Tiny tremors may foreshadow catastrophic seismic events

Tiny tremors and temblors recently discovered in fault zones from California to Japan are generated by slow-moving earthquakes that may foreshadow catastrophic seismic events.

This insight may open new avenues of research for predicting earthquake hazards, Shelly said. "We now understand that tremor is generated directly by slip on the deep extension of the fault," he said. "Combining this understanding with our new ability to locate tremor precisely in time and space, we can now track the details of how slip evolves during a weeklong slow-slip event. This could also improve our ability to predict the effects on the shallower, earthquake-generating portion of the subduction fault and potentially lead to an improved ability to forecast a major earthquake there."

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