Graphite lubricates fault zones

Graphite is known to be a low-friction material, and rocks rich in graphite are often found in fault zones. Oohashi et al. conducted laboratory studies to determine how much graphite is needed to reduce the frictional strength ...

Frozen in time, cracks reveal earthquake history

(Phys.org) —Northern Chile's Atacama Desert is an earthquake scientist's dream – the hyper-arid plain keeps a visible record of cracks caused by a million year's worth of earthquakes.

Measuring the hazards of global aftershock

The entire world becomes an aftershock zone after a massive magnitude (M) 7 or larger earthquake—but what hazard does this pose around the planet? Researchers are working to extend their earthquake risk estimates over a ...

Helping to forecast earthquakes in Salt Lake Valley

Salt Lake Valley, home to the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault zone and the West Valley fault zone, has been the site of repeated surface-faulting earthquakes (of about magnitude 6.5 to 7). New research trenches ...

New study highlights California tsunami risk

More than a quarter of a million Californians live in coastal areas which could be hit by devastating floods from a major tsunami in the quake-prone US state, a new study says.

Underwater robots help discover hidden faults

(Phys.org)—Hidden beneath ocean waves and masked by sand and mud on the seafloor, underwater faults are notoriously difficult to see and even more difficult to study. As a result, geologists struggle to evaluate the risks ...

Active faults more accessible to geologists

The October GSA Today science paper introduces the "Active Tectonics of the Andes Database," which will provide more data to more geoscientists.

Istanbul—The earthquake risk of a megacity

Today the drilling starts for a seismic monitoring network on the Marmara Sea near Istanbul. Specially designed seismic sensors in eight boreholes on the outskirts of Istanbul and around the eastern Marmara Sea will monitor ...

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