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Subduction | Subduction News, Research and Current Events

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Plate tectonics may take a break
Plate tectonics, the geologic process responsible for creating the Earth's continents, mountain ranges, and ocean basins, may be an on-again, off-again affair.   view more (2008-01-04)

Volcano-like tremors detected deep within Earth's crust near San Andreas
Tremors within the Earth are usually-but not always-related to the activity of a volcano. Now, such vibrations have been recorded nowhere near a volcano, but at a geologic observatory at the San Andreas Fault.   view more (2006-04-13)

Sediment layer may forecast greatest earthquakes
Researchers at Yale and the University of Washington report that great earthquakes, like the 2004 Sumatra earthquake, may be caused by the build up of sediment on top of subduction zones, suggesting a new way to forecast these most severe earthquakes.   view more (2006-01-31)

UCL scientists create first earthquakes in the laboratory
Scientists at UCL have recreated earthquakes in the laboratory for the first time allowing them to better understand the origin of the largest and most violent earthquakes. This is the first time scientists have been able to generate and observe deep and intermediate focus earthquakes in the... view more (2002-11-14)

Measurements link magma melting rate to tectonic plate subduction rate
Determining the origin and rate of magma production in subduction zone volcanoes is essential to understanding the formation of continental crust and the recycling of subducted materials back into Earth's mantle.   view more (2007-11-09)

Sediment could be a major factor in biggest subduction zone earthquakes
The most powerful earthquakes - such as those that shook Indonesia in 2004, Alaska in 1964, Chile in 1960 and the Pacific Northwest in 1700 - occur in subduction zones, areas of the sea floor just offshore where two tectonic plates meet and one dives beneath the other.   view more (2006-01-31)

The next great earthquake
The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and resulting tsunami are now infamous for the damage they caused, but at the time many scientists believed this area was unlikely to create a quake of such magnitude.   view more (2007-03-23)

Sumatra megaquake defied theory
The risks of Sumatra-style mega-quakes around the world have been sorely misjudged, say earth scientists who are re-examining some of the pre-December 2004 assumptions scientists made about such rare events.   view more (2006-03-28)

2002 Alaskan quake left 7 areas of California stirred but not shaken
Earth tremors not linked to volcanic activity first turned up in seismic observations several years ago, but those tremors were almost exclusively in subduction zones such as the Cascadia region off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.   view more (2007-11-26)

1 year after Solomon Islands, scientists learn barrier to earthquakes weaker than expected
On the one year anniversary of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands that killed 52 people and displaced more than 6,000, scientists are revising their understanding of the potential for similar giant earthquakes in other parts of the globe.   view more (2008-04-03)

Earthquake 'pulses' could predict tsunami impact
The magnitude 9.2 earthquake that triggered a devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December of 2004 originated just off the coast of northern Sumatra, but an "energy pulse" - an area where slip on the fault was much greater - created the largest waves, some 100 miles from the... view more (2005-12-05)

Earth's Moving Crust May Occasionally Stop
The motion, formation, and recycling of Earth's crust-commonly known as plate tectonics-have long been thought to be continuous processes. But new research by geophysicists suggests that plate tectonic motions have occasionally stopped in Earth's geologic history, and may do so again. The findings... view more (2008-01-10)

Complex structure observed in Tonga mantle wedge has implications for the evolution of volcanic arcs
The subduction zones where oceanic plates sink beneath the continents produce volcanic arcs such as those that make up the "rim of fire" around the Pacific Ocean.   view more (2007-04-13)

Study of 2004 tsunami forces rethinking of giant earthquake theory
The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of Dec. 26, 2004, was one of the worst natural disasters in history, largely because of the devastating tsunami that followed.   view more (2006-03-06)

Evidence from Hawaiian volcanoes shows that Earth recycles its crust
A geologist at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has come up with evidence our planet practices recycling on a grand scale.   view more (2006-11-30)

Scientists use seismic waves to locate missing rock under Tibet
Geologists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have located a huge chunk of Earth's lithosphere that went missing 15 million years ago. By finding the massive block of errant rock beneath Tibet, the researchers are helping solve a long-standing mystery, and clarifying how continents... view more (2007-02-08)

Scientists reveal fate of Earth's oceans
Scientists at The University of Manchester have uncovered the first evidence of seawater deep inside the Earth shedding new light on the fate of the planet's oceans, according to research published in Nature.   view more (2006-05-11)

Geologist plans volcano safety for Ecuadorians
A geologist at Washington University in St. Louis is doing his part to make sure that the small Latin American country of Ecuador follows the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.   view more (2007-08-22)

Huge tsunami spurred progress, revealed needs
The catastrophic tsunami that struck Indonesia and East Asia almost a year ago has done much to heighten the interest, research programs and preparations in the United States for events of this type, but experts say there are areas that need more attention and challenges yet to be met.   view more (2005-12-05)

Silent earthquakes may foreshadow destructive temblors, study finds
A team of American geoscientists is urging colleagues around the world to search for evidence of tiny earthquakes in seismically active areas, such as the Pacific Northwest, that are periodically rocked by powerful temblors of magnitude 8 and higher.   view more (2006-07-06)

Scientists explain source of mysterious tremors emanating from fault zones
Tiny tremors and temblors recently discovered in fault zones from California to Japan are generated by slow-moving earthquakes that may foreshadow catastrophic seismic events, according to scientists at Stanford University and the University of Tokyo.   view more (2007-03-15)

Scientists obtain core samples from subsea fault system off Japan
The third expedition of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) completed its mission off the Kii Peninsula today.   view more (2008-02-06)

Deep-ocean researchers target tsunami zone near Japan
Rice University Earth scientist Dale Sawyer and colleagues last month reported the discovery of a strong variation in the tectonic stresses in a region of the Pacific Ocean notorious for generating devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in southeastern Japan.   view more (2008-01-18)

Reconstruction of a giant submarine slope-failure on the northern edge of New Zealand
The continental margins, submarine areas at the boundary between the continent and the oceanic abyssal floor are unstable. This instability is manifested by submarine slides or collapse events. These are sometimes catastrophic, taking away portions of coast down to the deep ocean floor or locally... view more (2001-04-26)

Investigating the deepest layers of the Earth's crust
The deep layers of the Earth's crust and the upper part of its mantle have been the target for investigation by a number of research groups at the EHU/UPV. This deep zone, and the processes that have taken place there in the past, can be investigated by means of studying those rocks which today are... view more (2004-02-04)

Pacific Northwest tectonic plates are moving
he three major tectonic plates off the Pacific Northwest coast are undergoing a gradual shift, and the area in which they converge - popularly known as the "Triple Junction" - appears to be migrating in a southeasterly direction.   view more (2006-04-12)

'Ultrasound' of Earth's crust reveals inner workings of a tsunami factory
Research announced this week by a team of U.S. and Japanese geoscientists may help explain why part of the seafloor near the southwest coast of Japan is particularly good at generating devastating tsunamis, such as the 1944 Tonankai event, which killed at least 1,200 people. The findings will help... view more (2007-11-16)

Seismologists see Earth's interior as interplay between temperature, pressure and chemistry
Seismologists in recent years have recast their understanding of the inner workings of Earth from a relatively benign homogeneous environment to one that is highly dynamic and chemically diverse.   view more (2007-10-26)

Tiny tremors and earthquakes provide intriguing clues about seismic activity, study finds
The elusive science of earthquake prediction has been reinvigorated in recent years with the discovery of "non-volcanic tremors"—faint vibrations that originate deep inside active fault zones.   view more (2006-07-13)

Scientists launch deep-sea scientific drilling program to study volatile earthquake zone
Today, the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) gets underway, with the Japanese drilling vessel Chikyu departing from Shingu Port with scientists aboard, all ready to log, drill, sample, and install monitoring instrumentation in one of the most active earthquake zones on Earth.   view more (2007-09-21)

Stress Buildup Precedes Large Sumatra Quakes
The island of Sumatra, Indonesia, has shaken many times with powerful earthquakes since the one that wrought the infamous 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Now, scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences are harnessing information from these and earlier... view more (2008-05-28)

Amadeus and Esmeraldas: two marine geophysics campaigns to investigate strong earthquakes off Ecuador and Colombia
Several large earthquakes with magnitude higher than 8 on the Richter scale have already occurred along the margins between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, under the ocean off Ecuador and Colombia. This region is vulnerable, all the more so because since the 1980s, Ecuador's oil... view more (2005-02-16)

2006 tectonic plate motion reversal near Acapulco puzzles earthquake scientists
A reversal of tectonic plate motion between Acapulco and Mexico City in the last half of 2006 probably didn't ease seismic strain in the region or the specter of a major earthquake anticipated there in the coming decades, says a University of Colorado at Boulder professor.   view more (2007-08-03)

How rusty is the Earth?
An iron object lying around outside quickly turns rusty. Iron metal always has to be combined with some other elements or coated with paint to stop it corroding. The reason for this is that iron metal is unstable in the presence of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. It reacts with the iron to... view more (2004-06-10)

Folded sediment unusual in Sumatran tsunami area
Sediment folding may have added to the exceptionally large tsunami that struck Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, according to an international team of geologists. "Tsunami models consider the rebound of the plate during the earthquake, but do not include permanent deformation, like folding, of the... view more (2007-02-05)

Continents loss to oceans boosts staying power
New research suggests that the geological staying power of continents comes partly from their losing battle with the Earth's oceans over magnesium.   view more (2008-04-02)

Seismologists detect a sunken slab of ocean floor deep in the Earth
Halfway to the center of the Earth, at the boundary between the core and the mantle, lies a massive folded slab of rock that once formed the ocean floor and sank beneath North America some 50 million years ago.   view more (2006-05-18)

Unusual mechanism of the Ambrym and Pentecost Islands earthquake in Vanuatu
The Vanuatu island arc, in the South-West Pacific, is 1 700 km long. It corresponds to a convergence zone where the Australian plate is slipping eastwards under the North Fiji Basin, which is part of the Pacific plate, thus generating earthquakes. On 26 November 1999, the central islands of... view more (2004-02-20)

Journey to the center of the earth: Discovery sheds light on mantle formation
Uncovering a rare, two-billion-year-old window into the Earth's mantle, a University of Houston professor and his team have found our planet's geological history is more complex than previously thought.   view more (2008-04-11)

Newly discovered active fault building new Dalmatian Islands off Croatian coast
A newly identified fault that runs under the Adriatic Sea is actively building more of the famously beautiful Dalmatian Islands and Dinaride Mountains of Croatia, according to a new research report.   view more (2008-01-23)

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