Latest news with #MichaelWest
New York Post
4 days ago
- Science
- New York Post
Hidden fault line could lead to ‘catastrophic' earthquake stretching from US to Canada, scientists warn
We're on shakier ground than previously thought. Canadian scientists have warned that an overlooked fault line could unleash catastrophic earthquakes across North America — disrupting infrastructure, triggering landslides and impacting thousands of people from Alaska to Montana. The study, which was conducted by geologists with the University Of Victoria in British Columbia and published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that this terrifying feature has been stealthily lying in wait for quite some time. 'This new study shows it has been quietly building toward a potentially very large earthquake,' Dr. Michael West, the state seismologist at Alaska Earthquake Center, told the Daily Mail. 'It is one of the least studied fault systems in North America, and that needs to change.' 3 Diagrams of the Tintina fault. American Geophysical Union Dubbed the Tintina fault, the seismic structure extends more than 621 miles across the Yukon from Northeastern British Columbia into Alaska, reported. Despite shifting laterally nearly 280 miles in its lifetime, scientists believed that the tectonic monstrosity — which was discovered in 1912 — had remained dormant for 40 million years. Unfortunately, it appears there was a fault in their intel. Using topographic imaging from satellites, aircraft and drones, researchers have now uncovered an 80-mile section just 12 miles from Dawson City, Canada, that has evidence of large earthquakes during the Quaternary Period — an epoch spanning the last 2.6 million years to the present, SciTechDaily reported. 3 The northbound on-ramp for International Airport Road at Minnesota Boulevard collapsed in 2018 after a strong earthquake shook south-central Alaska. '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,' explained Theron Finley, a recent UVic Ph.D. graduate and lead author of the recent article. 'The expanding availability of high-resolution data prompted us to re-examine the fault, looking for evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the landscape.' They specifically discovered glacial landforms that were offset across the fault escarpment by more than 3,000 feet, 2.6 million years ago, and others that slipped over 245 feet, 135,000 years ago. Meanwhile, the Tintina fault continues to strain at 0.2 to 0.8 millimeters annually, indicating that a major seismic event could be on the horizon. 'We determined that future earthquakes on the Tintina fault could exceed magnitude 7.5,' warned Finley. '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.' 3 A diagram of the Tintina fault, which potentially could trigger a 'very large earthquake,' according to Dr. Michael West, the state seismologist at the Alaska Earthquake Center. American Geophysical Union A tremor of this magnitude could cause severe shaking in Dawson City and threaten nearby highways and mines, as well as cause landslides in the notoriously rockfall-prone region. Meanwhile, experts fear that the fault could trigger severe earthquakes in Alaska's Fairbanks North Star Borough that have the potential to impact over 125,000 people as well as affect critical infrastructure such as the Trans-Alaska pipeline, the Daily Mail reported. Some fear the tremors could affect regions as far as Montana, like something out of a Roland Emmerich disaster film. How did such a potentially cataclysmic threat fly under the radar for so long? Experts believe that it has to do with shaky data and our distorted timescale — seismic hazard estimates are informed by historical earthquake records, including Indigenous oral histories and info from modern seismic networks that only go back a few hundred years. Meanwhile, the new research indicates that landforms that were 12,000 years old weren't displaced by the fault, suggesting that there haven't been any large ruptures since then. 'We are not good at thinking about things that happen every 12,000 years,' said West. Not to mention that the ruptures, which can be over 100 miles long but just several feet tall, are difficult to detect in heavily forested regions like Canada without the aforementioned topographic radar tech. 'The most dangerous thing is not just that the fault is active,' said West. 'It is that no one's been paying attention to it.' Canada's National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) currently doesn't recognize the Tintina fault as a discrete quake fault source, but plans to integrate the findings by the team in the future so they can help formulate plans to help save human lives and infrastructure. The study will also be shared with local governments and emergency managers to help better earthquake preparedness protocols in their communities.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Experts warn hidden earthquake threat beneath North America could strike at any moment
A previously quiet fault line beneath North America is now feared to be a ticking time bomb, and experts warn it could unleash a devastating earthquake with no warning, shaking parts of the US. Canadian scientists have discovered that the Tintina Fault, located just 12 miles from Dawson City in the Yukon, has been silently building up underground pressure and may be on the verge of erupting in a massive quake. The fault runs beneath highways, rivers, and critical infrastructure, and stretches into interior Alaska, raising fears it could send tremors into British Columbia, Alberta, and Montana, according to seismologists. Dr Michael West, state seismologist at Alaska Earthquake Center, told the Daily Mail: 'This new study shows it has been quietly building toward a potentially very large earthquake.' 'It is one of the least studied fault systems in North America, and that needs to change,' he added. One section alone is approximately 81 miles long and could generate a magnitude 7.5 earthquake or greater, strong enough to shatter roads, destroy pipelines, and trigger landslides across the both Canada and the US. Researchers warned the consequences could be devastating if the fault breaks, especially since the Tintina Fault has been largely overlooked compared to more famous faults like the San Andreas, that extended over 750 miles through the California. They said the fault could break along more than 109 miles causing strong earthquakes in northern US communities, including Alaska's Fairbanks North Star Borough, potentially impacting over 125,000 people. The potential earthquake could significantly affect critical infrastructure like the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, particularly for those living in remote areas with limited earthquake preparedness or emergency response capabilities. Dr Theron Finley, a recent PhD graduate from University of Victoria and lead author of the study, said: 'The fault may be at a late stage of a seismic cycle.' 'It is quietly built up around 20 inches of slip that could be released in a single catastrophic event.' This fault has been hiding in plain sight since it was discovered in 1912 by geologist J B Tyrrell, who documented its existence in the Yukon Territory, based on geological surveys. It stayed suspiciously silent while others rumble, leaving it overlooked by quake monitors and hazard maps. But scientists now say it is a mature, slow-moving fault, the kind that stays quiet for thousands of years before suddenly unleashing a powerful quake. 'The most dangerous thing is not just that the fault is active,' said West. 'It is that no one's been paying attention to it,' he added. The study published in Geophysical Research Letters found that parts of ancient glacial landforms have shifted sideways by nearly, 3,200 feet, providing clear evidence of powerful past earthquakes. (a) A map shows the fault slicing through super old (2.6 million years) Flat Creek Beds (b, c) Models say the fault pushed the Flat Creek edge 4101 feet right and Gravel Lake hills (d) A 3D model shows bumpy, stepped-up land along the fault. (e) A drone pic looking northwest shows the fault path hidden by thick forest. A small photo from a dig spot (blue star) shows round gravel and red-brown dirt from the old 'Wounded Moose' soil at a bump's top. Researchers used satellite and drone mapping tools, which uncovered scars in the landscape that show this fault has ripped open the Earth's surface multiple times, with the last major rupture more than 12,000 years ago. Importantly, geologic evidence shows the land has not shifted in a long time, a sign that the fault has stayed locked and is steadily building pressure. That quiet period may actually be the problem. 'We are not good at thinking about things that happen every 12,000 years,' West said. 'But over that time, it builds up enough motion to create a 7.5 magnitude of quake.' Seismologists are now concerned as the US Geological Survey's (USGS) recent 2024 Alaska model, a modern earthquake hazard map, do not treat the Tintina Fault as a major risk. 'It is not even recognized as a distinct earthquake source in official models, but the landscape tells a different story,' said Finley.
Gizmodo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
A Surge of Earthquakes in Alaska Is Raising Red Flags
A powerful offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for communities along a 700-mile (1,100-kilometer) stretch of Alaska's southern coast on Wednesday, July 16. Fortunately, the wave never came, and ground shaking caused minimal damage, but another large quake could strike this area in the near future. Since 2020, five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 7.2 to 8.2 have struck the southern coast of Alaska. It's not unusual for seismic activity to occur in this part of the state, as it runs along an active tectonic plate boundary called the Aleutian subduction zone. Still, seeing five large quakes within close range of each other in just five years has captured the attention of seismologists like Michael West, Alaska's state seismologist and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center. West told Gizmodo that the southern coast appears to be experiencing an earthquake sequence. While it's possible that Wednesday's quake was the last in this sequence, it's also possible that more large earthquakes—or even one huge one—could strike within the next few years, he said. 'Five earthquakes is enough to be statistically significant,' West said. 'This area is clearly undergoing a period of strain release while other areas of this particular boundary are—at the moment—a bit more quiet.' Earthquakes occur when accumulated stress along the border between two converging tectonic plates suddenly releases, causing them to slip past each other. Sometimes, one earthquake is enough to relieve the stress on a particular section, but not always. It can take multiple quakes spanning several years to release a significant buildup of stress, which is probably happening on Alaska's southern coast. Wednesday's quake occurred southeast of Sand Point, a small town in the Aleutian Islands. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it resulted from strike-slip faulting—when two tectonic plates slip horizontally past each other—in the Aleutian subduction zone. Seismologists have been keeping a close eye on this part of the plate boundary since the 1980s, when they identified it as an area of accumulating tectonic stress, West said. It took another 40 years for that built-up stress to finally result in seismic activity. 'Starting in 2020, it was like, 'Okay, now it's time for this particular segment to do its thing,'' West said. It's fortunate—and 'remarkable'—that none of the large quakes that have struck this area since 2020 have produced a tsunami, he added. Seismologists know the Aleutian subduction zone is capable of triggering devastating, Pacific-wide tsunamis. In 1946, for example, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake in this plate boundary caused a tsunami that traveled all the way to the shores of Antarctica and killed more than 150 people in Hawaii. The epicenter of that quake was located just 100 miles away from that of Wednesday's quake, West said. The earthquake sequence currently unfolding in this part of the Aleutian subduction zone could lead to a few different scenarios, he explained. If Wednesday's quake released all the accumulated stress in this segment, seismic activity could stall out and remain quiet for decades. Alternatively, it could take several more magnitude 7 to 8 quakes—or a single magnitude 9—to release all the stress. 'The societal consequences are very, very different for those two different paths,' West said. Unlike the relatively inconsequential quakes Alaska's southern coast has experienced in the last five years, a magnitude 9 would be highly likely to produce a dangerous tsunami and damaging ground shaking. Fortunately, 'there are, and long have been, very strong preparedness efforts underway in these communities,' West said. 'Every community near here has been studied for its tsunami inundation potential.' That said, 'we can always do more education,' he added. 'We've always got training to do to help people understand how to use that information, and how to do it quickly. You don't have much time [during] events like this.'
UPI
17-07-2025
- Climate
- UPI
Magnitude 7.3 earthquake reported in southern Alaska
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday about 54 miles south of Sand Point. Image by U.S. Geological Survey July 16 (UPI) -- A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday and a tsunami warning was canceled two hours later for the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. The quake struck at 12:37 p.m. local time at a depth of 12.5 miles about 54 miles south of Sand Point, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake was felt throughout the Alaska Peninsula and southern Alaska, the Alaska Earthquake Center said. Anchorage, the state's capital, is about 557 miles from the quake center. The Alaska Earthquake Center reported about 30 aftershocks in two hours after the earthquake. The largest one was magnitude 5.2. Dave Snider, a tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center, told KTUU-TV because it happened in shallow water they were "not expecting a large event." The National Weather Service in Anchorage, Alaska, first issued a tsunami warning right after the quake, then it was downgraded and lifed at 2:43 p.m. Warnings were sounded in Sand Point, Cold Bay and Kodiak. The Kodiak Emergency Operations Center reported a 6-inch wave that was confirmed by the U.S. Coast Guard. State Seismologist Michael West told KTUU-TV that activity is common after an earthquake and aftershocks can be expected in the "coming days, weeks and even months." The area is part of Pacific "Ring of Fire." "This is the fifth earthquake exceeding magnitude 7.0 in a very small stretch of the Aleutians, just a couple hundred kilometers, since 2020," West said. "Clearly, something is going on."
San Francisco Chronicle
16-07-2025
- Climate
- San Francisco Chronicle
Officials downgrade Alaska tsunami warning after 7.3 magnitude earthquake
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Communities in areas along a 700-mile (1,127-km) stretch of Alaska's southern coast ordered residents to higher ground after a powerful earthquake Wednesday, but officials quickly downgraded a tsunami warning for the region. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. The earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, struck at 12:37 p.m. local time south of Sand Point, a community of about 600 people on Popof Island, in the Aleutian chain, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. The first waves were projected to land there, but the state's emergency management division said an hour after the quake that it had received no reports of damage. 'We have seen other earthquakes in the area that have not generated significant tsunami waves, but we're treating it seriously and going through our procedures, making sure communities are notified so they can activate their evacuation procedures,' division spokesperson Jeremy Zidek said. The quake was felt as far away as Anchorage, almost 600 miles (966 km) to the northeast. The National Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for an area stretching from about 40 miles (64.4 km) southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, a distance of about 700 miles (1,126 kilometers). Among the larger communities in the area is Kodiak, with a population of about 5,200. The warning was downgraded to an advisory about an hour later, and canceled just before 2:45 p.m. In Unalaska, a fishing community of about 4,100, officials urged people in possible inundation zones to move at least 50 feet above sea level or 1 mile (1.6 km) inland. In King Cove, which has about 870 residents on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, officials sent an alert calling on those in the coastal area to move to higher ground. The National Weather Service said in posts on social media that there was no tsunami threat for other U.S. and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, including Washington, Oregon and California. Alaska's southern coast is earthquake-prone, and Wednesday's was the fifth in roughly the same area since 2020 exceeding magnitude 7, state seismologist Michael West said. 'Something's moving in this area,' he said. 'I would not call this an isolated earthquake. It appears to be part of a larger sequence spanning the last several years.' That has the attention of seismologists, he said. 'This area has been and remains capable of larger earthquakes and earthquakes capable of significant tsunami damage,' he said.
