A hole appeared in the Pacific Ocean raises fear and terror to the extent that experts announced the alarm in anticipation that a crack in the ocean floor would lead to a devastating earthquake.
According to the British newspaper “The Sun”, the hole, located 50 miles off the coast of the US state of Oregon, is pumping hot liquid that has angered scientists, who warn of the possibility that it may lead to a 9-magnitude earthquake that could destroy the western coast, reports Al-Rai daily.
Although this hole is located along a 600-mile fault line extending from California to Canada known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone, it was discovered in 2015, but the worrying liquid emanating from the hole is the so-called “lubricating oil.” » which allows tectonic plates to move easily.
In this regard, Evan Solomon, a professor of oceanography at the University of Washington, who participated in an analytical study, said: “Fluid loss reduces fluid pressure between sediment particles and thus increases friction between the oceanic and continental plates.”
And by increasing the liquid in the cracks of the faults, the pressure between the two tectonic plates decreases, and without it, the pressure can grow under the earth’s crust, causing a devastating earthquake.
What was observed during the exploration is not just methane bubbles, but that water is emerging from the sea floor like a fire hose.
The fluid leaking from the hole was 16 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding sea water and was coming directly from the Cascadia, where temperatures are estimated to be around 300 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists suggest that the Cascadia subduction zone will one day be the epicenter of the Great Earthquake, an earthquake not seen by mankind for centuries and that could destroy many cities in western America.
Scientists estimate the intensity of this quake to be 30 times stronger than the strongest earthquake expected along the San Andreas Fault, which runs the length of California.