids.

Second, the reason wolves howl and animals act weirdly is just because there is so much more light at night, and because the wolves can see a large moon. If this wasn't the case, they should act weird every night because even though we can't *see* the whole moon, it's always there.

Earthquakes and volcano eruptions... maybe, but probably not. It only raises the ocean something less than a millimeter, but considering the vastness of the ocean, this causes the edges or tides to appear like it has more of an effect than it does. Plus the plates and magma are closer to the earth's center, meaning the moon has less of a pull, and earth's gravity has even more. Since the pull varies inversely with the square of the distance, each bit father away from the moon or closer to the earth has a more significant effect than if it was linear. So no I don't think it affects these.

Answer 3

As everyone has said, the moon's gravity causes the tides. The effects on animal behavior are almost certainly all mediated by the moon's light, not its gravity.

Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are caused by the flow of heat from deep in the earth to the surface. The tidal effect of the moon's gravity (on the earth itself, that is, not on the oceans) is actually one of the sources of the earth's internal heat. However, it's very small compared to the heat from radioactive decay and left over from the gravitational energy of the earth's formation. It's plausible that there's some tendency for earthquakes to occur at particular times in the twice-daily tidal cycle, but I suspect it would be a very small effect and thus be hard to measure, and that it would also vary with the orientation of the fault and thus be even harder to measure.

Volcaniic eruption is a process that takes longer than half a day, so such a correlation is implausible.

Answer 4

The moon's gravitational effect causes our tides; it is highly unlikely to be linked to any other physical phenomena. It's just not strong enough & earthquakes & volcanos are the result of earth associated movements i.e., tectonic plate movement. Animal behaviour is also unlikely to be affected by the gravitational effect but by the light the moon reflects from the sun. Nocturnal animals can see better with a full moon so may be more active at that time. So, in a way the moon will be likely to have an effect on some animals including humans (!) but not from it's gravitational effects.

Answer 5

Here is a link to the subject of Myths of Gravity and Tides. The author does the math as well. The Sun is involved too, about 30%.

Tides do happen everywhere. The effects depend on the body of water, atmosphere, and land. The Great Lakes have tides though only of about two inches. Oceans are much larger and deeper. Since they are not uniform the tidal effect varies by location.

Answer 6

The Moon's gravity does cause the tides. It may have some effect on earthquakes, but I don't think it would be much of an effect. The Moon does seem to have an effect on animal behaviors, but it isn't gravity that causes it. It is tides and light. Certain fish and other creatures spawn at high tide for example, but it is the tide and not the gravity of the Moon directly that is the cause there.

Answer 7

The moon does, indeed cause tides - in the ocean, *and* on land. The crust of the Earth can raise & fall more than 18", depending on the moon & sun's position, and it's thought that this stress on the land can trigger faults that are already stressed.

It's not proven, but thought, that animals can either hear, or feel, the land being stressed, and this is the odd behavior seen prior to major events.

Answer 8

No. The mass of the moon being relatively smaller, the distance from the earth being relatively larger, the rotation of the moon around the earth due to earth's gravitational pull, when considered are insufficient to cause any alterations/effects on the earth by moon..

Answer 9

The moon's gravity is the main factor in tides. It is a minor factor in volcanic activity (it doesn't cause it but it can affect the timing).

Hunting animals tend to be active at night when there's a full moon. That's why dogs and cats behave strangely (they want to go out and catch wildebeest). No-one is sure whether the mechanism is due to gravity or just light.

Answer 10

A gravitational pull that will be strong enough to cause earthquakes will also be strong enough to suck all of us out into space. The moon sails above us roughly 28 times in a month and if animals alter their behaviour whenever the moon sails above them, then they would be altering their behaviour 28 times in one month. Don't be taken for a ride by metaphysics.