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Nature 417, 497-498 (30 May 2002) | doi:10.1038/417497a
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Earth science: The slippery slope
George Zandt
Abstract
Seismic readings suggest that a zone of weak, slippery rocks lies beneath the Pacific northwest coast of the United States. These frail layers might be limiting the violence of earthquakes.
Most of our planet's largest earthquakes and active volcanoes are associated with subduction zones, where one tectonic plate dives under another. As the downgoing plate experiences higher pressures and temperatures, water trapped in its crust and upper mantle is gradually forced out and into the mantle of the overlying plate.
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