Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story:<\/p>\n
The Tintina fault is thought to have been inactive for more than 40 million years, but new research suggests that earthquakes occurred in the zone much more recently.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Researchers from the University of Victoria identified fault scarps that suggest major slips occurred during the Quaternary period (2.6 million years ago to present day).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The team estimated that the fault accumulates.2 to.8 millimeters of strain each year, meaning that a release could cause a 7.5 magnitude earthquake\u2014or on that\u2019s even bigger.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Earthquakes occur when two blocks of earth slip past one another at a fault. While earthquakes<\/a> are perhaps the most tangible reminder that the ground we stand on is always shifting, not all movement at fault planes is sudden. Sometimes blocks slowly creep past each other across centuries. Some faults, like the Tintina fault, are believed to be inactive<\/a>, meaning that they no longer have earthquakes. The Tintina fault stretches about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) across the Yukon territory<\/a> in northwestern Canada, and until recently, scientists believed the zone to have been inactive for over 40 million years.<\/p>\n A new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters<\/a>, however, tells a different story. The research team\u2014led by experts from the University of Victoria (UVic)\u2014discovered a 130 kilometer (80 mile) stretch with evidence of recent movement. Now, experts believe devastating earthquakes could be on the way.<\/p>\n The team used high-resolution topographic data and LiDAR surveys collected from satellites, airplanes, and drones to identify fault scarps (linear ruptures produced by landscapes) in the area. Researchers found a series of fault scarps passing within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of Dawson City, Canada\u2014evidence that could completely change our understanding of the Tintina fault\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past couple of decades there have been a few small earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4 detected along the Tintina fault, but nothing to suggest it is capable of large ruptures,\u201d Theron Finley, lead author of the study, said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThe expanding availability of high-resolution data prompted us to re-examine the fault, looking for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n Along the fault scarps, the team found 2.6-million-year-old glacial landforms<\/a> offset by approximately 1000 meters (3280 feet). Researchers also discovered other 132,000-year-old landforms that were only offset by 75 meters (246 feet). Both findings confirm that the fault slipped substantially during earthquakes in the Quaternary period\u2014a geological timeframe spanning from 2.6 million years ago to present day. Interestingly, landforms that emerged 12,000 years ago showed no movement, meaning that there haven\u2019t been any large ruptures in the area for over 12 millennia.<\/p>\n Using the data collected, researchers estimate that the fault accumulates about.2 to.8 millimeters of strain every year, which could mean that a devastating earthquake is imminent<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5,\u201d Finley said in the release. \u201cBased on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle, having accrued a slip deficit, or build-up of strain, of six metres in the last 12,000 years. If this were to be released, it would cause a significant earthquake.\u201d<\/p>\n Earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 or higher are typically noticeable<\/a>, but cause little damage. Once an earthquake reaches a magnitude of 6.1, however, it can do damage to poorly constructed buildings. As Finley explained, the Tintina fault may exceed magnitude 7.5, meaning that it would be considered a \u201cmajor\u201d earthquake on the magnitude scale<\/a>, and could cause major damage across larger areas.<\/p>\n According to the press release, Canada\u2019s National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) doesn\u2019t currently recognize the Tintina fault as a discrete seismogenic fault source.<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story: The Tintina fault is thought to have been inactive…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":121709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12635,75523,159,75524,67,132,75525,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-121708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-earthquakes","9":"tag-fault-scarps","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-tintina-fault","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-university-of-victoria","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114977908066309917","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}