Quake split a tectonic plate in two, and geologists are shaken

National Geographic ^ | Oct 24, 2018 | Robin George Andrews

[ETL]

"The Tehauntepec quake involved the Cocos plate"

[outofsalt]

The New Madrid fault zone in Mississippi almost caused the North American plate to break a while back; “The Mississippi embayment is underlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks up to 570 millions years old. The Paleozoic rocks are underlain by even older rocks that appear to have been deformed about 600 million years ago when the North American continent almost broke apart.” https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/nmsz/1811-1812.php

Now the Democrats are the big rift in our nation.

[dangerdoc]

Not my fault.

[seawolf101]

[Trump_the_Evil_Left]

"This trumps the expected compressional forces...."

We just knew they'd find a way to "Blame Trump" !!!

[Artemis Webb]

Many words.
This be bad?

[ETL]

The New Madrid fault zone in Mississippi almost caused the North American plate to break a while back

Yes, it was in the neighborhood of 600 million years ago, when the suspercontinent Rhodinia was breaking apart. Rhodinia preceded Pangea, the supercontinent that existed during the time of the dinosaurs. When continents begin to split apart they do so in a 3-prong process. Ultimately one of the arms "fails", and spreading procedds along the other two arms. This is what is currently happening in the area of the Great Rift Valley in Africa, the Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden.

[WMarshal]

I agee, likely a new rift zone being born. New ocean intrusion in a few million years. Everyone alive now will be dead so rational people are not alarmed.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Of course not. Bush’s fault!

[Bratch]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ETL.

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• When the Days Were Shorter [2004]
• Neptune Might Have Captured Triton [2006]
• Did Earth's Twin Cores Spark Plate Tectonics? [2009]
• Gondwana Supercontinent Underwent Massive Shift During Cambrian Explosion [2010]
• The moon formed inside a hot cosmic doughnut, scientists say [2018]
• Days on Earth Are Getting Longer, Thanks to the Moon [2018]
• Earth's days used to be just 18 hours long, but the Moon changed that [2018]

[onona]

Screw it. If we’re going, I’m switching to the good beer.

[Larry Lucido]

“geologists are shaken”

But not stirred?

[Larry Lucido]

Cross section of a Cocos slab, illustrating how a brittle section might have a clean 37-mile deep crack. If the lower depths had been molten (or marshmallow or graham) as might have been expected, the fissure may not have run as deep.

[Billthedrill]

Massive peanut butter injections. It may be the planet’s only chance.

[teeman8r]

Climate change has made it ten times worse.

[SunkenCiv]

This stein, everything is alright...

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I saw that movie 53 years ago. Got it on DVD. Not a bad movie.

[tomkat]

If you have a geosciences ping list, please add me.
Tho a humble carpenter in my younger days, this stuff has always fascinated me.

It’s a big ol’ busted up world . . .

[Reno89519]

Too bad not a bit further north and create a chasm on the Mexican border, a moat we might use.