A major earthquake that hit Chile in February 2010 (star marks epicenter) did not relieve seismic stress in a region known as the "Darwin gap" that lies between areas hit by quakes in 1928 and 1960.
The magnitude-8.8 earthquake that pummeled Chile in February 2010 did not relieve seismic stress the way scientists thought it might have, a new study suggests. The geologic stress remains because instead of the ground moving the most where stress had been building the longest, the team reports, the greatest slip occurred where a different quake had already relieved stress just eight decades earlier.
Because of the seismic risk, the Chilean coast is one of the most studied regions in the world. For the past decade, Oncken and others have studded the area with seismometers to understand the details of how a diving plate like the Nazca causes quakes. “We now have the unique opportunity to do a detailed comparison from before and after an event,” says Oncken. “Whatever you look at, it’s fantastic data and new observations emerging at an incredible rate.”
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/69285/title/Chile_quake_didn%E2%80%99t_reduce_risk
No comments:
Post a Comment