New Plate Boundary being formed? The recent series of large earthquakes below the sea floor, off of
New Plate Boundary being formed? The recent series of large earthquakes below the sea floor, off of the coast of Sumatra has led Geoscientists to believe that a new plate boundary may be forming that will eventually split the Indo-Australian plate in two. The largest of the quakes, which measured 8.7 on the Richter scale, has given the researchers indications that something major, geologically speaking, is happening below the sea floor. The process probably started around 10 million years ago, but it’s important to remember that it takes several million years for this process to be completed. It is not something that any of us will see in our lifetimes. The quakes are caused by the same system that caused the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, which measured 9.1. The recent Sumatran quakes have not caused anywhere near the same amount of devastation as the Boxing Day earthquake and they didn’t cause a Tsunami. This is due to the nature of faulting occurring. The Sumatran quakes have a strike slip displacement associated with them, whereas the 9.1 quake was generated by thrust faulting. This research is very interesting and we’ll keep you updated on any news here at The Earth Story! -LL Links:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19732681http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11520.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11492.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11504.html -- source link
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