Heads-Up: Pacific quake, Japan's tectonic stresses Having
trouble viewing this email? Click here Issue 217 8 - 14 February
2013 In This Issue Japan quake study quake released stress
Samples of rock drilled from depths of the Pacific seafloor have
revealed the tremendous release of tectonic pressure that
occurred during the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake. The findings
could have important implications for the understanding of fault
boundaries and tsunami risk near New Zealand, says a Kiwi
geologist involved the research. The new study, published today
in the journal Science, found that nearly all the stress built
up at the plate boundary near the epicentre was released in the
tsunami-generating magnitude 9.0 quake. Researchers on board the
scientific drilling vessel Chikyu drilled boreholes into the
fault zone, 850 meters below the sea floor and almost seven
kilometers underwater (video of scientists aboard the Chikyu
identifying the fault zone in drill core samples can be seen
here). on rock samples were measured