The fault beneath Istanbul doesn’t behave the way scientists once thought.
The fault beneath Istanbul doesn’t behave the way scientists once thought.
New research from USC shows that variations in underground temperature and sediment thickness segment the Main Marmara Fault in ways that control where earthquakes start, how far they spread and where they stop — findings that could reshape risk assessments for one of the world’s most vulnerable megacities.
The study, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, focuses on the North Anatolian Fault beneath the Sea of Marmara, which hasn’t produced a major earthquake since 1894. Using physics-based simulations that model more than 10,000 years of seismic activity, researchers found that the fault is unlikely to rupture in a single, catastrophic event. Instead, it will likely break in segments, with maximum earthquake magnitudes reaching about 7.3.
Read more at: University of Southern California
Photo Credit: Ben_Kerckx via Pixabay
