Large earthquakes are more likely to occur when there is a full or new moon because of the gravitational pull on tides, a new study suggests.
Researchers led by Satoshi Ide, Suguru Yabe and Yoshiyuki Tanaka, all from the University of Tokyo, found that tides—which arise from the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon—can cause changes that may trigger earthquakes.
Particularly large earthquakes, including the 2004 Magnitude 9.1–9.3 Indian Ocean earthquake, the Magnitude 8.8 Maule earthquake which hit Chile in 2010 and the 2011 Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan, tend to occur near to a time of seizable tidal stress, which is often triggered by full or new moons.
When there is maximum tidal stress, the “probability of a tiny rock failure expanding to a gigantic rupture increases,” the study states.
There was no clear correlation found between tidal stress and small earthquakes.
- Column: Tyre Nichols' Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
- Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
- Here Are All the Movies and TV Shows That Make Up the New DCU
- TikTok's 'De-Influencing' Trend Is Here to Tell You What Stuff You Don't Need to Buy
- Column: America Goes About Juvenile Crime Sentencing All Wrong
- Why Your Tax Refund May Be Lower This Year
- Brazil Wants to Abandon a 34,000-Ton Ship at Sea. It Would be an Environmental Disaster
- The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in January 2023