Science Square (Issue 161)

Predicting major earthquakes months ago Girona et al. Abnormal low-magnitude seismicity preceding large-magnitude earthquakes. Nature Communications, August 2024. Recent study suggests that significant earthquakes could be predicted days or months in advance by detecting low-level tectonic activity using machine learning. The researchers closely investigated two major earthquakes: the 2018 Anchorage earthquake and the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence in California. Their method involved analyzing seismic data for abnormal low-magnitude activity, particularly in the months leading up t...