Posted on 04/14/2023 5:28:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
* The hole may be leaking 'fault lubricant' that reduces stress on two plates
* The fault could unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest
* READ MORE: Extra layer of plate tectonics could be causing tremors in Pacific
=============================================================
Scientists fear a hole in a 600-mile-long fault line in the Pacific could trigger a catastrophic earthquake that would decimate cities along the northwestern US.
The hole spewing hot liquid sits 50 miles off the shoreline of Oregon, on the boundary of the dipping fault known as Cascadia Subduction Zone, which spans from Northern California into Canada.
This geological feature is capable of unleashing a magnitude-9 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest - and the hole could be the fuel it needs.
The leak was first observed in 2015, but a new analysis led by the University of Washington (UW) suggests the chemically distinct liquid is 'fault lubricant.'
This liquid allows plates to move smoothly, but without it, 'stress can build to create a damaging quake,' researchers said.
The team named the hole, which they describe as a hot spring, 'Pythias Oasis' after the ancient Greek oracle who 'prophesized' with the assistance of the mind-altering gases rising from a hot spring.
'It seems equally hallucinatory to find a spring of low-salinity, high-temperature, mineral-rich water flowing from the seafloor 3,280 feet below the surface off the coast of Oregon,' researchers shared in a statement.
A robotic diver uncovered the hole in a 2015 survey when sonar images captured bubbles rising from the seafloor.
Data showed liquid from the spring was coming from the plate boundary line and appeared warmer than the surrounding area.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Are you threatening me? Hmmm....hmmm....hmm .... hmmmm
Red alert for experts is making sure they’re ready for TV cameras just in case. Emergency stylist appointments and the like.
Meh. 10% population loss from lib cities is a good start.
I guess this explains why, several years ago when my wife and I were in our RV on the coast road along the ocean in Oregon, we saw all the signs.
We were at least 300 feet above the ocean level and there were tsunami warning signs every mile along the highway.
Told my wife that if they were thinking that a tsunami was going to come up this high, the signs weren’t going to help.
Amen!
They almost literally BEG for a ‘big one’ so that they can capitalize on the recovery...all the while doing absolutely NOTHING to prepare and ensure public safety in its aftermath.
Speaks volumes (the latter).
They (the ‘scientists’) can’t even nail down the cause of the ~500 AD event which dramatically affected climate for over a year in the northern hemisphere (likely Kamchatka).
A repeat of such a volcanic event is much more likely and will certainly kill hundreds of millions from its effects (starvation, societal collapse, etc.).
You will need to regularly do a deep dive into the bottom of this thread.
‘Tis a slippery slope and dip these faults do strike to conceal their murky depths of high magnitude shakes and stirs.
The hole place is jest rockin’ and rollin’
The movin’ and shakin’ is not be lived.
(This Cascadia Fault deep offshore of the Washington and Oregon coastline is “due” for its next regularly schedule Magnitude 8.5 to 9.0 tsunami and earthquake.
The last one (January 1700) could be exactly dated because its tsunamis destroyed several villages in Japan and wiped out their taxes for the next years. Average interval between these Mag 9 earthquakes in 350 years.
So scary. I’ll add this to the list of things that will end civilization.
crack kills
There is water at the bottom of the sea. Or so the Talking Heads told me.
Based on the waves and damage from previous earthquakes off of this coastline, at least a 6-8 meter tsunami is going to hit in the next 5-75 years. If not next year.
(Last Mag 8-9 earthquake there was 323 years ago. The usual interval is 350 years. )
An 8-10 meter tsunami is possible. Over 10 meter not very likely.
So, the “fluid” is just water, why not call it that?
Are you now considering Seattle, Portland and the west coast of Oregon and Washington “civilization”?
Oh wait... Just California is going to die... Well, maybe that's no big loss....never mind..
Well, they did create the grunge rock scene and overpriced coffee houses. They also make some good granola up there.
No, this is a real case of “Oh Shiitte!” is actually a real threat. I’ve driven those coves and bays from mid-state Washington down to the Columbia River. You have ONE coastal two-lane road.
It varies going up and down from 5 feet above sea level (ASL) to 50 - 60 feet ASL higher. Then bends and curves back down to the next tiny coastal town. Every 5-15 miles, there is an road going back east towards Interstate 5. Interstate 5 is a bit higher - 35- 70 or 80 ASL. Its bridges? Might stay up, might fall. Landslides and roadbed collapses as in Alasaka’s 1960’s earthquake will likely cut up parts of I-5, even if the bridges are good.
The tsunami will likely strip bare everything within 30 feet of today’s waterline - but depending on what land moves up and what land moves down, that too may vary by 2-3 meters.
Most of the “experts” you see on the doom porn shows about these events rely almost entirely on government grants to further their studies so they have a financial interest in keeping the “problem” at the forefront.
With that said, I do think studying these types of actions is a worthy project with an eye towards disaster planning and early detection. I think all of us can agree it would be a horrific event with casualties and destruction beyond comprehension.
I agree with you about volcanic activity. The “Ring of Fire” has tremendous potential to cause catastrophe far beyond the actual eruption.
Whew, I’m at least 500 feet east of the I-5, what a relief!
Alrighty, then. /s
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.