Scientists think they could have found the cause of a series of “slow-motion” earthquakes that have shaken New Zealand in recent years – a hidden ocean which sits two miles beneath the sea floor. The water was revealed as part of a giant volcanic area formed about 125 million years ago, when an eruption forced a plume of lava bigger than the US to the surface of the Earth. Researchers found the region by towing 3D seismic sensors behind a boat to build up an image of the ancient volcanic area. There, they found thick, layered sediments around long-buried volcanoes which contained much more water than expected. Andrew Gase, from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, who carried out the research, said: “Normal ocean crust, once it gets to be about seven or 10 million years old should contain much less water.” The ocean crust scanned by researchers was 10 times as old as this – but water made up nearly half its volume. The tectonic fault line which runs through New Zealand is known for producing slow-motion earthquakes, also known as slow slip events. During one of these, the energy from an earthquake gets released over days or months, often causing little or no harm to people. Scientists don’t know why they happen more at some faults than at others, but they are thought to be linked to buried water. Finding this new area of water at the fault line which creates so many slip events could provide an explanation. Gase said: “We can't yet see deep enough to know exactly the effect on the fault, but we can see that the amount of water that's going down here is actually much higher than normal.” If researchers can work out how the water reserves affect slip events – possibly by dampening them – they could, in turn, understand normal earthquakes better. Scientists also think underground water pressure could play a key part in creating conditions that release tectonic stress via slow slip earthquakes. As a result, Gase said scientists should drill even deeper to find out where the water ends up. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Listen to The Big Take podcast on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Terminal. For years, park rangers in South

Tristan Tate said that MrBeast's transformation is 'good for the world' amid his fitness milestone

Twitter has been a powerful tool for social movements. But since Elon Musk acquired the platform last year, some organizers and digital media experts have been bracing for the impact that his controversial policy changes and mass layoffs may have on social activism.

From selfies to videos of her sweating in the summer heat, Ana Navarro has shared every little bit with her fans in her latest post from Athens

Hurricane Lee has grown back into a Category 3 storm with 120-mile-per-hour winds about 650 miles (1,046 kilometers)

VoiD was crowned the 'Greatest Gamer in the World' in Ludwig Ahgren's event by showcasing his versatile gaming skills across 11 different titles

An influencer has gone viral across social media – for all of the wrong reasons. Santea, real name Santiago Albarran, is a 21-year-old TikTok star, mostly known for his lip sync, dancing and challenges shared to the platform. The internet star first started his channel in 2019 and has since featured alongside other online personalities including Malu Trevejo, Emelly Hernandez, Devin Caherly, and Amanda Diaz. He also has his own YouTube channel, which has amassed almost 44,000,000 views. On Thursday (15 June), a very NSFW video was uploaded to his Snapchat story, before being swiftly deleted. The clip in question showed a man and woman in a compromising position. No faces were shown. It remains unclear whether it was shared intentionally, but has since surfaced on other social media outlets. "I was barely going to sleep till I saw @Santea__ snap story woke me right tf up lol," one person hit back, while another added: "I'm just waiting for that apology video now lol." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @santea_ Replying to @one &' only ♛ .yall shouldve known betta when i told yall bout them 14 seconds. I can do betta i swear ? It comes after the influencer took to Instagram to announce he will be taking a break from social media. "Getting off social media for a year for my mental health," he wrote. "My last public event will be in San Antonio this month on the 23rd." He cryptically added: "RIP Santea". Santea has not yet addressed the Snapchat footage, as curious fans stand by to see whether he will publicly issue an apology or speak about the video-in-question. Indy100 reached out to Santea for comment. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Among the 52 companies that MSCI categorizes as semiconductor makers, only Intel has avoided a share-price decline as the month draws to a close.

TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2023--

When Tesla Inc. starts delivering Cybertrucks to customers next week, it will answer a question with major implications

The COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this month is perhaps the last chance for the world to