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Earthquake sensors on seafloor track whale songs
U. WASHINGTON (US) — Seafloor earthquake sensors are an inexpensive and noninvasive way to monitor the movements of fin whales that are vulnerable to collision with fast-moving ships. Fin whales are...
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Massive Cascadia quake on the horizon?
U. PENNSYLVANIA (US) — Tiny fossils offer clues to a 1700 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest that was strong enough to cause a tsunami as far away as Japan. The lack of local documentation has made...
View ArticleSlow quakes put ‘big wrinkle’ in rock theory
PENN STATE (US) — When researchers duplicate slow earthquakes, they find that rocks at the fault get stronger when slippage begins, but suddenly weaken. Earthquakes that last minutes rather than...
View ArticleListen to earthquakes for sound of tsunami
STANFORD (US) — The sound waves from an undersea earthquake could offer an early warning that a large tsunami is on the way. Because the sound from a seismic event will reach land well before the water...
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New subduction zone found near Portugal
MONASH (AUS) — A new subduction zone forming off the coast of Portugal marks the beginning of a cycle that will see the Atlantic Ocean narrow as Europe moves closer to America. Published in Geology,...
View ArticleSlow quakes could warn of bigger trouble
PENN STATE (US) — In places where slow earthquakes trigger regular ones, keeping an eye on the slower variety could result in reliable predictions, say geoscientists. “We currently don’t have any way...
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Is this mineral to blame for deep earthquakes?
Scientists are closer to understanding deep earthquakes, which occur when tectonics drive the oceanic crust under continental plates. Their new research is a large step toward replicating the full...
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Slippery clay set off Japan’s huge tsunami
An extremely thin layer of clay sediment below the ocean floor is a primary cause of the huge tsunami associated with the 2011 Japan earthquake, according to new research. Using the deep sea drilling...
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Runaway heat drives earthquakes 90 miles deep
Scientists may have solved the mystery of what drives a type of earthquake that occurs deep within the Earth and accounts for one in four quakes worldwide. These intermediate-depth earthquakes...
View ArticleMap flags likely hotspots for giant earthquakes
Scientists have created a new global map that identifies which subduction zones are most capable of generating giant earthquakes. The project comes nine years after the giant earthquake and tsunami in...
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‘Virtual earthquakes’ forecast shake risk for Los Angeles
Scientists are using vibrations generated by the Earth’s oceans to produce “virtual earthquakes” that can be used to predict ground movement and shaking hazards from real quakes. The new technique,...
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San Francisco’s 1906 quake was third in a series
New research backs up historical narratives about two earthquakes in the 68 years before San Francisco’s devastating 1906 disaster. The geologic evidence places the two earthquakes, in 1838 and 1890,...
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Get ‘boots-on-the-ground’ to help a forest heal
The epicenter of China’s devastating Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 was in the Wolong Nature Reserve, a globally important biodiversity hotspot and home to the endangered giant pandas. Not only did the...
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Quake survivors deliver care in Haiti’s tent cities
Displaced women in Leogane, Haiti, took part in a training session to become health care workers and used those skills to address mental and sexual health issues in their village, a new study shows....
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Antarctica’s icequakes got their start in Chile
Technology that allowed scientists to “listen” to an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile in 2010 shows that it may have been the reason why ice sheets vibrated more than usual in Antarctica—more than...
View ArticleEarthquake in Chile was not the ‘big one’
The recent 8.2-magnitude earthquake in Iquique, Chile, did not relieve all the stress on the fault, and researchers say that means another quake is possible. The quake occurred in a gap on a fault line...
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Tectonic plates in the Pacific are not so rigid
The tectonic plate that dominates the Pacific “Ring of Fire” may not be as rigid as many scientists have assumed. New research suggests that cooling of the lithosphere—the outermost layer of...
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California’s 2-in-1 fault could produce a big quake
Two faults in California are actually connected to form one. If they rupture together, it could result in a significantly more destructive earthquake than previously thought. The 70-kilometer-long...
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Geologists scan data for signs of Nepal aftershocks
The sudden thrust that caused the tragedy of the Nepal earthquake on April 25 occurred about nine miles underground beneath the Himalayas, releasing built-up stress of unimaginable force along the...
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Why some earthquakes hit in ‘supercycles’
In March 2011, a massive release of stress between two overlapping tectonic plates occurred beneath the ocean floor off the coast of Japan, triggering a giant tsunami. The Tohoku quake resulted in the...
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