New Jersey earthquake fault still not found, so researchers deploy aftershock sensors
Scientists have yet to pinpoint the fault that caused the New Jersey earthquake. Researchers are installing equipment to measure aftershocks and help solve that mystery.
Scientists have yet to pinpoint the fault that ruptured in New Jersey on April 5 and rattled much of the Northeast.
Now, U.S. Geological Survey researchers are in the process of installing new monitoring equipment to better measure aftershocks and help solve that mystery.
The USGS has recorded at least 50 aftershocks since the 4.8-magnitude earthquake last Friday. The federal agency announced Thursday that it is installing five new seismometers a few miles from the site of the quake to monitor future rumblings.
“With the new data, we should definitely be able to see what fault these earthquakes are occurring on. Whether it’s a mapped fault or not, it’s hard to say,” said Oliver Boyd, a research geologist at USGS who is based in Golden, Colorado. “They’ll give us a picture of what the fault network looks like, and if it happens to cause a larger earthquake, we’ll have instruments in the area to capture that.”
A group of researchers from the University of Texas, Rutgers University, Yale University and Columbia University are also installing 20 additional seismometers to aid efforts to map the fault network, he said.
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