Repent earthquakes in the "ring of fire" - What scientists are afraid of

Strong concern is causing the international scientific community a series of major earthquakes, occurring in less than a day, over the last 24 hours, and may have been caused by seismic waves traveling along cracks in the so-called "Ring of Fire".

On Wednesday, an 6.1 earthquake hit Richter on New Zealand, followed by others off the coast of Japan (6.1), Vanuatu (6.4) and Indonesia (5.7) early on Thursday.

According to GeoNet, the earthquake in New Zealand was particularly felt in Wellington and the Strait of Cook.

All of them were recorded in the "Ring of Fire", a 40,000-kilometer-long horseshoe belt, in the Pacific Ocean ranging from New Zealand to Chile, Indonesia, Japan and California, where 90% of the earthquakes.

Although the western coast of Mexico is included in the "Ring of Fire," experts estimate that the deadly earthquake, which killed hundreds of people, is not related to other vibrations.

Seismologists admit that it is "an unusual phenomenon" that so many earthquakes, along with other weak vibrations, occur on the same day near the Tonga Islands (5.0), Taiwan (5.3) and Papua New Guinea (5.2).

"It is unusual, there is no doubt, there has been a great [seismic] activity," said Gary Gibson of the Melbourne University. "These unusual seismic sequences occur relatively often, it seems they are not accidental, but we do not know the causes."

Geoscience Australia 's Phil Kamins argues that seismic waves that can travel along cracks may be responsible. He points out that these waves can overcome nearby failures and continue to move, causing turbulence in remote faults that were already ready to be activated.

An 6.1 earthquake hit Richter on Wednesday off the east coast of Japan.

Professor Cammins stressed that seismic waves can not in themselves cause earthquakes, but they can speed up some of those who were about to emerge shortly.

"These earthquakes are almost certain to happen very soon," he said.

And he stressed that he did not rule out the possibility that the same mechanism would cause another major earthquake in the coming hours or 24 hours.

Is California going?

But that does not necessarily mean that California or other areas of the western coast of America will be affected.

According to Christopher Plouhar , a professor of geology at Fresno, the lithospheric plates in this seismic area are constantly moving at an annual rate of 1-10 centimeters. Although this can cause earthquakes, they often go unnoticed.

"It happens all the time and there are no damage, so we do not mind. Earthquakes happen. We have to wait for them. "

Seismologists warn for a long blow to Engelado in California

According to Plumar, there is a 60% chance of a major earthquake in California in the next 30 years, probably along the Hayward fault.

Although experts have long warned that a major earthquake in California is unavoidable, tectonic activity in the United States is different from those on the shores of Mexico and other areas in the "Ring of Fire," says seismologist Jean-Paul Abouer.

The plates that make up the various parts of the "Ring of Fire" are rubbed vertically, while California is located between two plates that collide horizontally.