BUTTE, Mont. — Envision this scenario: You are going about your day. All is calm and quiet until suddenly, the ground beneath your feet begins to shake, and items within your home or workspace begin ...

The mechanism facilitating the smooth movement of the oceanic lithosphere over the underlying asthenosphere (upper mantle) remains poorly understood. Recently, researchers from Japan investigated the ...

Scientists have known that seismic waves slow down when passing through ultra-low velocity zones, or ULVZs, but only knew they existed around hotspots that create volcanic island chains. Now, a new ...

Large quakes produce shaking at a variety of frequencies. Some waves can travel hundreds of miles, and are amplified by local geological conditions. By Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller has reported on why ...