Two of the biggest US earthquake faults might be linked

Nature ^ | 05 December 2019 | Alexandra Witze

[Red Badger]

Provocative analysis of sea-floor cores suggests that quakes on the Cascadia fault off California can trigger tremors on the San Andreas.

Two of North America’s most fearsome earthquake zones could be linked.

A controversial study argues that at least eight times in the past 3,000 years, quakes made a one–two punch off the west coast of the United States. A quake hit the Cascadia fault off the coast of northern California, triggering a second quake on the San Andreas fault just to the south. In some cases, the delay between the quakes may have been decades long.

The study suggests that Cascadia, which scientists think is capable of unleashing a magnitude-9 earthquake at any time, could set off quakes on the northern San Andreas, which runs under the San Francisco Bay Area.

Several earthquake scientists told Nature that more work is needed to confirm the provocative idea. Researchers have long considered the two faults seismically separate.

Chris Goldfinger, a geologist and palaeoseismologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, will present the findings on 13 December at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. “This is mostly a circumstantial case,” he says. “I don’t have a smoking gun.”

[Darksheare]

Not my fault

[Red Badger]

[Darksheare]

Thanks!

[Robert A Cook PE]

Well, it’s not your fault they’re not at catatrosphic fault. Yet.

[Cold Heart]

What I have read on Seattle and Portland is ALL the old brick buildings will fall as will the older bridges.

[SunkenCiv]

Associative memory (plus approaching senility) calls for another musical interlude:

It's My Fault, Darling (Remastered)

[Liberty Valance]

bttt - ;o)~

[aimhigh]

I hate science articles that say, “may have been”. It makes me think the article is nothing more than a plea for more research money.