Scientists said: dead creatures buried in the ocean can affect earthquakes

The Hikurangi subduction zone is the largest fault in the vicinity of New Zealand, and is capable of causing “giant force” earthquakes that typically strike magnitude 8 and above. New research shows that tiny ancient marine organisms could have a major impact on the next seismic event there.

Researchers studying the area have found that calcite deposits left by clumps of single-celled marine organisms tens of millions of years ago can control the level of movement and friction between the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate.

The key, the researchers explain, is whether or not this calcite is able to dissolve. If this happens, like a sugar cube in tea, the plates can slide through each other more easily; If it doesn’t, it will impede the plate’s motion, trapping energy that would later be released in a sudden explosion.

“Calcite dissolves faster when it is very stressed and when temperatures are cooler,” says structural geologist Carolyn Bolton, of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

“It melts more easily at lower temperatures – eg, room temperature. But it’s harder to melt with higher temperatures – eg, deeper into the ground.”

In the depths of the subduction zone, the temperature gradually increases with depth, warming by about 10 °C per kilometer. Calcite shells that fail to melt far below the surface can have a significant impact on fault movements.

The rift itself is difficult to access and requires access to expensive drilling equipment, so the researchers used exposed layers of limestone, mudstone and mudstone on the local coast — southeast of Martinborough, on the North Island — as an alternative. .

Calcite crusts in organisms such as star-shaped foraminifera can affect some earthquake magnitudes. (Tsuneo Yamashita/Getty Images)

The rocks there contain calcite from marine organisms that are mainly of the type known as foraminifera (including plankton, among others). The following questions are how much of this calcite lies in the subduction zone, and what is the state of it.

“The amount and behavior of calcite from these objects is a big part of the puzzle about the magnitude of the next earthquake,” Bolton says.

Geologists know less about the Hikurangi subduction zone than other faults in New Zealand because it cannot be examined up close. The record of past earthquakes is not entirely comprehensive, and knowledge of its condition is not accurate, which makes it difficult to predict the next major earthquake.

The researchers say there is a 26% chance of a major earthquake in the next 50 years along this fault, which could generate large tsunamis (there is evidence of previous earthquakes along the New Zealand coast).

All kinds of factors play a role, but the study shows how slow and light plate motions can be, or fast and large — and the more we know about underwater calcite buildup, the better we’ll be able to figure out what’s coming next.

“Just think that these long-dead microorganisms can affect how two huge tectonic plates interact mechanically,” Bolton says.

The research was published in Lithos.

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