Scientists study earthquake triggers in Pacific Ocean
They may help explain the cause of large earthquakes similar to the Japan earthquake New samples of rock and sediment from the depths of the eastern Pacific Ocean may help explain the cause of large, destructive earthquakes similar to the Tohoku Earthquake that struck Japan in mid-March.Nearly 1500 meters (almost one mile) of core collected from the ocean floor near the coast of Costa Rica reveal detailed records of approximately 2 million years of tectonic activity along a seismic plate boundary.The samples were retrieved with the scientific drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution during the recent month-long Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) Expedition. Participating scientists aim to use the samples better understand the processes that control the triggering of large earthquakes at subduction zones, where one plate slides beneath another."We know that there are different factors that contribute to seismic activity - these include rock type and composition, temperature differences, and how water moves within the Earth's crust," explained co-chief scientist Paola Vannucchi (University of Florence, Italy), who led the expedition with co-chief scientist Kohtaro Ujiie (University of Tsukuba, Japan). She added, "but what we don't fully understand is how these factors interact with one another and ...
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