Shake-Up in Malibu: Essential Earthquake Updates

A 3.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Malibu region on Sunday evening, impacting numerous locals.

The earthquake occurred at 8:17 PM Pacific Time, approximately eight miles away from Westlake Village and nine miles from Thousand Oaks, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It had a focal depth of seven miles.

Why It Matters

Over the past ten days, the Los Angeles area has experienced two quakes measuring 3.0 or higher on the Richter scale.

Last year, there was also a rise in moderate seismic events, according to seismologist Lucy Jones. The Los Angeles Times .

The previous year witnessed fifteen seismic events, each of which featured at least one earthquake measuring 4.0 or greater in magnitude. — the highest in a single year in over sixty years.

What To Know

There have been no reports of injuries or property damage after the earthquake on Sunday.

Yet, over 3,000 individuals reported having experienced the earthquake by 3 a.m. on Monday, as stated by the USGS.

California's initial alert system, USGS ShakeAlert, was triggered by the earthquake; however, notifications weren’t sent to mobile devices because the tremor didn't reach the required magnitude of 4.5.

The city of Agoura Hills distributed an earthquake advisory to its inhabitants on Sunday.

“Drop, cover, and hold on when shaking occurs; develop an emergency plan and prepare kits for both your vehicle and residence; ensure large items such as bookshelves, fridges, water heaters, TVs, and wall-mounted objects are secured,” it stated on X, previously known as Twitter. Twitter .

The statement was amended to read: “In case of an earthquake while driving, attempt to safely pull over and halt the vehicle. Engage the parking brake.”

Los Angeles is near the San Andreas Fault zone, making earthquakes common in the area.

Many earthquakes with magnitudes of 2.5 or higher have occurred. were documented near the fault line at the beginning of this month.

What People Are Saying

A resident in Thousand Oaks told the Los Angeles Times They experienced "quite a shake" that went on for approximately 10 seconds on Sunday.

Sergeant Joseph De Mel , from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department station in Agoura, experienced the earthquake as well, but noted that it "wasn't particularly intense."

What Happens Next

Geologists are keeping a close watch on California's fault lines due to rising worries about the potential for the "Big One" happening in the next few years. This term describes a significant seismic event that might take place along the San Andreas Fault.

Researchers forecast that this seismic event might attain a magnitude of 7.8 or greater, potentially leading to extensive damage throughout southern California or the San Francisco Bay Area, contingent upon where the fault ruptures.

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Mysteries Baffle Scientists: Enigmatic Structures Found Beneath the Pacific

• EXPLORE FURTHER: The Enigma of Over 100 Quakes That Hit Surrey is solved

From Atlantis to El Dorado and Avalon, legends narrate how our planet is scattered with vanished realms that suffered grand declines.

Although these are often regarded as creative legends, recent research uncovers proof of a submerged landmass under the Pacific Ocean dubbed 'a lost world.'

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the California The Institute of Technology (Caltech) has discovered massive formations deep under the Pacific Ocean that 'should not be there.'

This mystery material – which is making seismic waves in the region behave strangely – could be evidence of a lost land from hundreds of millions of years ago.

Based on present scientific theories, the unusual material located in the lower mantle, approximately 600 miles (1,000 km) under the ocean surface, ‘is not supposed to be’ found there.

Referred to as a significant enigma, these discoveries challenge "our present comprehension of how the planet functions," according to the scientists involved.

"Determining Earth's structure is crucial for understanding its internal movements," says the team in their paper, which was published in Scientific Reports .

These results indicate a greater variety of sources for these irregularities in Earth's lower mantle.

The Earth consists of three layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core, as identified subsequently. divided into 'internal' and 'external' .

The issue is that nobody can observe what lies beneath the Earth’s surface, and drilling deep enough to obtain rock samples from the mantle is impossible for us.

Rather, researchers examine the velocities of seismic waves – the oscillations triggered by earthquakes and blasts – as these propagate through the Earth's internal structure.

Seismograph stations capture these waves, and based on this data, specialists can deduce information regarding the Earth's architecture and makeup.

'ETH Zurich explained that this process closely resembles how medical professionals utilize ultrasound technology to visualize internal structures such as organs, muscles, or blood vessels within the body without requiring invasive procedures.'

It is widely recognized that Earth's lithosphere—the rigid, outer layer consisting of the crust and the upper part of the mantle—is made up of approximately 15 tectonic plates.

Earthquakes can be identified around the edges of tectonic plates, where these massive sections grind against one another.

However, long ago, substantial tectonic plates vanished beneath Earth's surface through a process called 'subduction'.

What methods do scientists use to learn about Earth's interior?

Nobody can observe what lies within the Earth, and drilling isn’t sufficient to obtain rock samples from the mantle, which sits between the planet’s core and crust.

So geophysicists use indirect methods to see what's going on deep beneath our feet.

For instance, they utilize seismograms, which are records of earthquakes, to ascertain the velocity at which seismic waves travel.

They subsequently utilize this data to determine the Earth’s interior composition—much like physicians employ ultrasounds to visualize the human body.

This refers to the geological process where one tectonic plate is thrust beneath another, and gradually, over time, an entire plate can disappear.

Previously, seismologists have identified the location of submerged tectonic plates across the Earth's mantle, though this was consistently observed beneath subduction zones only.

In their latest research, scientists from ETH Zurich and Caltech employed a computational method known as 'full-waveform inversion.' This approach generates a three-dimensional representation of the Earth’s structure utilizing seismic wave information.

They pinpointed regions beneath the Pacific that appear to be remnants of sunken tectonic plates, located far from plate edges without any geologic signs of previous subduction activity.

The Pacific Plate is essentially a single enormous tectonic slab, which means there shouldn’t be any subducting material beneath it at all.

This implies that the anomalies are not simply submerged tectonic plates. Nonetheless, identifying the actual substance or understanding its implications for the dynamic processes within the Earth remains a mystery.

"It’s akin to a physician who has spent decades using ultrasounds to study blood circulation and discovers arteries precisely where they are expected," explained co-author Professor Andreas Fichtner, a seismologist at ETH Zurich.

'If you provide him with a more advanced examination tool, he abruptly detects an artery in the gluteal region that shouldn’t actually be present. This precisely mirrors our perspective on these recent discoveries.'

Nevertheless, the researchers offer several hypotheses regarding these anomalies, suggesting that additional data about the waves—including factors beyond their velocity—would be necessary to draw any firm conclusions.

These might consist of ancient, high-silica substances that have remained within the mantle from its inception around four billion years back.

Alternatively, these areas might be regions where iron-rich rocks gather due to mantle movements occurring over billions of years.

They state in their paper, "There are multiple possible interpretations for the observation of positive wave speed anomalies within Earth’s (lower) mantle besides the existence of subducted slabs."

'Our study highlights the essential function of full waveform inversion as a crucial method for exploring the mantle.'

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