• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

New model reveals previously unrecognized complexity of oceanic earthquake zones

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 21, 2020
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

University of Tsukuba researchers have developed a state-of-the-art model, which has revealed major complexity in rupture processes even in simple oceanic faults

IMAGE

Credit: University of Tsukuba

Tsukuba, Japan – Researchers from the University of Tsukuba applied seismic data from around the world to build a model of the 2020 Caribbean earthquake. Oceanic transform faults are generally considered to be linear and simple and have been widely used in studies of earthquake dynamics. However, the research team found that high complexity in rupture speed and direction can occur even in a supposedly simple linear fault system.

On 28 January 2020, a large oceanic earthquake with magnitude 7.7 occurred at the Oriente transform fault in the Caribbean Sea, between Jamaica and Cuba. It caused a minor tsunami of 0.11 m height and was felt as far afield as Florida.

A research team at the University of Tsukuba have developed a new finite-fault inversion method for building models based on teleseismic waveform data from earthquake monitoring stations. This new approach to using the data takes a more flexible approach to resolving the fault geometry. Rather than relying on prior assumptions, the faulting components are separately evaluated in a wider model in both time and space, allowing all possible rupture evolutions to be considered. The team were keen to use the Caribbean earthquake to help to understand the faulting processes that occur during these shallow oceanic quakes.

“Some cases of complex rupture dynamics have recently been reported in previous earthquake studies, raising the question of whether or not we are correctly modeling these even in supposedly simple fault systems,” says study author Professor Yuji Yagi. “The initial monitoring of this January 2020 event suggested variations in the waveform shape between two stations at similar distances from the epicenter, suggesting that there remains complexity to be explored at this fault.”

This was an excellent opportunity to test the new method developed by the team, which used data from 52 seismic stations to construct a detailed model of the geophysical processes within the fault that gave rise to the earthquake.

“The results revealed complex rupture during the earthquake, caused by a bend in the fault that led to the changes in rupture speed and direction detected in the monitoring data,” explains author Professor Ryo Okuwaki. “These variations triggered several successive rupture episodes that occurred along the 300-km-long fault.” The modeling approach also allows some suggestions to be made about the possible occurrence of subsidence and the shape of the surrounding seabed following the earthquake event.

These findings reveal that oceanic transform faults, considered to be simple and linear, may be much more complicated than previously accepted, and therefore require a more comprehensive approach to earthquake modeling. This work will shed light on a possible interaction between the earthquake-fault motion and the evolution of the ocean floor around the transform boundary.

###

The article, “Rupture Process of the 2020 Caribbean Earthquake along the Oriente Transform Fault, Involving Supershear Rupture and Geometric Complexity of Fault” was published in Geophysical Research Letters at DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090899.

Media Contact
Naoko Yamashina
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090899

Tags: Earth ScienceGeographyGeology/SoilGeophysics/GravityPlate Tectonics
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

UofL Study Reveals Amplified Liver Damage from Combined Exposure to Alcohol and “Forever Chemicals”

UofL Study Reveals Amplified Liver Damage from Combined Exposure to Alcohol and “Forever Chemicals”

August 5, 2025
blank

Zero-Dimensional Octahedral Metal Halides Synthesized via Solvent Incorporation

August 5, 2025

New Study Reveals How Diatoms Thrive and Illuminate the Southern Ocean

August 4, 2025

Mapping Brain Chemistry Through Humanity’s Evolutionary Journey

August 4, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18
  • Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Solving Forensic Mysteries: Genealogy’s Emerging Solutions

Optimizing Bacillus cabrialesii HB7 for Saline Stress Relief

PeroCycle Appoints New CEO and Launches £4M Seed Round to Advance Decarbonization in Steelmaking

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.