Scientists warn if a 1,000-ft ‘mega-tsunami's spurs from an active fault line it could wipe part of America off the map
Scientists are warning that a 1,000-foot-tall ' mega tsunami ' could potentially wipe a large chunk of America off the map – if a strong enough earthquake hits a specific active fault line over the next 50 years.
Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the mainland America's West Coast are at risk if an earthquake erupts along the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault stretching from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, California.
A recent study by Virginia Tech geoscientists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimates that there's a 15 percent chance of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hitting the region within the next 50 years.
That quake, which would potentially flush away cities like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, could also sink coastal land by as much as 6.5 feet, according to the findings.
In that instance, the mega tsunami's waves could reach up to 1,000 feet, putting millions of Americans at new risk.
While ordinary tsunamis produce waves standing a few feet tall, mega-tsunamis are characterized by extreme height, with waves often stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Unlike gradual climate-driven events, this potential earthquake would 'happen within minutes, leaving no time for adaptation or mitigation,' the scientists warned.
'The expansion of the coastal floodplain following a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake has not been previously quantified, and the impacts to land use could significantly increase the timeline to recovery,' said Tina Dura, lead author of the study and assistant professor in Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences.
The new research found the most severe effects would be in southern Washington, northern Oregon and northern California.
Alaska and Hawaii, though further from the fault line, are vulnerable because of their seismic and volcanic profiles.
There also has not been a quake of large seismic magnitude along the Cascadia subduction zone since 1700.
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Medical News Today
39 minutes ago
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'With their impact expected to grow dramatically as populations age — and the number of people ages 60 and over projected to increase from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion by 2030 — developing effective prevention strategies has become urgent,' she said. Kimball is the lead author of a new study recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, that has identified an aging biomarker that is more common in people who develop stroke, dementia, and depression as they age. However, researchers found that following a healthy lifestyle offsets the risk of the diseases associated with this aging biomarker. For this study, researchers analyzed medical records for more than 356,000 adults with a median age of 56 living in the U.K. 'Imagine your shoelaces have plastic tips that protect them from fraying — telomeres work similarly for your DNA,' Kimball explained. 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Interestingly, Kimball and her team also found that participants with short telomeres, but who had high Brain Care Scores, did not have a higher risk of developing the studied brain diseases. 'In individuals with high Brain Care Score, the impact of leukocyte telomere length on disease risk was not significant,' Kimball explained. 'This may suggest that adopting healthier lifestyles and improving modifiable risk factors can mitigate the negative effects of having shorter telomeres.' 'Research shows that approximately 45% of dementia cases and up to 85% of strokes are linked to factors we can modify — like blood pressure, diet, and exercise,' she continued. 'Understanding the biological mechanisms by which lifestyle interventions influence cellular aging processes is essential for validating prevention strategies and developing more targeted, evidence-based interventions for brain health.' 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44 minutes ago
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These rare reports came from naturalists, citizen scientists, and researchers who revealed what they saw on social media, during interviews, or at scientific conferences. In total, the witnesses spotted 39 bubble rings from whale-watching boats, research vessels, private ships, and airplanes. The study, published in Marine Mammal Science, found that bubble rings were produced in three main contexts: feeding, resting, and curiosity - which was the most common purpose. There were nine instances of humpback whales blowing bubble rings near boats and swimmers. The whales in these cases were consistently seen approaching boats and people in the water without any signs of aggression, splashing their tails and spraying water out of their blowholes. The researchers said this was a clear sign that the humpbacks were relaxed and trying to be playful, leading them to feel comfortable communicating with the humans near them. They typically let out bubble rings from their blowholes that were six to 10 feet in diameter, which floated straight up and look like a smoke ring when they reached the ocean surface. The rings were often aimed right at humans and were paired with other playful behaviors like circling the boats or peeking at swimmers. The humpbacks didn't show anger or fear and lingered after sending out the bubble ring, almost as if waiting for the people to 'answer' their greeting. Scientists concluded that these rings might be a whale's way of saying, 'Hey, let's chat!' or play a game to see how we react, much like a child blowing bubbles to get our attention. The team from SETI said this never-before-seen behavior among humpback whales further supports the assumption that intelligent extraterrestrial life might also seek contact with humans. SETI Institute scientist and study co-author Dr Laurance Doyle said: 'This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales.' Humpback whales have been a constant resource in SETI's search for alien life, with researchers using them as a model of intelligent, non-human creatures which may be living on distant ocean worlds By studying these whales and their new interactions with people as an example of non-human intelligence, WhaleSETI researchers are creating ways of finding and translating potential signals found in space. The institute suggested that bubble rings could be a deliberate attempt by whales to talk with humans they considered peaceful, not just aimless play. According to SETI, this would mimic how extraterrestrials might target satellite receivers on Earth if they wanted to contact humanity. This isn't the first time the WhaleSETI team has connected the behavior of humpbacks to aliens. In 2023, scientists engaged in a 20-minute 'conversation' with a humpback whale named Twain in Alaska. They played whale calls for her and Twain responded with similar calls, matching the timing like a back-and-forth chat. That study showed whales can intentionally interact with humans, helping SETI scientists understand the non-human intelligences they may find in space. 'By integrating our findings into the broader context of Drake's Equation, we aspire to advance our understanding of the factors influencing the emergence of communicative intelligence in extraterrestrial civilizations,' the WhaleSETI team explained in a statement. Drake's Equation is a mathematical formula created in 1961 to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy that can communicate with humans and might be detectable through their signals, like radio waves. If whales show that curiosity and friendly interactions are key to communication, it suggests alien civilizations might also need these traits to develop detectable signals, influencing the numbers in Drake's Equation and guiding SETI's search for life beyond Earth.
