Researchers track bursts of tremors beneath Seattle, West Coast
Washington is, once again, on the move.
According to a recent update from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, dozens of tremors have been recorded over the past few weeks that "continue to excite and confuse all of us tremor watchers."
The PNSN has been tracking a series of tremors along the West Coast, including throughout the Puget Sound region. And analysts believe it could be representative of a "significant slow slip."
A slow slip isn't quite as fearsome as it might sound — in fact, it's fairly common; it's simply a wave of tiny tremors that are thought to increase stress on locked faults, the areas where tectonic plates cannot move past each other. And scientists don't believe that it's a sign of the oft-talked about "big one."
"That part of the boundary locks up for about 14 months, and then it rumbles and shifts over the course of about a month to let out the strain it's built up," said John Vidale, University of Washington then-professor and director of the UW-based Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), in an interview with the SeattlePI regarding the tremors.
"They're all too small to feel. These plates are basically moving half an inch over the course of a couple days, so it kind of jiggles enough that our most sensitive instruments can feel. But people can't."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/researchers-track-bursts-of-tremors-beneath-seattle-west-coast/ar-AABAwBS
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