Geophysicists Learn How One Earthquake Can Trigger Another
November 1, 2003
Why earthquakes happen when they do is a scientific mystery that geophysicists strive to understand. Now, new research shows that one deep earthquake can trigger another one hundreds of miles away. Knowing this may help scientists improve their earthquake forecasts. Triggered quakes happen when the energy from the initial quake passes by and moves the Earth, sometimes far from the epicenter. One of the key reasons why scientists are seeing triggered earthquakes is that they have deployed seismometers in new places and taking much more data than ever before. Learning what gets a quake shaking in the first place will give researchers clues as to what might happen next.
