Higher probability of mega-quakes seen during moon-sun high-tide alignment

[yuiyoshida]

Many of the largest recorded earthquakes occurred during periods when the pull of the moon and sun were particularly forceful. | ISTOCK

AFP-JIJI
SEP 13, 2016
PARIS – The same gravitational force that creates high tides when the moon and sun align may also play a role in triggering major earthquakes, according to a study released Monday.

Better understanding of this mechanism could help predict when known faults are more likely to produce killer quakes, the researchers said.

“Large earthquakes are more probable during periods of high tidal stress,” the scientists concluded in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience.

When the tug of gravity is strongest, they added, “the probability of a tiny rock failure expanding to a gigantic rupture increases.”

For centuries after the discovery that solar and lunar forces affect the ocean tides, scientists speculated whether they also cause Earth’s crust to buckle and fracture.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/09/13/national/science-health/higher-mega-quake-probability-seen-moon-sun-high-tide-alignment/#.V9ipXtQrLMp

[crim son]

1. Very interesting! n/t