Pacific Northwest Subduction Zone Breaks Apart, One Tear at a Time
A Science Advances study using high‑resolution seismic imaging from the CASIE21 expedition shows the Cascadia subduction zone off Vancouver Island tearing apart in stages, with a main fault dropping about five kilometers and smaller microplates forming as the Juan de Fuca plate gradually detaches. This episodic, piecewise termination clarifies how such zones die and will help refine seismic hazard models, though it does not indicate an imminent change in regional earthquake risk.
