Earthquakes

Can Earthquakes Actually Calm the Earth?

The magnitude-8.6 earthquake that struck the Indian Ocean in 2012 may have had a calming effect on the other quakes in the world, a new study has claimed.

The powerful quake near Sumatra, Indonesia, seemed to have actually quietened the global earthquakes, according to two reports presented at the Seismological Society of America's annual meeting in Salt Lake City.

The April 11, 2012 quake was the largest strike-slip shake-up (which moves horizontally) ever recorded.

Although the quake triggered earthquakes worldwide for up to six days, however, once the triggered quakes stopped, there was a sharp drop in moderate earthquakes for more than three months.

Seismic monitors detected no earthquakes bigger than magnitude 6.5 for 95 days. Normally, quakes of this size hit every 10 days.

It is suggested that the Indian Ocean earthquake's unusually energetic seismic waves, which traversed shallowly through Earth's crust for long distances, could have shifted stresses on faraway faults, delaying earthquakes globally.