Typhoon changed earthquake patterns

Typhoon changed earthquake patterns

Intensive erosion influenced seismicity

Source: GFZ GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Helmholtz Centre

The increased mass shift due to the erosion of the typhoon and the deposit in the lower areas leads to increased seismic activity there (figure: Philippe Steer, University of Rennes)

The Earth's crust is under constant stress. Every now and then this stress is discharged in heavy earthquakes, mostly caused by the slow movement of Earth's crustal plates. There is, however, another influencing factor that has received little attention so far: intensive erosion can temporarily change the earthquake activity (seismicity) of a region significantly. This has now been shown for Taiwan by researchers from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in cooperation with international colleagues. They report on this in the journal Scientific Reports.  Read more.