Faulting in geology refers to the brittle deformation process that produces fractures (faults) along which measurable displacement has occurred within the Earth’s crust. It accommodates tectonic strain by slip along fault planes, driven primarily by differential stress regimes (extensional, compressional, or strike-slip). Faulting is governed by rock rheology, pore fluid pressure, temperature, and strain rate, and is commonly described using Mohr–Coulomb failure criteria. It plays a critical role in crustal deformation, seismicity, and basin formation, and is analyzed through structural mapping, kinematic and dynamic analysis, focal mechanisms, and numerical or analogue modeling of stress and strain fields.
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake that took place in 2018 on the south flank of Kīlauea on the Island of Hawaiʻi may have stalled episodes of periodic slow slip along a major fault underlying the volcano, according to a new study ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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In the Pacific Northwest, big faults like the Cascadian subduction zone located offshore, get a lot of attention. But big faults aren't the only ones that pose significant hazards, and a new study investigates the dynamics ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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A swarm of small earthquakes within the Karoo Basin in South Africa has revealed a critically stressed fault that could be perturbed by potential shale gas exploration in the area, according to a new report. The analysis ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 3, 2026
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A study on tectonic plates that converge on the Tibetan Plateau has shown that Earth's fault lines are far weaker and the continents are less rigid than scientists previously thought. This finding is based on ground-monitoring ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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A research team from University of Tsukuba and collaborating institutions has clarified why M9-class megathrust earthquakes recur off the Kamchatka Peninsula with an unusually short cycle of 73 years. By analyzing the rupture ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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According to researchers from Science Tokyo, a new three-dimensional model of the fault beneath the Marmara Sea in Turkey reveals where a future major earthquake could take place. Using electromagnetic measurements, the team ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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Geologists from Heriot-Watt are part of an international research team that has confirmed why the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake off northeast Japan behaved in such an extreme and destructive way.
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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By tracking swarms of very small earthquakes, seismologists are getting a new picture of the complex region where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that could give rise to devastating major ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 15, 2026
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Asier Madarieta, a researcher in the EHU's HGI (Water Environmental Processes) group, has analyzed how the Earth's crust is being compressed and deformed in the field where Eurasia and Africa meet in the Western Mediterranean. ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2025
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A common misconception about research is that it takes place in climate-controlled labs with microscopes, beakers, and Bunsen burners. While that is true for many fields, obtaining geoscience data can demand fieldwork in ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 4, 2025
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