When the gravity of the Sun and Moon causes Earth's crust to bulge every 2 weeks, slow-moving earthquakes proliferate in the lower reaches of the San Andreas, a new study finds.
seismology
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Flash Heating May Lubricate Rubbing Rock Faces in Earthquakes
A new laboratory study examines the small-scale physics at play as two pieces of granite are smashed together in a scaled-down version of a real earthquake.
Posted inScience Updates
Extending Recent Seismic Imaging Successes to South America
Ambient Noise Tomography Workshop (MIMOSA); Tucson, Arizona, 17–23 January 2016
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Hole in Earth’s Surface
Research shows that a broken lithosphere underneath the island of Hawai'i could explain the island's patterns of seismic activity.
Posted inNews
Sound Waves Help Scientists Track Volcanic Eruptions
When sound waves hit the ground, they shake seismometers like earthquake waves. Scientists can now use these sound-induced seismic waves to investigate volcanic activity.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Variable Mantle Lies Below Ancient Pieces of Earth's Crust
Underneath old and stable pieces of Earth's crust in North America, the mantle's uppermost portion contains multiple layers that change the velocities of seismic waves.
Posted inNews
What Makes the Ground Suddenly Pop?
A geological feature in Michigan’s wooded Upper Peninsula has scientists scratching their heads.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Understanding the Formation and Primordial Evolution of the Earth
The processes that formed the infant Earth set the stage for its subsequent evolution into the dynamic and habitable planet we know today.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
P Wave Amplitude Decay Offers a Glimpse of Earth's Structure
Scientists look at deep earthquake signals to map how seismic waves lose energy in the upper mantle across the United States.
Posted inNews
Quake or Bomb? Seismic Waves Speak Truth, Even If Nations Don't
When the Earth rumbles and no one knows why, seismologists can analyze the seismic event's waveforms to determine whether a hidden explosion or an earthquake caused the shaking.