Population Health
January 26, 2023
Ocean drilling help scientists home in on the link between tectonic forces and earthquake cycles
A study led by the University of Washington and the University of Texas Austin discovered that tectonic stress near Japan’s Nankai subduction zone is less than expected.
The area is known to have some of the most powerful and damaging tsunamis in the globe, like the 1946 eruption that killed thousands, and is still on course for another eruption in the next 50 years.
These findings are key in helping scientists understand the links between tectonic forces and earthquake cycles and in turn will help scientists better predict when the next “big” one will hit.