Q&A: Behind the scenes with an earthquake scientist

Sylvain Barbot is trying to do what can't be done yet: reliably predict earthquakes. The assistant professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences knows that it's impossible—at least not yet. But he ...

Sinking sea mountains make and muffle earthquakes

Subduction zones—places where one tectonic plate dives beneath another—are where the world's largest and most damaging earthquakes occur. A new study has found that when underwater mountains—also known as seamounts—are ...