News

Experts on Red Alert Mega Earthquake Off US Coast

September 6, 2023

103

Scientists who are experts in this field are paying very close attention because they are worried about a crack deep under the ocean. This crack is not far from the coast of Oregon and it’s leaking hot liquid. These scientists think that this liquid might cause a huge earthquake, like a really, really big one. This earthquake could be so strong that it could seriously damage the west coast of the United States.

This crack is part of a long line of cracks in the Earth’s crust that goes from California to Canada. They call this line the Cascadia Subduction Zone. People first saw this crack in 2015, but now scientists are saying that the liquid coming out of it is like a kind of oil that makes it easier for the Earth’s plates to slide around. It’s like when you put oil on a door hinge to make it move smoothly.

So, if more of this liquid is in the cracks, it means there’s less pressure between the two big pieces of Earth’s crust. But if there’s not enough of this liquid, the pressure can build up, and that can cause a super powerful earthquake.”

Red Alert Mega Earthquake Experts on red alert US Coast

Experts who are really worried about a super big earthquake happening in the western United States are on high alert. They think that someday, a place called the Cascadia Subduction Zone could cause a massive earthquake that would destroy many cities.

A long time ago, a robot diver found a hole in the ocean floor where bubbles were coming up. They saw that the water from this hole was warmer than the water around it. A scientist named Evan Soloman, who studied the ocean, said, ‘They went to check it out, and what they saw wasn’t just bubbles but water shooting out of the seafloor like a strong water hose.’

He also said that when this liquid comes out of the ground, it’s important because it reduces the pressure between some rocks, and that makes the rocks rub against each other more, like when you rub your hands together.”

Imagine a game of air hockey where the puck slides smoothly because there’s a lot of air under it. Well, it’s similar to the Earth’s plates. When there’s high pressure, it’s like having lots of air, and that makes the plates slide easily.

There have been really bad earthquakes caused by one piece of Earth sliding over another, like the one in Japan in 2011 that killed a lot of people.

Scientists think the last big earthquake in the Cascadia area happened in 1700, and it was much stronger than the biggest earthquake we expected on the San Andreas Fault in California.

The place where this liquid is coming out is the first one scientists have seen, but they think there might be more places like this that we haven’t found yet.

They named this place Pythias Oasis after an old Greek story about someone who could supposedly predict the future by breathing in fumes from a hot spring underground. Thanks for reading patiently.