2023-06-19 14:01:00
American researchers made a hazardous discovery a few years ago and studied the potential consequences.
The forecasts are cause for concern: terrible earthquake causing various devastating tsunamis. And the first sign of this apocalyptic risk would lie in a discovery made somewhat by chance a few years ago.
American researchers from the University of Washington recently published the results of their work in Science Advances following making a strange discovery. Hot liquid pours into the Pacific Ocean at the Cascadia Fault, which runs from Vancouver to California.
The sonar image shows bubbles escaping. ADVANCED SCIENCE – PHILIP ET AL.
“Unheard of” on a dangerous fault
This phenomenon is therefore located at the level of two tectonic plates. The slightest change can give rise to dramatic earthquakes.
During observations of the ocean floor, one of the study’s co-authors, Brendan Philip, then a university student, noticed bubbles escaping. He had no idea of their importance.
“What they saw were not just methane bubbles, but water coming out of the seabed like a fire hose. It’s something I’ve never seen and, to my knowledge, which has never been observed before,” says one of the other researchers, Evan Solomon, a seabed geologist.
9°C warmer than water
Thinking of a hydrothermal vent, scientists decide to take a closer look. And they realize that what comes out of the bottom of the ocean is actually a liquid 9°C warmer than the temperature of the water.
The researchers estimate the origin of this fluid 4 kilometers below the ocean floor, where the temperature is around 150-250°C, as reported by the statement from the university of washington.
What is this fluid for?
This liquid is basically contained between the two tectonic plates. It serves as a lubricant. Called “Oasis de Pythie”, this reserve of water makes it possible to slide the plates without a hitch. But if it escapes, this fluid will lose its effectiveness. And the two plates will no longer slip.
When the plates will rub together, the pressure will be such that, according to the researchers, this will cause a terrible earthquake followed by major tsunamis whose waves might reach 30 meters in height.
This risk comes on top of those already identified in one of the most densely populated seismic zones in the world, where we already fear this earthquake which is called, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, “The Big One”. .
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