earthquakes

Mountain-size chunk of rock hiding under Japan is channeling earthquakes

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An underground mountain-sized chunk of rock may be affecting paths of large earthquakes in southern Japan. The dense igneous rock, known as the Kumano pluton, is lurking about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) below the surface beneath Japan’s Kii Peninsula. It sits in the crust of the continental Eurasian plate. Under this slab of continental crust, … Read more

The ‘Slow And Silent’ Part of The San Andreas Fault May Still Be an Earthquake Threat

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California is a land divided by a 1,287-kilometer-long (800 miles) rupture known as the San Andreas Fault. Running north to south through the state close to several major cities, it has been responsible for some of the US’s most devastating earthquakes.   There are regions in the state’s heart that haven’t experienced the fault’s full … Read more

Mystery Tsunami That Spread Around The World in 2021 Can Finally Be Explained

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Last year in August, a surprise tsunami in the South Atlantic Ocean mushroomed to distances over 10,000 kilometers (more than 6,000 miles) away, rippling through the North Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans.   It was the first time a tsunami had been recorded in three different oceans since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, … Read more

Recycled Tennis Balls Could Protect Buildings from Earthquakes

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Earthquakes cannot be forecast, but engineers can prepare for them. Seismic-isolation systems built into the bases of certain buildings in high-risk areas, such as San Francisco’s City Hall, use complex structures of concrete, rubber and metal to reduce quake damage by absorbing the ground’s horizontal oscillations, like a car’s suspension does with vertical motion. But … Read more

Nearly 300 Years Ago, a Tsunami Hit The Coast of Chile, But Nobody Found It Until Now

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The south-central coast of Chile could be more vulnerable to tsunamis than the historical record suggests. Geological research among the tidal marshes of Chaihuín has now revealed the fallout of a long, high wall of water that struck land in 1737. Written documents from the time, however, describe no such wave.   “There are records … Read more

Researchers Find Evidence That Fracking Can Trigger an All-New Type of Earthquake

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Oil and gas extraction can trigger small, slow-moving, longer-lasting earthquake tremors, which scientists have documented in Canadian fracking fields for the first time. A team of researchers from the Geological Survey of Canada documented a new type of earthquake event resulting from slow ruptures near an active gas well. This helps to explain how near-imperceptible … Read more