International Data Research Reveals Giant Rock Channeling Japan's Earthquakes
- Feb 23, 2022
Processing seismic data through one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, an international team of scientists has created the first complete, 3D visualization of a mountain-sized rock called the Kumano Pluton buried miles beneath the coast of southern Japan.
The data revealed how the rock could be acting as a lightning rod for the region’s megaquakes, diverting tectonic energy into points along its sides, where several of the region’s largest earthquakes have happened.
The full dimensions of the Kumano Pluton were revealed using the LoneStar5 supercomputer at UT’s Texas Advanced Computing Center to piece together 20 years of seismic data into a single high-definition 3D model.
Scientists have known about the pluton for years but were aware of only small portions of it. But thanks to a new study led by The University of Texas at Austin, researchers now have an expanded view of the entire subterranean formation and its effect on the region’s tectonics.
“The fact that we can make such a large discovery in an area that is already well studied is, I think, eye-opening to what might await at places that are less well monitored,” said Adrien Arnulf, a research assistant professor at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and the study’s lead author.
Read the full article from the UT Institute for Geophysics.
