NEPTUNE Canada
Earthquakes and plate tectonics
Subduction zones like the one along the eastern edge of the Juan de Fuca plate generate some of the world's largest earthquakes, often associated with devastating tsunamis. NEPTUNE Canada's array of sensitive instruments augmenta other land-based seismic networks in Canada and the U.S., helping researchers better understand subduction processes and improve their estimates of seismic risk.
Along the western edge of the Juan de Fuca plate, new seafloor is created through plate boundary spreading and volcanic activity. NEPTUNE Canada has installed seismometers on the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge to help pinpoint the many earthquakes that shake that region every year. Closely related phenomena like hot fluid venting and volcanic eruptions will also be studied in conjunction.
In addition, NEPTUNE Canada has installed an extensive array of high-precision bottom pressure sensors, which can detect tsunamis from local or distant sources. This array will help researchers refine their understanding of how tsunamis move through both deep ocean and coastal areas.
Hot vent
Hot fluids vent from the seafloor in volcanically active Endeavour Ridge. Photo taken from ROPOS by Verena Tunnicliffe and Kim Juniper, 21 August 2002.
Hot Vent Video
On October 8 2010 we visited the volcanically active seafloor of Endeavour Ridge, a bizarre realm of sulphide towers and venting black smokers. Hydrothermal vents support rich communities of specially adapted tubeworms, scale worms and limpets, which thrive in the 325C effluent.
Cascadia tsunami
As tsunamis can move rapidly through the open ocean, a large earthquake off British Columbia could send a tsunami crashing into coastal regions in as little as 10-15 minutes.
This computer simulation shows the main wave of the Cascadia tsunami as it crossed the mid-Pacific on 26 January 1700. Severe damage occurred both in coastal First Nations communities in British Columbia and Japan. A similar earthquake is expected sometime in the next 200 years.
NEPTUNE Canada has installed highly sensitive bottom pressure recorders to aid in tsunami detection and tracking. While not specifically designed as a tsunami warning system, this sensor array will contribute substantially to our understanding of tsunamis in the northeast Pacific.
Learn more about tsunamis in this short presentation by NEPTUNE Canada scientist Brian Bornhold.
Juan de Fuca Papers
Research Papers
The Juan de Fuca group on Mendeley includes numerous scientific papers related to this science theme.
Juan de Fuca is a group in Earth Sciences on Mendeley.
