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Discovery shines new light on earthquakes
Liverpool, England (UPI) Dec 18, 2006 British scientists studying a large fault zone in northern Chile say they've gained insight into how fluid pressure can cause earthquakes. The University of Liverpool researchers discovered fluids, such as water, become sealed within the Earth's fault planes for a long period of time and make it easier for the Earth's plates to move alongside each other, causing an earthquake. Professor Dan Faulkner said the difficulty with predicting earthquakes is that little is known about how fault planes work. "In theory, high stresses are needed to cause slip along a fault plane, but if something like pressurized water or gas gets inside the fault, then it should act as a kind of cushion, making movement between plates easier and an earthquake more likely." Until now, most geologists believed fluid pressures increased the likelihood that rocks would crack and the fluids could escape, reducing the "cushion" effect. "Our recent study, however, found much smaller cracks surrounding the fault plane change the stresses acting on the rock, reducing the likelihood of significant cracks forming and allowing the fluid to escape," said Faulkner. The study appears in the current issue of Nature Magazine. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Discovery Sheds New Light On Cause Of Earthquakes
Liverpool, UK (SPX) Dec 14, 2006Research at the University of Liverpool into a large fault zone in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile has produced new insight into how fluid pressure can cause earthquakes. Scientists have found how fluids, such as water, become sealed within the earth's fault planes for a long period of time. This fluid pressure makes it easier for the earth's plates to move alongside each other, eventually resulting in an earthquake. |
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