researchers of the university of washington They identified a warm fluid that is chemically distinct from the seafloor emerging from a marine fault threatened by a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest.

In a statement, the researchers say they are not alarmed by the geologic discovery, though they cautioned that it may regulate friction in the fault zone and specified that it does not change the risk of a major earthquake in Cascadia’s subduction zone.

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The researchers’ paper notes that the seeps shot up from the seafloor 50 miles from Newport, Oregon. This spring, known as Pythia Oasis, is 4 miles deep, right on the plate boundary and this regulates the tension.

The discovery was accidental, as after a cruise delay, the sonar showed columns of bubbles and an underwater robot discovered them to be chemically different and warmer than their surroundings. According to calculations, this liquid comes from the Cascadia megathrust, which has temperatures between 150 and 250 degrees Celsius.

“They explored in that direction and what they saw were not just bubbles of methane, but water coming up from the seafloor like a fire hose,” revealed Evan Solomon, study co-author and associate professor of oceanography.

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The researcher emphasizes that these seeps are not associated with geological activity and that they occur near vertical faults that traverse the massive subduction zone. “These slip errors, where the Sections of oceanic crust and sediment slide past each other as the oceanic plate meets the continental plate at an angle and exerts pressure on the overlying continental plate.” It indicated.

It was added that the loss of fluid is important to reduce the pressure of this between the sediment particles, which friction between the oceanic and continental plates is increasing.