University Of Delaware: Undersea Rocks Yield Earthquake Clues

Press release from the University of Delaware:

Article by Tracey Bryant

August 05, 2021

UD study of ocean rocks informs earthquake science

Earthquakes shake and rattle the world every day. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated the number of earthquakes at some half a million a year, with some 100,000 that can be felt, and about 100 that cause damage. Some of these powerful temblors have devastated nations, cutting short thousands of lives and costing billions of dollars for economic recovery.

When will the next big earthquake occur? Answering that question has teams of scientists monitoring areas such as California’s San Andreas Fault and Turkey’s North Anatolian Fault. But these seismically active areas on land, at the boundaries of tectonic plates, are not the only places of intense study. Jessica Warren, associate professor of geological sciences at the University of Delaware, is exploring the middle of the ocean where earthquakes with a magnitude 6 on the Richter scale routinely occur, and what she is finding may help scientists predict earthquakes on land.

UDaily connected with Warren to learn more about her most recent study, which published in Nature Geoscience on Aug. 5, 2021.

Q. How did you get started on this research?

Warren: This work grew out of a previous study with seafloor rocks and involved my colleagues Arjun Kohli, who is now a research scientist at Stanford University, Monica Wolfson-Schwehr, who is now a research assistant professor at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, and Cécile Prigent, a former postdoc in my group who is now a professor at the University of Paris. This interesting group of people had all different areas of expertise to bring to the project. The National Science Foundation provided funding support.

This press release was produced by the University of Delaware. The views expressed here are the author’s own.