The deep ocean off the coast of Canada was rock by hundreds of earthquakes per hour – yep , per hour – at the beginning of March 2024 , chair seismologists to believe that a new sea crust could be forming deep below the waves .
The spike in activity go on near the Endeavour section of the Juan de Fuca Ridge , a collection plate limit receive on the seafloor around 240 kilometer ( 149 miles ) offshore of Vancouver Island .
On March 6 , 2024 , Ocean Networks Canada picked up on over 200 earthquake , including one magnitude 4.1 earthquake , around 5 kilometers ( 3.1 miles ) below ocean stage .
Ocean Network Canada’s southern British Columbia ocean observing infrastructure.Image Credit: Ocean Network Canada
Zoe Krauss , a marine seismology PhD candidate at the University of Washington , said in astatementthat this could be a sign of an “ close at hand magmatic rupture ” whereby a deepsea magma bedchamber springs a leak . The searing - hot magma cools rapidly once it hits the cold brine and solidifies into anew oceanic crust .
“ We can use earthquake activity to tail the level of build - up stress at the Endeavour segment in literal - time using seismic data provided by Ocean Networks Canada . More earthquakes stand for more strain build up - up , ” added Krauss .
This summons appear to happen in decade - long rhythms . The researchers have noted an increase in activity at the Endeavour section since 2018 , appearing to fit out in with a roughly 20 - yr cycle of explosion . The last time the region had likewise intense activitywas 2005 .
The Endeavour site is habitation to many other features that hint at the strange geological forces late within Earth , such as the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents Marine Protected Area . This 97 solid km ( 37 straight international nautical mile ) area is avast " city " of underwater chimneysthat chuck clouds of het up water discharges .
The unequaled term find around the hydrothermal vents support awealth of bewitching biodiversity , include outlandish forms ofextremophile bacteria , as well as more familiar characters like worm , clams , limpet , peewee , snails , and crabs .
The recent underwater earthquakes have probably topple some of the towering deepsea chimneys , causing upset for the local ecosystems . Magma severance from the seafloor also have the potential difference to completely cake the existing release social organisation with a wise bed of cooled lava , basically resetting the ecosystem . However , the team does n’t believe this is a risk for the Endeavour site .
There ’s no need for you to fret either . While this is somewhat major seismic activity , it ’s distant enough from land to not have any headaches for humans .
” No one should be alarmed about this great swarm of earthquake . They are far offshore and make no danger . Rather , the data are exciting to the science residential district and certainly not minatory , ” explained Kate Moran , President and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada .
