Juan de Fuca plate tears apart beneath North America
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Apr 30
Juan de Fuca plate tears apart beneath North America
13 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Apr 30
Using 2021 Cascadia seismic imaging off Vancouver Island, researchers found a major fault with a five-kilometre drop and quiet sections along a 75km tear.
The Science Advances study says the subduction zone is failing piece by piece, creating microplates rather than collapsing at once as the plate sinks beneath North America.
Scientists say the finding helps explain ancient plate fragments and should improve Cascadia earthquake models, though it does not significantly change the region's existing tsunami and major quake risk.
Scientists found a massive tear in a tectonic plate. Could this geological wound actually trigger the next 'Big One'?
A tectonic plate is dying, so why does the threat of a mega-quake in Cascadia still loom large for millions?