On May 11, 2011 at 2:46 pm (JST) a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake (originally recorded at 8.9) struck off the coast of Japan. The earthquake and subsequent events such as the tsunami that soon followed had an extreme effect on all Earth systems. The biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere were all altered from their natural state. This event impacted not only Japan but many other places around the world. Thousands of people have been affected in Japan and are still recovering. Some may never be the same again, like radiation levels around Fukushima. Following the earthquake caused by the shifting of tectonic plates, a 10-meter tsunami was unleashed off the east coast of Japan. This is what caused the most damage out of all the events that happened. The tsunami affected people as soon as it hit land and its effects are still felt today. The tsunami and earthquake caused approximately 25 trillion yen ($30 billion) in damage. The earthquake was caused by the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate. The upper part of the subduction zone moved slowly while the lower part moved rapidly causing the earthquake and the 10 meter shift in sea level. The earthquake's depth was up to 17 miles (27.36 km) and was located about 231 miles northeast of Tokyo. The tsunami was traveling at 500 miles per hour when it hit the coast of Japan about 15 minutes after the initial earthquake and reached the United States around 8:30 a.m. the next day. The earthquake struck the east coast of Japan and was felt as far away as Beijing. The immediate effects of the initial earthquake were landslides, building collapses, floods and fires. After this first q... half of the document ......and days following the earthquake and tsunami due to the explosions and collapses. Feedback (Figure 1) The earthquake in Japan had a negative feedback loop. It starts with the lithosphere with tectonic pressure and earthquake. This then flowed into the Hydrosphere with the Tsunami heading towards Japan. The effect of all this was on the biosphere: it was the destruction of coasts along with the death and injury of thousands of people. Then follows the atmosphere which has been polluted by all the debris and the nuclear disaster caused by the tsunami and earthquake. In conclusion, Japan has suffered severe damage and is slowly recovering, as are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. . This catastrophic event shows the flow of effects in all spheres and the amount of damage a single event can have on Earth.