Fingerprinting Slow Earthquakes And How They Relate To The Big One

By:
Kelsey

Link:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423142322.htm

Summary:
This article is pretty much what the title says. Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, has found that an unusual layer at the top of a subducting plate coincides with the locations of slow earthquakes and non-volcanic areas. Slow earthquakes take days to release built-up energy instead of just minutes as in regular earthquakes. The scientists have been recording 20 years of seismic data for southern Mexico, where the Cocos plate is slipping beneath the North American plate. Other plants and things on the ground are slipping away in and around other areas as well. Scientists found that slow earthquake areas and the "ultra-slow-velocity" layers cluster together, and that regions of non-volcanic areas are near/next to those clusters. Scientists believe that this all may be subducted oceanic crust at unusually high levels of water saturation. The cause of such "anomalously high pore pressures" is unknown, but a clue might come from the fact that non-volcanic tremors are concentrated in areas with temperatures around 840°F.With all of this pressure and heat, these small earthquakes are just showing signs of possible big earthquakes in the near future. The plants that are slipping away underground also show major movement of tectonic plates.

I chose this article because we are learning about earthquakes and volcanoes. I have also been feeling some earthquakes lately so i thought it was relevant to do some research on them. But for the most part, i just enjoy learning more about earthquakes.