Geodynamics

intraplate earthquake

Earthquakes within the plates

edited by Menno Fraters and edited by Arushi Saxena June 23, 2021

Distribution of earthquakes (circles) having magnitudes greater than 2.5 and that occurred between 18th May to 18th June, 2021 along with tectonic plate boundaries (red). The size of the circles correspond to the earthquake magnitude. Data from the USGS earthquake catalog at https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search/.

As fascinating as the plate tectonics and its accompanying dynamics are, continental interiors are no quiescent zones. The tectonics within these interiors are apparent in the occurrence of numerous intraplate earthquakes, and this week, EGU blog editor Arushi Saxena briefly discusses them and their mechanisms. Earthquakes are a fairly common occurrence here on Earth’s crust. Although most are ess ...[Read More]

Understanding intraplate earthquakes

Editorial Team 2 July 8, 2020

Location of intraplate earthquakes along passive margins. Figure published in Wolin et al., 2012.

One of the basic tenets of plate tectonics states that deformation occurs along plate boundaries while plate interiors remain almost undeformed. Intraplate earthquakes defy this principle and hence are quite enigmatic. In this week’s News and Views, Prof. Attreyee Ghosh from the Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, tries to explain the reasons behind intraplate ea ...[Read More]