Norwegian citizens living along fjord coastlines were perplexed as rare waves sloshed along local docks and seawalls. Scientists identified and described the rare phenomenon: seismically generated water waves called seiches, which had been set in motion by the massive Tohoku earthquake half a world away.

Alexandria, VA – Geoscientists using every resource available to them — from bare-earth LIDAR technology to knowledge of turn-of-the-century fashion — have helped correct a 100-year-old mistake about where the San Andreas Fault rupture point was for the historic 1906 earthquake.

Much like our voices create sound waves with a variety of low and high pitches, or frequencies, earthquakes produce seismic waves over a broad spectrum. The seismic waves' frequencies determine, in part, how far they travel and how damaging they are to human-made structures. However, the inaccessibility of fault zones means that very little is known about why and how earthquakes produce different frequencies. With the help of a new tabletop model, scientists have now identified how a process known as fault healing can shape seismic waves and potentially alter their frequencies.