What is the Tintina fault in Canada - nation's silent giant that could unleash massive destruction?
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For over 40 million years, the Tintina fault in Canada's Yukon Territory was thought to be a sleeping geological giant, as per a report. But a new study from the University of Victoria (UVic) indicates that it might not be inactive as the seismic threat could produce one of the nation's strongest earthquakes, as per a Scitechdaily report.Spanning almost 1,000 kilometres through northwestern Canada, the Tintina fault has slid sideways by some 450 kilometres since it formed, according to the report. Scientists thought that until recently, it had long since given up any major activity, but a new examination of the terrain around Dawson City, employing topographic data from the ArcticDEM dataset from satellite images, light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys conducted with aeroplanes and drones, has found something disturbing, as reported by Scitechdaily.The latest research found that a 130-kilometre portion of the fault near Dawson City showed signs of many big earthquakes during the Quaternary Period, which spans from the past 2.6 million years to the present, as reported by Scitechdaily. This means that the fault may still be active and capable of producing significant future earthquakes, according to the report.Theron Finley, a recent UVic PhD graduate and lead author of an article in Geophysical Research Letters, pointed out that 'Over the past couple of decades, there have been a few small earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4 detected along the Tintina fault, but nothing to suggest it is capable of large ruptures,' as quoted in the Scitechdaily report.Finley added that 'The expanding availability of high-resolution data prompted us to re-examine the fault, looking for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the landscape,' as quoted in the report.While in most of Canada, seismic hazard estimates are known with the help of historical earthquake records, such as Indigenous oral histories, archived documents, and readings from modern seismic networks, as reported by Scitechdaily. However, major faults can remain quiet for thousands of years between large earthquakes, so that means some important seismic risks may go undetected without geological investigation, as reported by the Scitechdaily report.The Scitechdaily report explained that when earthquakes are large and/or shallow, they often rupture the Earth's surface and produce a linear feature in the landscape, which is known as a fault scarp.Researchers found ancient glacial landforms, some as old as 2.6 million years, have been pushed sideways by about 1,000 meters along the Tintina Fault, as per the report. While other formations, about 132,000 years old, were displaced by 75 meters, as reported by Scitechdaily. These shifts are signs that the fault has moved multiple times over the past few million years, each time likely slipping several meters during powerful earthquakes, according to the Scitechdaily report.While the landforms, which are about 12,000 years old, are not offset by the fault, which shows that no large ruptures have occurred since that time, as per the report. The fault continues to accumulate strain at an average rate of 0.2 to 0.8 millimetres per year, which means that it poses a future earthquake threat, as reported by Scitechdaily.Finley highlighted that, 'We determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5,' as quoted in the report. The researcher explained that, 'Based on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle, having accrued a slip deficit, or build-up of strain, of six meters in the last 12,000 years. If this were to be released, it would cause a significant earthquake,' as quoted by Scitechdaily.If the Tintina Fault were to unleash a magnitude 7.5 earthquake or anything stronger, it could shake Dawson City with serious force, with tremors that wouldn't just rattle buildings, they could disrupt major highways and threaten vital mining operations that the region relies on, as per the report.Recent research suggests it might still be active, despite being considered dormant for millions of years, as per the Scitechdaily report.It runs about 1,000 km across northwestern Canada, passing near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, as per the Scitechdaily report.
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Live Events FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel For over 40 million years, the Tintina fault in Canada's Yukon Territory was thought to be a sleeping geological giant, as per a report. But a new study from the University of Victoria (UVic) indicates that it might not be inactive as the seismic threat could produce one of the nation's strongest earthquakes, as per a Scitechdaily almost 1,000 kilometres through northwestern Canada, the Tintina fault has slid sideways by some 450 kilometres since it formed, according to the report. Scientists thought that until recently, it had long since given up any major activity, but a new examination of the terrain around Dawson City, employing topographic data from the ArcticDEM dataset from satellite images, light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys conducted with aeroplanes and drones, has found something disturbing, as reported by latest research found that a 130-kilometre portion of the fault near Dawson City showed signs of many big earthquakes during the Quaternary Period, which spans from the past 2.6 million years to the present, as reported by Scitechdaily. This means that the fault may still be active and capable of producing significant future earthquakes, according to the Finley, a recent UVic PhD graduate and lead author of an article in Geophysical Research Letters, pointed out that 'Over the past couple of decades, there have been a few small earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4 detected along the Tintina fault, but nothing to suggest it is capable of large ruptures,' as quoted in the Scitechdaily added that 'The expanding availability of high-resolution data prompted us to re-examine the fault, looking for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the landscape,' as quoted in the in most of Canada, seismic hazard estimates are known with the help of historical earthquake records, such as Indigenous oral histories, archived documents, and readings from modern seismic networks, as reported by Scitechdaily. However, major faults can remain quiet for thousands of years between large earthquakes, so that means some important seismic risks may go undetected without geological investigation, as reported by the Scitechdaily Scitechdaily report explained that when earthquakes are large and/or shallow, they often rupture the Earth's surface and produce a linear feature in the landscape, which is known as a fault found ancient glacial landforms, some as old as 2.6 million years, have been pushed sideways by about 1,000 meters along the Tintina Fault, as per the report. While other formations, about 132,000 years old, were displaced by 75 meters, as reported by Scitechdaily. These shifts are signs that the fault has moved multiple times over the past few million years, each time likely slipping several meters during powerful earthquakes, according to the Scitechdaily the landforms, which are about 12,000 years old, are not offset by the fault, which shows that no large ruptures have occurred since that time, as per the report. The fault continues to accumulate strain at an average rate of 0.2 to 0.8 millimetres per year, which means that it poses a future earthquake threat, as reported by highlighted that, 'We determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5,' as quoted in the report. The researcher explained that, 'Based on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle, having accrued a slip deficit, or build-up of strain, of six meters in the last 12,000 years. If this were to be released, it would cause a significant earthquake,' as quoted by the Tintina Fault were to unleash a magnitude 7.5 earthquake or anything stronger, it could shake Dawson City with serious force, with tremors that wouldn't just rattle buildings, they could disrupt major highways and threaten vital mining operations that the region relies on, as per the research suggests it might still be active, despite being considered dormant for millions of years, as per the Scitechdaily runs about 1,000 km across northwestern Canada, passing near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, as per the Scitechdaily report.
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Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel For over 40 million years, the Tintina fault in Canada's Yukon Territory was thought to be a sleeping geological giant, as per a report. But a new study from the University of Victoria (UVic) indicates that it might not be inactive as the seismic threat could produce one of the nation's strongest earthquakes, as per a Scitechdaily almost 1,000 kilometres through northwestern Canada, the Tintina fault has slid sideways by some 450 kilometres since it formed, according to the report. Scientists thought that until recently, it had long since given up any major activity, but a new examination of the terrain around Dawson City, employing topographic data from the ArcticDEM dataset from satellite images, light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys conducted with aeroplanes and drones, has found something disturbing, as reported by latest research found that a 130-kilometre portion of the fault near Dawson City showed signs of many big earthquakes during the Quaternary Period, which spans from the past 2.6 million years to the present, as reported by Scitechdaily. This means that the fault may still be active and capable of producing significant future earthquakes, according to the Finley, a recent UVic PhD graduate and lead author of an article in Geophysical Research Letters, pointed out that 'Over the past couple of decades, there have been a few small earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4 detected along the Tintina fault, but nothing to suggest it is capable of large ruptures,' as quoted in the Scitechdaily added that 'The expanding availability of high-resolution data prompted us to re-examine the fault, looking for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the landscape,' as quoted in the in most of Canada, seismic hazard estimates are known with the help of historical earthquake records, such as Indigenous oral histories, archived documents, and readings from modern seismic networks, as reported by Scitechdaily. However, major faults can remain quiet for thousands of years between large earthquakes, so that means some important seismic risks may go undetected without geological investigation, as reported by the Scitechdaily Scitechdaily report explained that when earthquakes are large and/or shallow, they often rupture the Earth's surface and produce a linear feature in the landscape, which is known as a fault found ancient glacial landforms, some as old as 2.6 million years, have been pushed sideways by about 1,000 meters along the Tintina Fault, as per the report. While other formations, about 132,000 years old, were displaced by 75 meters, as reported by Scitechdaily. These shifts are signs that the fault has moved multiple times over the past few million years, each time likely slipping several meters during powerful earthquakes, according to the Scitechdaily the landforms, which are about 12,000 years old, are not offset by the fault, which shows that no large ruptures have occurred since that time, as per the report. The fault continues to accumulate strain at an average rate of 0.2 to 0.8 millimetres per year, which means that it poses a future earthquake threat, as reported by highlighted that, 'We determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5,' as quoted in the report. The researcher explained that, 'Based on the data, we think that the fault may be at a relatively late stage of a seismic cycle, having accrued a slip deficit, or build-up of strain, of six meters in the last 12,000 years. If this were to be released, it would cause a significant earthquake,' as quoted by the Tintina Fault were to unleash a magnitude 7.5 earthquake or anything stronger, it could shake Dawson City with serious force, with tremors that wouldn't just rattle buildings, they could disrupt major highways and threaten vital mining operations that the region relies on, as per the the Tintina Fault active?Recent research suggests it might still be active, despite being considered dormant for millions of years, as per the Scitechdaily is the Tintina Fault located?It runs about 1,000 km across northwestern Canada, passing near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, as per the Scitechdaily report.
