Featured
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Evidence of supershear during the 2018 magnitude 7.5 Palu earthquake from space geodesy
The devastating 2018 magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Palu, Indonesia, ruptured at supershear speeds according to evidence from space geodesy.
- Anne Socquet
- , James Hollingsworth
- & Michel Bouchon
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News & Views |
The geology of earthquake swarms
Differences between earthquake sequences in the crust and adjacent uppermost mantle at oceanic transform faults are revealed by a seafloor seismic experiment at the Blanco Transform Fault.
- Jeffrey J. McGuire
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Article |
Mode of slip and crust–mantle interaction at oceanic transform faults
Earthquakes in the crust and mantle at transform faults are distinct yet coupled, with seismic swarms in the mantle apparently preceding large earthquakes, according to ocean-bottom seismic monitoring of the Blanco Transform Fault.
- Václav M. Kuna
- , John L. Nábělek
- & Jochen Braunmiller
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Editorial |
Use machines to tame big data
Machine learning allows geoscientists to embrace data at scales greater than ever before. We are excited to see what this innovative tool can teach us.
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News & Views |
Data mining for seismic slip
Seismic data during the time interval between larger earthquakes could contain information about fault displacements and potential for future failure, suggest analyses of data from laboratory and real-world slow-slip earthquakes using machine-learning techniques.
- Kenneth C. Creager
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Continuous chatter of the Cascadia subduction zone revealed by machine learning
Continuous seismic signal, filtered out by machine-learning methods, could help infer fault displacement in the Cascadia subduction zone.
- Bertrand Rouet-Leduc
- , Claudia Hulbert
- & Paul A. Johnson
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Similarity of fast and slow earthquakes illuminated by machine learning
Both fast and slow earthquakes are preceded by micro-failure events that radiate energy. According to machine learning, these events can foretell catastrophic failure in laboratory experiment earthquakes.
- Claudia Hulbert
- , Bertrand Rouet-Leduc
- & Chris Marone
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News & Views |
Scraped by flat-slab subduction
During flat subduction, material is scraped off the base of the continental mantle lithosphere, building a migrating keel. This testable mechanism for flat subduction recreates features of the Laramide orogeny.
- Marc-André Gutscher
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Widespread volcanism in the Greenland–North Atlantic region explained by the Iceland plume
Volcanism across the North Atlantic region 62 million years ago is consistent with an Iceland plume source, despite the absence of a classic hotspot track, suggest tomographic images and geodynamic models.
- Bernhard Steinberger
- , Eva Bredow
- & Trond H. Torsvik
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Deep embrittlement and complete rupture of the lithosphere during the Mw 8.2 Tehuantepec earthquake
Geophysical observations of the 2017 Tehuantepec earthquake suggest that oceanic lithosphere can sustain brittle behaviour and rupture in an earthquake at greater depths than previously assumed.
- Diego Melgar
- , Angel Ruiz-Angulo
- & Leonardo Ramirez-Guzmán
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Slab stagnation due to a reduced viscosity layer beneath the mantle transition zone
Slab stagnation in the transition zone is explained by a thin, weak layer and is transient on timescales of tens of millions of years, according to a global mantle convection model that includes phase changes and plate motion history.
- Wei Mao
- & Shijie Zhong
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Locking on a megathrust as a cause of distributed faulting and fault-jumping earthquakes
Earthquakes that jump from fault to fault in subduction zones can be explained by locking on the plate interface, according to GPS data from New Zealand where the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake produced a complex array of crustal ruptures.
- Simon Lamb
- , Richard Arnold
- & James D. P. Moore
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Extremely early recurrence of intraplate fault rupture following the Tohoku-Oki earthquake
A pair of closely spaced intraplate earthquakes in Japan can be explained by postseismic deformation associated with the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake.
- Yo Fukushima
- , Shinji Toda
- & Kenji Tachibana
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News & Views |
A deep-earthquake puzzle resolved
Strong anisotropy within the source region of deep earthquakes explains their apparent non-pure shear faulting mechanism.
- Barbara Romanowicz
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Article |
Deep earthquakes in subducting slabs hosted in highly anisotropic rock fabric
Radiation patterns for deep earthquakes could be a result of shear faulting mechanisms—similar to those for shallow earthquakes—but in highly anisotropic rock fabric, suggest seismic analyses.
- Jiaxuan Li
- , Yingcai Zheng
- & Xinding Fang
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Episodic creep events on the San Andreas Fault caused by pore pressure variations
Slow-slip events on the central San Andreas Fault are localized creep bursts that aseismically rupture isolated fault compartments, according to analyses of satellite deformation data.
- Mostafa Khoshmanesh
- & Manoochehr Shirzaei
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News & Views |
Unsettled earthquake nucleation
Detailed analyses of the source characteristics of two earthquake sequences lead to seemingly contradictory interpretations: one study concludes that each earthquake triggers subsequent ones, while the other favours a slow-slip trigger.
- Joan Gomberg
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Article |
Archaean continental spreading inferred from seismic images of the Yilgarn Craton
Seismic images of giant crustal-collapse structures preserved in the Yilgarn Craton, Australia, reveal that these structures may have formed over 2.5 billion years ago when the cores of continents were hot and weak.
- Andrew J. Calvert
- & Michael P. Doublier
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Nucleation of the 1999 Izmit earthquake by a triggered cascade of foreshocks
The magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999 was nucleated by an eastward-migrating cascade of foreshocks, according to high-resolution analyses of seismic data.
- William L. Ellsworth
- & Fatih Bulut
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Article |
Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity
Earthquake activity in East Antarctica is similar to that of other stable cratons, according to analyses of seismic data. Thus, the weight of the overlying Antarctic polar ice sheet does not suppress seismicity, as was previously thought.
- Amanda C. Lough
- , Douglas A. Wiens
- & Andrew Nyblade
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Earthquake nucleation and fault slip complexity in the lower crust of central Alaska
A strike-slip fault zone in central Alaska exhibits a range of earthquake slip processes, including very-low-frequency earthquakes, some of which transition into regular, fast earthquakes.
- Carl Tape
- , Stephen Holtkamp
- & Michael E. West
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News & Views |
Yellowstone debate erupts again
The heat driving Yellowstone’s volcanism originates from a depth of at least 700 km, according to images of the mantle created using novel seismic methods.
- Karin Sigloch
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Anomalous mantle transition zone beneath the Yellowstone hotspot track
The mantle transition zone in the western United States is perturbed along a path that mirrors the line of the Yellowstone hotspot track at the surface, according to analysis of tomographic data.
- Ying Zhou
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Article |
An updated stress map of the continental United States reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Crustal stress in the interior of the United States is spatially variable and largely controlled by local forces, rather than those transmitted from tectonic plate boundaries, according to a map of the continental stress field.
- Will Levandowski
- , Robert B. Herrmann
- & Ryan Gold
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Episodic magmatism and serpentinized mantle exhumation at an ultraslow-spreading centre
Lithosphere at ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges can form via a combination of serpentinized mantle exhumation and magmatism, according to analyses of seismic surveys from the Cayman Trough.
- Ingo Grevemeyer
- , Nicholas W. Hayman
- & Cord Papenberg
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News & Views |
Training machines in Earthly ways
Geoscientists are training computers to learn from a wide range of geologic data and, in the process, the machines are teaching geoscientists about the workings of Earth.
- Chris Marone
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Article |
Indian Ocean floor deformation induced by the Reunion plume rather than the Tibetan Plateau
Deformation of the Indian Ocean floor over the past 8 million years was caused by a change in plate motions linked to flow of the Reunion mantle plume, according to analyses of forces upon plates.
- G. Iaffaldano
- , D. R. Davies
- & C. DeMets
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Migrating pattern of deformation prior to the Tohoku-Oki earthquake revealed by GRACE data
Deformation migrated from depth towards the surface in the months leading up to the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, according to analyses of satellite gravity data.
- Isabelle Panet
- , Sylvain Bonvalot
- & Jean-Michel Lemoine
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Repeated drainage from megathrusts during episodic slow slip
Slow slip events may cause fluids to drain from the plate boundary into the overlying plate at subduction zones, according to seismic analyses of events recorded in Kanto, Japan.
- Junichi Nakajima
- & Naoki Uchida
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Chilean megathrust earthquake recurrence linked to frictional contrast at depth
The recurrence time of megathrust earthquakes in Chile may be controlled by frictional contrasts at depth, according to analyses of stress build-up and release related to the December 2016 southern Chile earthquake.
- M. Moreno
- , S. Li
- & O. Oncken
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Lower-mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone hotspot revealed by core waves
The Yellowstone hotspot could be fed by a thin, thermal mantle plume that extends from the core–mantle boundary to the surface position of the hotspot, according to analyses of seismic data.
- Peter L. Nelson
- & Stephen P. Grand
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News & Views |
When plumes tickle continents
Continental stability may be linked to a shallow, buoyant mantle layer, and the deepest craton roots can be destabilized and removed by mantle plumes.
- Eric Debayle
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Modification of the Western Gondwana craton by plume–lithosphere interaction
South American and African cratons may have been substantially modified by mantle plumes, according to analyses of seismic images and tectonic records. The results imply that cratons may not be as stable as once thought.
- Jiashun Hu
- , Lijun Liu
- & Craig Lundstrom
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Corrugated megathrust revealed offshore from Costa Rica
Mature parts of the shallow megathrust beneath Costa Rica are characterized by striking corrugations that may channel fluids, according to seismic images. Nascent sections of the subduction zone plate boundary appear only weakly corrugated.
- Joel H. Edwards
- , Jared W. Kluesner
- & Kristina Okamoto
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Water-rich sublithospheric melt channel in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean
A water-rich layer of partial melt marks the base of the lithosphere in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, according to analyses of seismic data.
- Fares Mehouachi
- & Satish C. Singh
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Western US volcanism due to intruding oceanic mantle driven by ancient Farallon slabs
Volcanism in the western US may result from warm oceanic mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean being drawn eastwards by mantle flow induced by the sinking of Farallon slabs, according to numerical model simulations.
- Quan Zhou
- , Lijun Liu
- & Jiashun Hu
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Past seismic slip-to-the-trench recorded in Central America megathrust
Past megathrust earthquakes in the Costa Rica subduction zone have slipped all the way up to the seafloor, according to analyses of core and seismic data. This shallow slip was accommodated by layers of weak biogenic ooze.
- Paola Vannucchi
- , Elena Spagnuolo
- & Stefan Nielsen
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Links between sediment consolidation and Cascadia megathrust slip behaviour
Consolidated sediments in the Cascadia subduction zone may create conditions favourable for megathrust earthquake ruptures over long distances and close to the trench, according to analyses of seismic velocity of sediments from the region. Less-consolidated sediments instead may promote aseismic slip of the plate boundary.
- Shuoshuo Han
- , Nathan L. Bangs
- & James C. Gibson
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A role for subducted super-hydrated kaolinite in Earth’s deep water cycle
A super-hydrated clay mineral may play an important role in the solid Earth’s water cycle, according to laboratory experiments. The mineral kaolinite can carry and release large amounts of water during subduction.
- Huijeong Hwang
- , Donghoon Seoung
- & Ho-Kwang Mao
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Dry Juan de Fuca slab revealed by quantification of water entering Cascadia subduction zone
The Juan de Fuca plate, which subducts below the Cascades, is remarkably dry, according to reconstructions of water content based on seismic data. Decompression rather than hydrous melting must therefore be responsible for Cascades volcanism.
- J. P. Canales
- , S. M. Carbotte
- & H. Carton
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Large-scale dynamic triggering of shallow slow slip enhanced by overlying sedimentary wedge
Seismic waves can trigger further fault slip. Analysis of seismic and geodetic data shows that seismic waves from the 2016 Kaikōura, New Zealand earthquake were amplified by subduction zone sediments, triggering slow fault slip up to 600 km away.
- Laura M. Wallace
- , Yoshihiro Kaneko
- & Bill Fry
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Intermediate-depth earthquakes linked to localized heating in dunite and harzburgite
Earthquakes can occur at great depths in the Earth, within subducting tectonic plates. Deformation experiments suggest these deep earthquakes can be triggered by localized heating of the slabs under high pressures.
- Tomohiro Ohuchi
- , Xinglin Lei
- & Tetsuo Irifune
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Editorial |
Progress from catastrophe
Natural disasters can devastate local communities. However, these rare events also often trigger new ways of thinking, and provide a treasure trove of data that must be used to reduce vulnerability.
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Article |
Tsunamigenic structures in a creeping section of the Alaska subduction zone
Creeping subduction zones are unlikely to generate tsunamigenic earthquakes. Analysis of a creeping part of the Alaskan subduction zone reveals fault structures similar to those in Tohoku, suggesting it may host large earthquakes and tsunamis.
- Anne Bécel
- , Donna J. Shillington
- & Harold Kuehn
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Lifetime and size of shallow magma bodies controlled by crustal-scale magmatism
Super-eruptions require high magma supply rates. Numerical simulations show that even for volcanoes with low supply rates, the warming influence of magma on the crust prevents solidification, allowing super-eruption volumes of magma to accumulate.
- Ozge Karakas
- , Wim Degruyter
- & Josef Dufek
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Deep and shallow long-period volcanic seismicity linked by fluid-pressure transfer
Shallow volcanic earthquakes can aid eruption forecasts. Analysis of seismicity beneath the Klyuchevskoy volcano group in Russia reveals much deeper magma-induced earthquakes that may serve as an early eruption indicator.
- N. M. Shapiro
- , D. V. Droznin
- & E. I. Gordeev
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Perspective |
The cold and relatively dry nature of mantle forearcs in subduction zones
Dehydration of subducting slabs could create a reservoir of water in the overlying mantle. A synthesis of thermal model results, however, shows that slab dehydration is slow over geological time scales, so such reservoirs are probably rare.
- G. A. Abers
- , P. E. van Keken
- & B. R. Hacker