A new study led by Ï㽶ÊÓƵ has found that tectonic plates beneath the Earth’s surface can show varying degrees of roughness and could help explain why certain earthquakes are stronger than others.
Earthquakes happen when the rocks beneath the Earth’s surface break along geological fault lines and slide past each other. The properties of these faults - such as the roughness of their surface - can have an influence on the size of seismic events, however their study has been challenging because they are buried deep beneath the Earth’s surface.
