I’ve enticed our geophysicists into working in the sediment core lab…but they’re still on probation lol. 😉

Also, a big shout out to my #USGS and #MBARI colleagues! Collaborating on this project allows us to both work with a great team of scientists and provides access to cutting edge tools like @mbarinews.bsky.social AUVs and ROVs that offer unprecedented views of the deep seafloor. 🧪⚒️🌊

This study is part of a much larger USGS effort to characterize geologic records of past earthquakes and reduce uncertainties in earthquake recurrence estimates that are used seismic hazard models. 🧪⚒️🌊

Read more about our project here:

www.usgs.gov/centers/pcms...

Overall, this study changes the focus of how the scientific community studies prehistoric earthquakes in a subduction zone, reduces the uncertainties in the timing and frequency of large subduction zone earthquakes, and offers new opportunities to develop global earthquake records.🧪⚒️🌊

We propose a new geologic model for subduction zone marine paleoseismology that emphasizes uplift & recycling of the abyssal seafloor. Accretion and oversteepening on the lower slope sets the stage for landslides and provides a perpetual source of material to fail during each earthquake cycle.
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We think these landslides, which happen on the steep base of continental slopes, are happening along subduction zones globally. This means we should be able to find similar landslide deposits and associated marine turbidites in many places around the world.
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The punctuated timing of these underwater landslides also suggests evidence for seafloor movement during large earthquakes, similar to what was observed during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. If this were to happen in Cascadia, it could enhance tsunami hazards across the region. 🧪⚒️🌊

Our results show the links landslide scars on the lower slope, large debris deposits and abyssal turbidites. By clarifying how and where earthquake triggered turbidites are generated, our results improve confidence in using these deposits to reconstruct long-term earthquake histories. 🧪⚒️🌊

Our study shows that large megathrust earthquakes generate widespread landslides on the seafloor, with characteristic deposits called turbidites that can reliably be used to reconstruct earthquake history. 🧪⚒️🌊

Check out this USGS video describing our new findings:

Our research team from USGS & MBARI used autonomous underwater& remotely operated vehicles to collect detailed seafloor bathymetry, sediment cores and subbottom data. Together, these data allow us to examine the shape of the seafloor and the layers of sediment beneath that record earth history. 🧪⚒️🌊

😆 Indeed! Don’t worry, we’ve had plenty of rain/fog days too!

Felt a cute little pair of shakers in Santa Cruz

Copper River delta, Alaska. So much sediment!!

Always!

It’s important to point out that this is because Crescent City,CA is expected to see higher wave heights due to the local topography/bathymetry and focusing of the wave energy.

“NPR reached out to the Office of Management and Budget to confirm the planned cut. In an email, a spokesperson replied, the EMA is, quote, "obviously irrelevant to science and is exactly the kind of waste President Trump ran on rooting out of the federal government."”
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