Student Article
Something Very Weird Is Happening to the Planet's Earthquakes; Here's Why
Earthquake (noun): A sudden shaking of the ground.
Tectonic plates (noun): Large pieces of Earth's crust that move.
Intraplate (adjective): Happening inside a tectonic plate.
Crust (noun): The outer layer of the Earth.
Predict (verb): To guess what will happen in the future.
Earthquakes are really powerful and can shake the ground a lot. Usually they happen where the big pieces of Earth's crust, called tectonic plates, meet. But sometimes earthquakes happen in places where they shouldn't. These are called intraplate earthquakes.
What do we know about intraplate earthquakes?
Scientists like Professor Éric Calais and Jean François Ritz are trying to understand these weird earthquakes. They happen far from the edges of tectonic plates, in places that are usually very quiet. Even though they are rare, they can cause a lot of damage.
Where can intraplate earthquakes happen?
Intraplate earthquakes can happen anywhere there is a crack in the Earth's crust. For example, there was a big earthquake in Bhuj, India, in 2001. Another big earthquake happened in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1886.
Why are these earthquakes hard to predict?
These earthquakes are hard to predict because they don't happen very often. Scientists think that things like melting ice and heavy rain can sometimes cause these earthquakes. They are working hard to learn more about them so they can keep people safe.
Earthquake (noun): A sudden shaking of the ground.
Tectonic plates (noun): Large pieces of Earth's crust that move.
Intraplate (adjective): Happening inside a tectonic plate.
Crust (noun): The outer layer of the Earth.
Predict (verb): To guess what will happen in the future.