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.
A fault line in Canada's Yukon territory has stirred after more than 12,000 years of geological sleep. Researchers studying the Tintina Fault, which stretches 1,000 kilometers from northeast British Columbia into the Yukon ...
Environment
Dec 2, 2025
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Earthquake faults deep in Earth can glue themselves back together following a seismic event, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The work, published in Science Advances, adds ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 19, 2025
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Recently, Science put out an article detailing new research on the Myanmar earthquake that occurred on March 28, 2025. In one of these studies, Shengji Wei and colleagues analyze data on the event and provide insight on multiple ...
A UCLA-led team of scientists has uncovered how the devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar in March 2025 produced one of the longest and fastest-moving ruptures ever recorded on land.
Earth Sciences
Oct 30, 2025
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Earthquakes in the American state of Utah, the Soultz-sous-Forêts region of France or in the Dutch province of Groningen should not be able to occur even if the subsurface has been exploited for decades. This is because the ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 27, 2025
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Thailand's northern regions, characterized by complex geology and active fault systems, experience frequent landslides that threaten both lives and critical infrastructure. In 2022, a slope failure occurred along Highway ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 21, 2025
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In July 2024, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Calama, Chile, damaging buildings and causing power outages. The country has endured violent earthquakes, including the most powerful recorded in history: a 9.5-magnitude "megathrust" ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 30, 2025
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The ground-shaking that an earthquake generates is only a fraction of the total energy that a quake releases. A quake can also generate a flash of heat, along with a domino-like fracturing of underground rocks. But exactly ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 16, 2025
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The University of Texas at Arlington is far from California earthquake country, yet its researchers are helping pinpoint which sections of the San Andreas Fault are most active.
Earth Sciences
Sep 10, 2025
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Large earthquakes along some of New Zealand's major faults are commonly clustered in time and place, according to recent research.
Earth Sciences
Aug 21, 2025
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