When a slab slides beneath an overriding plate in a subduction zone, the slab takes on a property called anisotropy, meaning its strength is not the same in all directions. Anisotropy is what causes a ...

To better understand the scale of past earthquakes and tsunamis, scientists often use earthquake modeling or turn to evidence the tsunamis leave behind, such as sand deposits. The most recent great ...

On Jan. 1, 2024, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Japan, resulting in extensive damage in the region caused by uplift, when the land rises due to shifting tectonic plates. The ...

Researchers have developed a laboratory earthquake model that connects the microscopic real contact area between fault surfaces to the possibility of earthquake occurrences. Published in the ...

"For a large earthquake to occur, the accumulated strain on the fault must exceed the strength of the asperity. It’s a little ...

Earthquake prediction seeks exact location, time and magnitude; forecasting estimates probabilities and temporal patterns based on statistical or physics-based models. Deterministic prediction remains ...

The next major Pacific Northwest earthquake could cause coastal land to sink by up to 6.5 feet in a matter of minutes, a new study has warned. A magnitude 8.0 tremor on the Cascadia subduction zone ...

One seismometer is often not enough to reliably detect earthquakes or human activity such as underground nuclear tests.

New research from seismologist Alice Gabriel of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography suggests that the physics governing the behavior of small and large earthquakes are distinct from one ...

Stress on the San Andreas Fault system has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii ...