4 ms·

This sentence from the article seems to be completely made up and not based in any actual science: "Without water to lubricate tectonic activity, our plates wi

by Shorel 2y ago

This sentence from the article seems to be completely made up and not based in any actual science: "Without water to lubricate tectonic activity, our plates will grind to a halt." In fact, water has nothing to do with tectonic activity, and the "lubricant" seems to be a special kind of molten magma: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/scripps_scientists_discover_lubricant_for_earths_tectonic_plates https://today.ucsd.edu/story/scripps_scientists_discover_lub...

genewitch 2y ago
In southern california we had a name for when it rained ~1" and then got really hot afterward - "Earthquake weather". I've asked various times and even asked LLMs if there might be some truth in the idea, but everyone assures me, same as you, that no, water doesn't affect plate movement at all. try googling/whatever the term to correct any misinformation i gave, here. eta: I see negative points for defining a term i heard repeatedly over two full decades of cognition. Similar to trying to google the definition, the resounding result is "no."
- narism 2y ago
  There is research that does show precipitation events might influence earthquake activity: https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-heavy-snowfall-rain-may-contribute-to-earthquakes-0508 https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-heavy-snowfall-rain-may-cont... https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2006GL027642 https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/200...
  - genewitch 2y ago
    i'll read those in a bit, but my theory was: IF it rains a lot somewhere like a desert, the ground will absorb a lot of water, filling voids, washing areas out, including underground. If it then gets really hot and dry (you know, like a desert), suddenly that mud shrinks, the voids become larger, there's less friction. For sure, an earthquake didn't happen every time (or really any time in my memory) there was "earthquake" weather, but i'm guessing prior to the mid 80s it happened a few times and that's where the term started being spread. What i don't like is instant ridicule for wondering if there might be something to it. It's not like the phrase "the devil beating his wife with a frying pan" as a synonym for a specific type of weather, even!
addaon 2y ago
This is not my area, but how does your statement reconcile with [1] and [2]? [1] "The fate of water within Earth and super-Earths and implications for plate tectonics," doi://10.1098/rsta.2015.0394, from which: "Water is thought to be critical for the development of plate tectonics, because it lowers viscosities in the asthenosphere, enabling subduction." [2] "The role of liquid water in maintaining plate tectonics and the regulation of surface temperature," 2001AGUFM.U21A..09S, from which: "The difference between the strength of a wet lithosphere and that of a dry lithosphere seems to be big enough to control the very existence of plate tectonics."

by Shorel 2y ago

genewitch 2y ago

In southern california we had a name for when it rained ~1" and then got really hot afterward - "Earthquake weather". I've asked various times and even asked LLMs if there might be some truth in the idea, but everyone assures me, same as you, that no, water doesn't affect plate movement at all. try googling/whatever the term to correct any misinformation i gave, here. eta: I see negative points for defining a term i heard repeatedly over two full decades of cognition. Similar to trying to google the definition, the resounding result is "no."

narism 2y ago
There is research that does show precipitation events might influence earthquake activity: https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-heavy-snowfall-rain-may-contribute-to-earthquakes-0508 https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-heavy-snowfall-rain-may-cont... https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2006GL027642 https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/200...
- genewitch 2y ago
  i'll read those in a bit, but my theory was: IF it rains a lot somewhere like a desert, the ground will absorb a lot of water, filling voids, washing areas out, including underground. If it then gets really hot and dry (you know, like a desert), suddenly that mud shrinks, the voids become larger, there's less friction. For sure, an earthquake didn't happen every time (or really any time in my memory) there was "earthquake" weather, but i'm guessing prior to the mid 80s it happened a few times and that's where the term started being spread. What i don't like is instant ridicule for wondering if there might be something to it. It's not like the phrase "the devil beating his wife with a frying pan" as a synonym for a specific type of weather, even!

addaon 2y ago

This is not my area, but how does your statement reconcile with [1] and [2]? [1] "The fate of water within Earth and super-Earths and implications for plate tectonics," doi://10.1098/rsta.2015.0394, from which: "Water is thought to be critical for the development of plate tectonics, because it lowers viscosities in the asthenosphere, enabling subduction." [2] "The role of liquid water in maintaining plate tectonics and the regulation of surface temperature," 2001AGUFM.U21A..09S, from which: "The difference between the strength of a wet lithosphere and that of a dry lithosphere seems to be big enough to control the very existence of plate tectonics."