The Alarming Crack of Doom

An alarming new article found in the Sun raises concern of a possible mega quake off the coast of Oregon in the Pacific Ocean. This new short form article contains little in the way of scientific information – but does raise interesting questions about the risk of thermal vents found along the US Pacific Coast.

The title for this article – might be as well be “The Oregon Crack of Doom?” or “Is there really a Red Alert for the Oregon Crack of Doom?” But the title is “CRACK OF DOOM – Red alert for magnitude 9 mega earthquake off Pacific coast as crack discovered in 600 mile fault at bottom of ocean.”

The article states in no uncertain terms that “EXPERTS are on high alert amid fears a crack at the bottom of the ocean could trigger an apocalyptic earthquake.” However this short form article from April 14th of 2023 provides little back up to this story.

The gist of the article is that a 600 mile long fault, called the Cascadia Subduction Zone contains “a hole” that “is spewing hot liquid…” and that “scientists now warn that the liquid coming out is a so-called “fault lubricant”, which allows tectonic plates to move easily.” One real question not answered is Why hot liquid is considered a concern?

Is this a big and important story – its frankly difficult to say. Perhaps the Sun is on the cutting edge of reporting on the issue or perhaps not. QuakeCov will be on the lookout for more information concerning this subject.

The article also states that the liquid was spotted by “a robotic diver first found the hole eight years ago.” And that “sonar images revealed the liquid was much warmer than the surrounding seawater.” That is about as much scientific information shared in this short publication.

One of the big fears concerning this zone is that an earthquake here could do immense damage and potentially trigger a Tsunami. The article states that “Scientists believe the Cascadia Subduction Zone will be responsible one day for the Big One, an earthquake of such destruction not seen for centuries that could devastate many cities in the western continental United States.” Although they do not seem to cite one specific scientist.

In summation – more information concerning the Cascadia Subduction Zone and this hot spot are needed. This situation should be studied further. As we learn more – we will update.

The Full article can be found here.