University of Southampton Seismologist Stephen Hicks described the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck earlier near Anchorage, Alaska as having a “slightly strange faulting mechanism.”
Slightly strange faulting mechanism for the #Alaska #earthquake. Normal (extensional) slip on N-S fault plane. Red lines show depth to subducted Pacific plate. Shows that the interface between plates or fault within Pacific plate may have ruptured. An area of strong slab bending pic.twitter.com/dToOFvTS1M
— Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) November 30, 2018
Hicks further stated the quake’s data showed a “strong bending/curvature of plate inferred by [a] sharp bend in contours.” More importantly, he said the Pacific plate is being “pulled apart laterally,” which is most likely related to today’s massive tremor:
Strong bending/curvature of plate inferred by sharp bend in contours close to Anchorage. Very speculative, but possible that the Pacific plate is being pulled apart laterally here & maybe related to today’s quake
Depth to slab top from USGS slab2 model
(https://t.co/0KSJbDeF09)— Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) November 30, 2018
Shortly after the earthquake’s shaking subsided, multiple damage reports streamed in from across the icy state, including cracked roads, toppled store shelves and even building fires:
Main Image Credit: Inverse