Canada is shaking strangely, possibly causing new ocean crust to form

On March 6, Ocean Networks Canada, which operates cabled observatories in the northeastern Pacific, detected more than 2,000 low-intensity earthquakes in a single day, peaking at about 200 earthquakes per hour. These quakes occur along the Juan de Fuca mountain range, named after a Greek sailor who discovered the area in the 16th century, rather than the nearby subduction zone that forms part of the Ring of Fire. These sounds are likely caused by “impending magma rupture,” a cyclic process where land creates new seafloor along the ridge when the Juan de Fuca plate separates from the Pacific plate.

The Earth is always changing, but this dynamic drama continues over eons, time spans so vast that our human lives pass by in the blink of an eye. But every now and then, we humans get a chance to glimpse the geological processes that are always taking place beneath our feet.

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Case in point, earlier this month, a record number of low-intensity earthquakes struck the Juan de Fuca Mountain Range located approximately 150 miles off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. At its peak on March 6, the ridge generated nearly 2,000 tremors per day and up to 200 sub-4.1 earthquakes within an hour. The earthquakes were detected by Ocean Networks Canada's (ONC) Endeavor site, part of the Northeast Pacific Time Series Networked Experiments Undersea Observatory (NEPTUNE).

This cluster of small earthquakes is actually a type of seismic escalation as the hills have been seeing an uptick in rumbling since around 2018. According to OCN, this is the highest frequency of earthquakes in the region since 2005.

Increased seismic activity off the Pacific coast is usually a cause for concern. The earthquake-prone Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Pacific Plate (also known as subduction) dips beneath the North Atlantic Plate, essentially amplifies the Pacific coastline and is responsible for some of the most destructive earthquakes in the region's history. However, these low-level tremors are nothing to worry about because they occur along the Juan de Fuca Mountain Range, where the John de Fuca Plate – the world's smallest tectonic plate – separates from the Pacific Plate. Fortunately, this seismic action has nothing to do with subduction zones that could one day trigger the terrifyingly large earthquake.

“No one should be concerned about this large earthquake swarm,” Kate Moran, president and CEO of ONC, said in a press release. “It is offshore and poses no danger. Rather, the data is exciting for the scientific community and certainly does not pose a threat.

So what exactly is causing all this shaking? Well, one ONC expert suspects that these tremors are a sign of “impending magma rupture.” To translate from the language of marine seismology, this means that the Earth is cooking a new ocean floor. As the Pacific Plate and the Juan de Fuca Plate pull apart, the resulting fissure fills with superheated magma at about 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit — but that magma loses its “fresh seafloor smell” very quickly as cold seawater solidifies the oozing magma into it . Hard shell.

According to ONC, this slow seafloor formation occurs in bursts of roughly 20-year cycles, coinciding with a previous uptick in seismic activity in 2005. It's not quite as dramatic as concussive volcanic eruptions that can alter the surrounding landscape. In an instant, it is a constant reminder of the constant and never-ending process of renewal on Earth.

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about science fiction and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.

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