Strange leak spotted in Pacific Ocean floor, scientists say it could cause massive earthquake

Scientists have found a peculiar leak in the Pacific Ocean floor that may one day cause a massive earthquake. The leak, which was spotted off the Pacific coasts of the USA and Canada, expert says, has never been seen before.

This seep is known as Pythia's Oasis and is present in the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ), a huge fault line that extends from Vancouver Island on Canada's west coast all the way down to Northern California.

CSZ is where two plates collide, but it's possible that this fluid is regulating pressure between the continental and oceanic plates.The water gushing out "like a firehose" is at the fault where underneath the temperatures are between 300 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. That is why the water that is splashing out of the ocean floor about 50 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon is warmer.

In any case, if additional water keeps coming out, reports say, this may be increasing the pressure at the fault and stressing the two plates. Then, an earthquake could occur if the tension increases and the plates start to move.

Scientists watched methane bubbles rising from a mile beneath the ocean. Evan Solomon, a University of Washington oceanographer and co-author of an article describing this phenomena published in the journal Scientific Advances said,“If the fluid pressure is high, it’s like the air is turned on, meaning there’s less friction and the two plates can slip.If the fluid pressure is lower, the two plates will lock.That’s when stress can build up.”

“Fluid released from the fault zone is like leaking lubricant. That’s bad news for earthquake hazards: Less lubricant means stress can build to create a damaging quake.”

The authors of the research assert that Pythia's Oasis may not be the "only seep of its kind," but that there may be others close to the CSZ. The seismologists find that to be intriguing news.

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Co-author and professor of oceanography Deborah Kelley said: "Pythias Oasis provides a rare window into processes acting deep in the seafloor, and its chemistry suggests this fluid comes from near the plate boundary."

"This suggests that the nearby faults regulate fluid pressure and megathrust slip behaviour along the central Cascadia Subduction Zone."

Explaining how they discovered the underground water, Solomon added: “They explored in that direction, and what they saw was not just methane bubbles, but water coming out of the seafloor like a firehose.”

“That’s something I’ve never seen and, to my knowledge, has not been observed before.” Reports said the seep could be an indication of a massive earthquake off the coast of North America.

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