Oregon

Warm liquid spewing from Oregon seafloor comes from Cascadia fault, could offer clues to earthquake hazards

Published

2 years ago

April 11, 2023

The sphere of plate tectonics just isn’t that previous, and scientists proceed to study the main points of earthquake-producing geologic faults. The Cascadia Subduction Zone — the eerily quiet offshore fault that threatens to unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake within the Pacific Northwest — nonetheless holds many mysteries.

A research led by the College of Washington found seeps of heat, chemically distinct liquid taking pictures up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport, Oregon. The paper, printed Jan. 25 in Science Advances, describes the distinctive underwater spring the researchers named Pythia’s Oasis. Observations recommend the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor on the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore fault.

The crew made the invention throughout a weather-related delay for a cruise aboard the RV Thomas G. Thompson. The ship’s sonar confirmed surprising plumes of bubbles about three-quarters of a mile beneath the ocean’s floor. Additional exploration utilizing an underwater robotic revealed the bubbles have been only a minor part of heat, chemically distinct fluid gushing from the seafloor sediment.

“They explored in that route and what they noticed was not simply methane bubbles, however water popping out of the seafloor like a firehose. That is one thing that I’ve by no means seen, and to my data has not been noticed earlier than,” stated co-author Evan Solomon, a UW affiliate professor of oceanography who research seafloor geology.

The characteristic was found by first creator Brendan Philip, who did the work as a UW graduate scholar and now works as a White Home coverage advisor.

Observations from later cruises present the fluid leaving the seafloor is 9 levels Celsius (16 levels Fahrenheit) hotter than the encircling seawater. Calculations recommend the fluid is coming straight from the Cascadia megathrust, the place temperatures are an estimated 150 to 250 levels Celsius (300 to 500 levels Fahrenheit).

The brand new seeps aren’t associated to geologic exercise on the close by seafloor observatory that the cruise was heading towards, Solomon stated. As an alternative, they happen close to vertical faults that crosshatch the huge Cascadia Subduction Zone. These strike-slip faults, the place sections of ocean crust and sediment slide previous one another, exist as a result of the ocean plate hits the continental plate at an angle, putting stress on the overlying continental plate.

Lack of fluid from the offshore megathrust interface by way of these strike-slip faults is vital as a result of it lowers the fluid stress between the sediment particles and therefore will increase the friction between the oceanic and continental plates.

“The megathrust fault zone is like an air hockey desk,” Solomon stated. “If the fluid stress is excessive, it is just like the air is turned on, that means there’s much less friction and the 2 plates can slip. If the fluid stress is decrease, the 2 plates will lock — that is when stress can construct up.”

Fluid launched from the fault zone is like leaking lubricant, Solomon stated. That is dangerous information for earthquake hazards: Much less lubricant means stress can construct to create a dangerous quake.

That is the primary identified web site of its sort, Solomon stated. Comparable fluid seep websites could exist close by, he added, although they’re onerous to detect from the ocean’s floor. A big fluid leak off central Oregon might clarify why the northern portion of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, off the coast of Washington, is believed to be extra strongly locked, or coupled, than the southern part off the coast of Oregon.

“Pythias Oasis offers a uncommon window into processes appearing deep within the seafloor, and its chemistry suggests this fluid comes from close to the plate boundary,” stated co-author Deborah Kelley, a UW professor of oceanography. “This implies that the close by faults regulate fluid stress and megathrust slip conduct alongside the central Cascadia Subduction Zone.”

Solomon simply returned from an expedition to observe sub-seafloor fluids off the northeast coast of New Zealand. The Hikurangi Subduction Zone is much like the Cascadia Subduction Zone however generates extra frequent, smaller earthquakes that make it simpler to check. Nevertheless it has a unique sub-seafloor construction that means it is unlikely to have fluid seeps like these found within the new research, Solomon stated.

The analysis off Oregon was funded by the Nationwide Science Basis. Different co-authors are Theresa Whorley, who did the work as a UW doctoral scholar and now works as an environmental advisor in Seattle; Emily Roland, a former UW college member now at Western Washington College; Masako Tominaga at Woods Gap Oceanographic Establishment; and Anne Tréhu and Robert Collier at Oregon State College.

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Related Topics:Earthquakes; Oceanography; Geology; Natural Disasters; Tsunamis; Geography; Atmosphere; Earth Science Featured

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Oregon

People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate

Published

7 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate

FILE – Scorched wheelchairs rest outside Cypress Meadows Post-Acute, a nursing home leveled by the Camp Fire on Dec. 4, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. The staff was able to safely evacuate all 91 patients.

Noah Berger / AP

Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon, says he will forever be haunted by Ashlyn Maddox’s death during the 2021 Oregon heat wave.

The Portland woman, 36, was disabled and living in a group foster home. She was dropped off by a medical transport company, but the company didn’t make sure she made it safely into her air-conditioned home. She ended up wandering around for hours in the heat, and died only 50 feet from safety.

Cornett says, “These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.”

Jake Cornett, executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon.
*Courtesy of Ramsey Cox*

Cornett spoke with “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross about Oregon’s ability to help people with disabilities during a natural disaster, such as the deadly wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Geoff Norcross: If we were to transport those fires in Southern California here, would we see a similar catastrophe for people with disabilities?

Jake Cornett: Surely, we fear that the same disasters we’ve seen play out in the catastrophes in the lives of people with disabilities in LA would play out right here in Oregon as well. And I don’t think this is just a theoretical question. It’s only a matter of time before we have major wildfires along Highway 20, very close by in Portland and in other major cities throughout our state.

Norcross: What is the obligation of local governments to provide for people with disabilities when disaster strikes? I guess I’m asking if the Americans with Disabilities Act applies here.

Cornett: Absolutely. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that cities, counties, the state and the federal government are taking into account what the needs are of people with disabilities, and providing accommodations for those needs when engaging in disaster planning.

Norcross: Getting information out to people quickly in a disaster is so critical, especially for something that’s as fast-moving as the LA wildfires. For people who are deaf or blind, can you talk about how that’s extra complicated?

Cornett: Absolutely. You know, emergency response notification systems that happen on your phone are a great tool if you have a phone, or if you have the technology to make your phone provide you the information you need. And that’s particularly important for folks who are blind.

I think about a blind person who may not have the same visual access to information as others. If police run around your neighborhood and put a notice on your door that says “get out of town, there’s an evacuation order, you’re under wildfire threat,” that notice on your door might not be enough because you can’t access that information.

And this is where cities, counties and the state really have an obligation to adjust to how they communicate so that it’s effective for all people with disabilities.

Norcross: And again, when you say obligation, you mean a legal obligation, not just because it’s the right thing to do.

Cornett: Absolutely. There’s a legal obligation to do that under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Norcross: Even if an evacuation order gets to affected people quickly, there’s this expectation that most people will get in their car and they will leave. How does that expectation leave people with disabilities in even greater danger?

Cornett: Yeah, that’s another huge issue for people with disabilities, especially when it happens quickly like the LA fires. People think evacuating is getting in the car, driving quickly away to safety.

But many people with disabilities don’t have access to a car, or they can’t physically drive a vehicle. They’re totally reliant on others to transport them to safety. So just providing that notice is not an adequate way to ensure that we are saving the lives of people with disabilities in the way it needs to be done.

Norcross: Is there an event here in Oregon that you can point to that shows us how situated we are to help people with disabilities when disaster strikes, good or bad?

Cornett: Here in Oregon, we’ve seen hundreds die or have serious injuries because of heat in the past few years. Climate change is real. We live in a warming environment, and it’s having a really disproportionate impact on seniors, on people with disabilities and people with underlying medical conditions.

And I’ll forever be haunted by a story of a 30-something year old woman who was dropped off by a medical transport company, but didn’t wait in their air-conditioned van to make sure that she got inside her home where there was air conditioning. Instead, they took off. She wandered around for hours before dying of heat, just 50 feet from her adult foster home.

These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness, and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.

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Oregon

Oregon State MBB Fall To San Francisco 81-70 As Dons Drain 13 3’s

Published

15 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Oregon State MBB Fall To San Francisco 81-70 As Dons Drain 13 3’s

On the heels of a milestone victory over Gonzaga on Thursday night, the Oregon State Beavers could not capture the same magic Saturday in San Francisco.

The road issues again reared their ugly head as OSU fell to USF 81-70, dropping the Beavs to 14-6 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

OSU have just one true road win this season, which came against Pacific on January 11. They are 1-4 in that category.

The biggest blows to the Beavers’ efforts came from beyond the arc. San Francisco made 13 of 22 three-point attempts, while OSU made just one on nine attempts. Malik Thomas was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points and four three-point makes.

Michael Rataj led the Beavs in scoring with 18 points, also grabbing six rebounds and two assists. As a team, the Beavs shot 44.4% on the night making 24 of 54 field goal attempts.

Oregon State will have several days off before hosting Pepperdine on Thursday, January 23.

Rataj with 13 points on the night pic.twitter.com/joCchI2YVp
— Oregon State Hoops (@BeaverMBB) January 19, 2025

Oregon

3 things to watch as Iowa women’s basketball looks to stop skid at Oregon

Published

23 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

3 things to watch as Iowa women’s basketball looks to stop skid at Oregon

IOWA CITY — Following an uncharacteristic run of home struggles, the Big Ten schedule now takes Iowa women’s basketball as far away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena as possible in the league.

The Hawkeyes (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten Conference) are set to begin their first West Coast conference swing, beginning with Sunday’s 4 p.m. game at Oregon (13-5, 4-3) on BTN+. Iowa will then head to Washington next Wednesday for an 8 p.m. showdown. The Hawkeyes are desperately trying to end a four-game losing streak that suddenly has them flirting with the NCAA Tournament bubble.

With that, here are three things to watch ahead of Sunday’s showdown.

Can the Hawkeyes productively channel their desperation?

Everyone inside the program understands the current situation and how it needs to change. But the Hawkeyes can’t let that pressure generate more tight play on the court, an ongoing theme throughout this four-game losing streak.

“We really are just one or two possessions away,” assistant coach Sean Sullivan said Friday. “With a team like this who’s continuing to fight, we just need one win. We just need one to get going because these kids really do believe.

“Everyone knows their role. Everyone is supporting each other, and that’s the best thing you can do at this time during a four-game losing streak. We’re not going down that black hole. We see the light. We’ve just got to get there.”

Until revealed otherwise, expect another tense affair with plenty of late-game opportunities for Iowa to find a better conclusion. The Hawkeyes need to bring this one home.

How does Iowa handle Oregon’s full-court pressure while potentially leaning more on its own press?

Iowa had some trouble in December with pressing teams, most notably Tennessee and Michigan State, that resulted in heavy turnovers and late struggles. On the flipside, the Hawkeyes have implemented their own press, just sporadically, mainly in moments of desperation.

Iowa leaned on more pressure in Thursday’s loss to Nebraska with some success. Could Sunday be a moment to match the Ducks’ energy there?

“Oregon is going to be pretty intense with ball pressure. That’s not what we do, but we’re slowly doing a little bit more of a press,” Sullivan said “First we did a press break of some type of 2-2-1. Now we’re like, ‘OK, let’s change it up a bit. What do our players feel comfortable with?’ (Thursday) night, we had a lot of success. We’re starting to see what they’re good at.

“Now, we’ve just got to have fun with it. Let’s start doing some random things because when you do something consistently, it’s easy to scout. But when you start changing things up, Nebraska didn’t handle our pressure well. And that builds us confidence. So I think for the future, you’ll definitely start to see some more stuff.”

What does Iowa have in store for Ava Heiden in her Oregon homecoming?

Even as far back as media day, Ava Heiden’s excitement for the Oregon trip was apparent. Her hometown of Sherwood, Oregon, sits about 100 miles north of the Ducks’ campus, so expect a strong cheer for Heiden when Iowa takes the floor Sunday.

“Ava is so athletic,” Sullivan said. “She can jump out of the building. She can get rebounds. And that’s what we’ve got to start figuring out. How can we utilize her a little bit more too?

Heiden’s minutes have been up and down this year, more down lately as Hannah Stuelke has shifted back to the “5” position for more consistency. Heiden didn’t play against Nebraska but could certainly see more usage Sunday.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

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