The slow seismic slip that has been moving Vancouver Island out to sea at the rate of about a millimeter per day could be a trigger event for “The Big One” in the Pacific Northwest, according to a recent article in the Globe and Mail, and a related LiveScience article from earlier this year
Geologists warn that during these seismic slips, which were first discovered about 5 years ago, the risk of a major earthquake (”major“, as in 9.0-ish in magnitude) increases 30-fold. These slips occur on a cycle that intensifies for a period of several weeks, roughly every 14 months.
Geologists in Canada...