Scientists have found a mysterious leak at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. And it is not that sea water is being lost towards the interior of the Earth, but quite the opposite. The leak, a hot liquid chemically distinct from water, is occurring somewhere beneath the oceanic crust, to seep from there to the surface and mix with seawater. The 'hole' from which the strange liquid emerges is located just above the top of the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault, in the Pacific Northwest and off the coast of Oregon. A place where some of the largest known earthquakes have occurred. Desktop Code Image for mobile, amp and app Mobile Code AMP Code APP Code Discovered in 2015, the leak received the suggestive name of Pythia Oasis, but it was immediately seen that it was something 'different', something that has nothing to do with it. see with other freshwater seepages studied so far. In a paper published in Science Advances, a team of researchers at the University of Washington suggests that the liquid emanating from the leak could be some type of 'tectonic lubricant'. And that the leak itself could be the first warning of a coming disaster on the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault. Related News standard No Seven highly cited Spanish researchers, paid by universities in Saudi Arabia to increase their prestige ABC Ciencia / EP The CSIC investigates the cases and the Ministry of Science warns that it will purge responsibilities if there are irregularities Plate tectonics is still a discipline modern, and only now are we beginning to understand what details of geological faults can produce earthquakes. In particular, the Cascadia Subduction Zone holds many mysteries, but it is known to produce a large earthquake (magnitude 8 or greater) about once every 500 years. Earthquakes that are often followed by tsunamis of more than 30 meters. Geologists, so far, have evidence of at least 13 events of this type throughout History.
