How giant earthquakes can form at fault planes where theory says they should not

A research group led by Satoshi Ide from the University of Tokyo has demonstrated that classic earthquake generation theory does not hold in areas where the angle at which a tectonic plate dips under another is sufficiently low.

The discovery explains why giant earthquakes can form in such areas, providing a theoretical basis to extend observation efforts to previously overlooked features.

The findings are published in Science Advances. ...