Scientists warn San Andreas fault primed for imminent earthquake
Scientists have found previously concealed fault lines along California’s north coast, sparking concerns that we could be drastically underestimating the earthquake risk in the region, per a seismic study published in the journal“If we don’t understand the underlying tectonic processes, it’s hard to predict the seismic hazard,” declared study co-author Amanda Thomas, professor of earth and planetary sciences at UC Davis,The area in question is the Mendocino Triple Junction, a seismic hot zone in the Pacific Ocean where three tectonic plates converge: tAs three fault systems collide here, this tectonic triple threat boasts some of the highest levels of seismic activity in the US.
It was the source of theAncient Anglo-Saxon 'sand bodies' uncovered during construction of nuclear power stationHowever, the researchers discovered that the Triple Junction is comprised of a whopping five moving plates, not three — two of which are hidden from the surface. In other words, we could be on shakier ground than previously thought, with frightening implications for the millions of people living in the region.Lead author David Shelly of the USGS Geologic Hazards Center in Golden, Colorado analogized our understanding to glimpsing just the tip of the iceberg. Hidden fault line could lead to ‘catastrophic’ earthquake stretching from US to Canada, scientists warn “You can see a bit at the surface, but you have to figure out what is the configuration underneath,” he declared. Researchers happened across the quake-inducing quintet by employing a network of seismometers in the Pacific Northwest to track “low-frequency” earthquakes deep underground where tectonic plates grind against one another. These tremors are reportedly too small to detect at the surface, per the research, which was confirmed using tidal-sensitivity models. One of these tectonic threats is a chunk of the North American plate has broken off and is being pulled down along with the Gorda plate at the southern end of the Cascadia subduction zone. The model also proved the theorized existence of the Pioneer fragment, a remnant of the ancient Farrallon plate that used to traverse the California coastline that has not all but disappeared. This straggler is now being dragged underneath the North American plate — a process called subduction. However, the subducting surface of the quake-inducing quintet is not as deep as previously thought, which would explain why the 1992 earthquake’s origin point was so shallow. “It had been assumed that faults follow the leading edge of the subducting slab, but this example deviates from that,” said tectonic geodesist Kathryn Materna, from the University of Colorado Boulder. “The plate boundary seems not to be where we thought it was.”Ancient Anglo-Saxon 'sand bodies' uncovered during construction of nuclear power stationCraig’s used to be LA’s hottest celebrity eatery but the bankable stars have moved to a new spot
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