STUDY FINDS - For the millions of people living in earthquake-prone regions, from New Zealand to California, a few minutes of warning could mean the difference between life and death. Now, by studying ancient curved scratches left behind on fault surfaces from past seismic events, scientists have discovered a way to better predict how earthquakes might travel and affect different areas.
The study published in Geology introduces a new method for understanding earthquake behavior that could transform how we prepare for these natural disasters. The research focuses on curved scratches left on fault planes when massive blocks of Earth grind past each other during an earthquake. These marks, called slickenlines, work somewhat like tire marks at a crash scene, revealing the direction of movement.
“Fault planes accumulate these curved scratch marks, which until now we didn’t know to look for or how to interpret,” explains UC Riverside geologist and lead author Nic Barth in a statement.