Earthquakes

Stanford scientists have developed a new method for identifying rare earthquakes in the Earth’s upper mantle, under the continents. The research enhances understanding of how continental mantle earthquakes relate to broader seismic activity, which may lead to improved earthquake risk assessment and preparedness.

Scientists have discovered wintertime seismic activity in the ocean around Antarctica controls summer growth of phytoplankton, tiny organisms that fuel the marine food web and sequester huge amounts of carbon from Earth’s atmosphere.

A new AI model detects thousands of previously unseen earthquakes in near real time, helping scientists understand changes in an Italian volcanic area where earthquakes have been intensifying since 2018.

Ettore Biondi uses fiber sensing technologies and dense seismic sensor networks to understand the underlying mechanisms and subsurface structures driving geophysical processes such as volcanic system dynamics and earthquake physics.

New research shows that elevation changes and earthquakes in Italy’s Campi Flegrei volcanic area are caused by rising pressure in a geothermal reservoir – not magma or its gases, as commonly thought. Channeling water runoff or lowering groundwater levels could reduce risks for surrounding communities.

Electricity generated using natural underground heat could become cost competitive with power from the grid by 2027 using enhanced geothermal systems, although care is still needed to address earthquake risks, researchers found. 

A new Stanford study shows how the number and intensity of foreshocks accelerate dramatically just before major volcanic earthquakes. The information could help us understand earthquakes along major fault lines.

A geothermal energy project triggered a damaging earthquake in 2017 in South Korea. A new analysis suggests flaws in some of the most common ways of trying to minimize the risk of such quakes when harnessing the Earth’s heat for energy.