More than 500 earthquakes deep underground in Antarctica went unnoticed until scientists reexamined the data using artificial intelligence, and some occurred in places researchers had not expected.
The discovery suggests that the frozen continent is far more seismically active than many once thought, and that better tools could ultimately help scientists understand changes that could affect communities far beyond Antarctica.
what happened?
A new study finds that machine learning can identify hundreds of small earthquakes buried in old earthquake records, according to Live Science. The researchers reviewed records from 49 seismic stations spanning 2001-2004 and 2012-2015.
Those records included more than 500 previously overlooked earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 1.6 to 3.5 that occurred 60 to 90 miles below David Glacier, the giant outlet glacier that drains about 4% of the East Antarctic ice sheet into the ocean.
Earthquakes at these depths are typically associated with plate boundaries, especially subduction zones, but this activity often occurred within tectonic plates rather than near active edges.
According to lead author Ron Ho, earthquakes are concentrated at underground boundaries between very different rock environments.
“Earthquakes occur where the cold, hard crust and upper mantle beneath East Antarctica meet the warm, soft rock beneath West Antarctica, and this contrast causes sudden changes in the strength of the crust,” Ho told Live Science.
He added: “As machine learning tools continue to improve, it may become clear that deep earthquakes within continental interiors are more common than currently recognized.”
Why is it important?
This research could improve scientists’ understanding of Antarctica at a time when continental ice plays a major role in global sea level rise.
The newly detected earthquakes are too weak to threaten the ice sheet above or the Antarctic ecosystem, but learning more about the forces beneath the ice could help researchers build a clearer picture of how Antarctica functions.
Accurately predicting future ice loss and sea level rise is especially important for coastal communities.
Smarter analytical tools can also extract more value from older datasets, potentially allowing scientists to make important discoveries without having to wait decades for new records to accumulate.
The study also points to broader changes in Earth science, as AI could reveal that deep earthquakes inside continents are more common than researchers once realized. If that proves true, it could change the way scientists think about tectonic activity in a place long thought to be relatively quiet.
“Antarctica is [long] It is thought that there are almost no earthquakes. Now, it turns out that the apparent lack of earthquakes was actually the absence of earthquakes. [tools] To hear the sounds of earthquakes. ”
“I’m very concerned about the ice sheet,” he added, adding that he hopes the study will give scientists “a better understanding of a possible future.”
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