“My job as a paleoseismologist,” says Dr. Stephen Angster, a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Science Center in Seattle and lead author of the new study, “is to figure out when and how often these local faults rupture, which would help us predict roughly when we come in the window of the next potential rupture.”

Hidden Faults Beneath Seattle

The research centers on the Seattle Fault Zone (SFZ), an east to west fault system that stretches through Bainbridge Island and Seattle. Scientists have long known that the main Seattle fault produces major earthquakes only over very long periods, typically more than 5,000 years apart. More recently, however, geologists have identified a number of smaller secondary faults connected to the system.

These shorter faults are not usually included in national earthquake hazard calculations because they are considered too small to produce very large earthquakes. Angster says that may overlook an important source of danger.

“When we generate the National Seismic Hazard Model for the U.S., we leave out these shorter faults because they don’t meet the minimum requirement for length and thus are considered to have a low magnitude potential,” says Angster. “In the case of the SFZ, we don’t fully understand the rupture dynamics at depth, but they’re rupturing more frequently and pretty close to home.”

Why the Seattle Fault Zone Matters

The Seattle Fault Zone helps absorb strain caused by compression in the Earth’s crust between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Stress constantly builds in the region and is periodically released through earthquakes. Researchers estimate the SFZ accounts for roughly 15% of the total strain across the Pacific Northwest.

Studying the fault system is challenging because most of the faults are hidden underground and cannot be directly observed at the surface. To investigate them, scientists rely on indirect techniques that reveal clues beneath the landscape.

Researchers use magnetic surveys to detect subtle changes in the underlying bedrock. They also analyze detailed lidar images that can penetrate dense forest cover and expose scarps left behind by ancient earthquakes. These scarps form when the ground shifts during a fault rupture.

To learn when those earthquakes occurred, scientists dig trenches across the scarps and study the displaced layers of soil and sediment.

Evidence of Frequent Earthquakes

Using these methods, Angster and his colleagues reconstructed the history of two newly identified secondary faults within the Seattle Fault Zone. Their findings suggest these smaller faults rupture roughly every 350 years, far more frequently than the main fault itself.

“The surface ruptures from earthquakes within the SFZ have been dominated within the last 2500 years by these secondary fault events,” says Angster.

The most recent rupture likely occurred during the nineteenth century. Researchers determined the timing using radiocarbon dating and tree ring evidence from trees that died following an earthquake.

A Growing Concern for Seattle

The team hopes future work will provide a clearer picture of how dangerous these secondary faults may be for the Seattle metropolitan region, home to roughly four million people.

“The thing about the Seattle fault is that in the Cascadia event, we’ll shake pretty hard and long when it happens,” says Angster, “but it’s likely not going to be as destructive for Seattle as a major event on the Seattle fault. I think we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the size and the potential of these smaller faults and the relationship between main fault rupture and these more frequent, smaller ruptures.”

Writing and photography by West Smith

Furries are everywhere.

That’s the biggest lesson I took away from attending my first furry convention earlier this year. Before that, I think I still carried some lazy stereotype in my head about the furry community being made up exclusively of Reddit-dwelling teenagers. Then I got there and met doctors, lawyers, medical technicians, people from every possible walk of life. The point was driven home a few months later when my urologist casually told me he’d been to a few furry conventions himself.

So by the time I found myself heading to Furry Night at the Opera, the idea of a furry opera singer didn’t feel surprising at all; if anything, it felt obvious.

The evening was championed by baritone Christian Pursell, better known in the fandom as Chester the Geroo, who plays Escamillo in Carmen. As far as anyone can tell, this was the first official Furry Night at the opera in history, a genuinely historic moment for the fandom and the city of Seattle.

Seattle Opera seemed proud to be hosting it. After seeing how successful the night was, I’d be surprised if other opera houses didn’t soon follow (fur)suit.

At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what “Furry Night at the Opera” meant. Was this an event exclusively for furries? Would I feel out of place showing up without a tail? When I asked someone at the box office, they laughed and said, “This is a 2,800-seat house. There’s going to be all kinds of people here, not just furries.” They were right, the crowd wasn’t all fur-suited. But this wasn’t a typical opera crowd either. In the lobby, there were dozens of oversized, fur-covered heads weaving through the crowd (they were asked to remove their heads for the show, to make sure they didn’t block the view of the stage).

Furries arrived in formal wear, some toting their fursuits in. Pursell arrived wearing his authentic Escamillo matador costume from that evening’s performance of Carmen. Before the show, he hosted a free meet-and-greet, handing out stickers, signing posters, and giving out head pats.

In line with his matador costume, he also staged a mock bullfight with someone in a bull costume.

It is difficult to know exactly how many furries attended the event. More than 50 guests used the special Furry Night coupon code, though additional attendees purchased regular tickets to attend the pre-show meet-and-greet.

But not everyone had to check their fursuits. Local cidery Slightly Furry rented out a private box for the event so they could stay suited up for the performance.

Opera has a reputation for being a stuffy, upper-class art form, something exclusive, intimidating, and maybe not entirely meant for me. But just as my assumptions about the furry community turned out to be lazy and incomplete, so too were my assumptions about the opera. Furry Night at the Opera reminded me that both are, at their best, invitations: spaces built around passion, community, and the simple joy of sharing an experience with others. Art, it turns out, is for everyone.

Related

Three men were shot outside the Cultura nightclub early Monday morning in Capitol Hill, with one victim in critical condition.

At approximately 1:10 a.m., the Seattle Police Department (SPD) responded to reports of a shooting in the 900 block of E. Pike Street, SPD announced.

As officers arrived, they found three men suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers administered medical aid until the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) arrived.

SFD later transported all three victims to Harborview Medical Center, with two in serious condition and the other in critical condition.

Altercation with security leads to Capitol Hill nightclub shooting

The shooting followed an altercation involving three men and the nightclub security. The men were reportedly leaving the scene when at least one suspect pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots towards the club, which struck the three victims.

SPD noted that investigators are searching for two to three suspects who are believed to have a connection to the shooting, though no suspect descriptions have been released, according to KING 5.

The SPD Gun Violence Reduction Unit is currently investigating the events preceding the shooting.

Traffic was temporarily blocked by emergency vehicles on E. Pike Street, between Broadway and 10th Avenue, as Seattle Police and Seattle Fire were on the scene. The roadway was eventually opened up for traffic.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.

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