Scientists Investigate Strange Rumbling Beneath Utah
Yahoo News New Zealand • • general
Key Points:
- In 1979, a mysterious earthquake in northern Utah occurred at a depth over 55 miles below the Earth's surface, far deeper than conventional geology had predicted for seismic events.
- Recent research by University of Utah scientists Keith Koper and George Zandt confirmed that multiple deep earthquakes in the region originated in the Earth's upper mantle, beneath the crust.
- These deep mantle earthquakes are linked to slow tectonic movements over millions of years, particularly involving the mantle flowing around the Wyoming Craton, a rigid lithospheric block beneath northern Utah and southwest Wyoming.
- Unlike typical crustal earthquakes, these deep quakes lack foreshocks and aftershocks, and their maximum potential size remains unknown, posing challenges for understanding their physics and hazard potential.
- The study underscores the complexity of tectonic dynamics deep within the Earth and highlights significant gaps in knowledge about how mantle interactions produce seismic events at such depths.