"At least 90 small earthquakes have shaken California's Bay Area this month, prompting scientists to dig into what's driving the unusual burst of activity. San Ramon in the East Bay has been the epicenter of this seismic activity, which sits on top of the Calaveras Fault, an active branch of the San Andreas Fault system. The Calaveras Fault is capable of producing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake, which would impact millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area."
"The US Geological Survey estimates there is an 18 percent chance of this happening by 2030. This month's seismic activity began on November 9 with a 3.8 magnitude, and the tremors have not stopped since. Although small quakes can sometimes whisper warnings of a looming 'big one,' California scientists say this swarm does not fit that script."
"'This has happened many times before here in the past, and there were no big earthquakes that followed. 'We think that this place keeps having earthquake swarms due to a lot of fluid-filled cracks, thanks to very complex fault geometry, unlike, say, the San Andreas Fault, which is this nice clean edge.'"
At least 90 small earthquakes have shaken the San Francisco Bay Area this month, concentrated near San Ramon above the Calaveras Fault. The Calaveras Fault is an active branch of the San Andreas system and can produce up to a magnitude 6.7 quake that could impact millions in the region. The US Geological Survey estimates an 18 percent chance of such an event by 2030. The current swarm began on November 9 with a magnitude 3.8 and has continued with frequent tremors. The area has produced multiple swarms since 1970 and contains complex, closely spaced, fluid-filled cracks that drive recurring seismic bursts.
Read at Mail Online
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]