Complex Dynamics of the 2024 M7.6 Noto Hanto Earthquake in Japan — the Long-lasting Swarm and Its Immediate Foreshocks

A newly published study sheds light on the intricate relationship between the 2024 M 7.6 Noto Hanto earthquake and a significant earthquake swarm that began beneath Japan’s Noto Peninsula in November 2020. This research, conducted by a team of international experts including Professor Zhigang Peng and his student Phuc Mach at Georgia Tech, Dr. Xinglin Lei at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan, Dr. Qing-Yu Wang at Université Grenoble Alpes, France, and other researchers in China, Japan and France, offers a detailed analysis of the seismic activity leading up to and following the devastating earthquake.

Move Over Jules Verne — Scientists Deploy Ocean Floats to Peer into Earth’s Interior

The release of more than 50 floating sensors, called Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers (MERMAIDs), is increasing the number of seismic stations around the planet. Scientists will use them to clarify the picture of the massive mantel plume in the lower mantel lying below the South Pacific Ocean. This effort will also establish one of the most comprehensive overviews of seismic activity across the globe. Frederik Simons will discuss this international effort during the marine seismoacoustics session of the 178th ASA Meeting.

Stormquakes: Powerful Storms Cause Seafloor Tremors

Stormquakes are a recently discovered phenomenon characterized by seismic activity originating at the ocean floor due to powerful storms. Heavy storms, like hurricanes or nor’easters, can create seismic waves as large as magnitude 3.5 quakes. These tremors caused by the effects of storms on the seafloor are what researchers call stormquakes. Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, who was part of the group that first observed stormquakes, will discuss their properties and meteorological significance at the 178th ASA Meeting.