The field of plate tectonics is relatively new, and researchers are still uncovering the intricacies of geologic faults that cause earthquakes. One such fault, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, is a potentially catastrophic offshore fault located in the Pacific Northwest that has yet to reveal all its s
A study led by the
“They explored in that direction and what they saw was not just methane bubbles, but water coming out of the seafloor like a firehose. That’s something that I’ve never seen, and to my knowledge has not been observed before,” said co-author Evan Solomon, a UW associate professor of oceanography who studies seafloor geology.
The new seeps aren’t related to geologic activity at the nearby seafloor observatory that the cruise was heading toward, Solomon said. Instead, they occur near vertical faults that crosshatch the massive Cascadia Subduction Zone. These strike-slip faults, where sections of ocean crust and sediment slide past each other, exist because the ocean plate hits the continental plate at an angle, placing stress on the overlying continental plate.
Fluid released from the fault zone is like leaking lubricant, Solomon said. That’s bad news for earthquake hazards: Less lubricant means stress can build to create a damaging quake.
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