Scientists watch Cascadia subduction zone tear itself apart

Researchers at LSU used seismic reflection imaging from the CASIE21 experiment to capture the Juan de Fuca and Explorer plates breaking into microplates beneath the Pacific Northwest. One fault has offset part of the slab by roughly 5 kilometers, and earthquakes have stopped along a 75-kilometer tear.

• Juan de Fuca and Explorer plates are splitting beneath Vancouver Island
• One fault has dropped part of the slab by about 5 km
• Earthquakes have ceased along a 75-km section of the tear
• Each breakup episode takes several million years