Leak in Pacific Ocean Floor First Known of Its Kind; Worries Scientists It Will Fuel ‘The Big One’

Leak in Pacific Ocean Floor First Known of Its Kind; Worries Scientists It Will Fuel 'The Big One'
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Sabrina Cacciolo)

There's a leak in the Pacific Ocean's floor, and scientists are alarmed. They fear it could potentially fuel "The Big One."

Leak in Pacific Ocean's Floor

In a 2023 study, researchers reported a leak at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean around 50 miles off the coast of Oregon. Initially, they thought it spewed water but released warm tectonic lubricant.

Researchers believe this is the first known leak in this ocean, though they believe there may be more nearby. The leak was discovered during a weather-related cruise delay when the ship's sonar detected unexpected bubbles beneath the ocean's surface. However, the bubbles were just the tip of the iceberg, as the water shot out from the seafloor like a "firehose."

The leak, named Pythia's Oasis after the Greek oracle, was discovered in 2015 by the University of Washington. It is located atop the 600-mile-long Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

The region that separates the North American plate from the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is known as the megathrust. According to Evan Soloman, co-author of the study, in a press release, the fault's fluid loss could reduce the fluid pressure between the two plates, leading to friction. Without the fluid, the plates may lock and cause tension that could lead to "the Big One" -- a magnitude-9.0 earthquake. The fluid permits the plates to slide against one another smoothly.

According to Michigan Tech University's Earthquake Magnitude Scale, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 or above is considered "great" and has the potential to "totally destroy" cities nearby. These earthquakes reportedly only occur once or twice a year.

Long suspected for years, a massive earthquake in this area gained notoriety in a 2015 New Yorker article that threatened to create the "worst natural disaster in the history of North America, outside of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which killed upward of a hundred thousand people." If the earthquake struck the Pacific Northwest, the area of impact would cover about hundred and forty thousand square miles, including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Salem (the capital city of Oregon), Olympia (the capital of Washington), and affect about seven million individuals.

It might cause a catastrophic tsunami similar to the one that struck Japan in 2011. The Tohoku earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9.0, was the greatest earthquake to ever strike Japan and the third biggest since 1900. The tremor was set off by undersea action in the North Pacific, similar to the tectonic activity in the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

ALSO READ: Earthquake vs Nuclear Blast: New Tool Could Differentiate the Two With 99% Accuracy

What Is The Big One?

The Big One is defined by experts as an earthquake that occurs in the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault and has a magnitude of at least 7.8. That earthquake would have been 44 times more powerful than the Northridge earthquake that struck Southern California in 1994, resulting in over 9,000 injuries, 72 fatalities, and an estimated $25 billion in damage.

A team of experts, including scientists and engineers, projected 2008 that The Big One would cause over 1,800 fatalities, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage, and more losses.

A 2014 scientific prediction estimated that there would be at least one earthquake in California in the next 30 years with a magnitude of 7.5 or higher, with a 48% chance of happening. When there are eight or more earthquakes, the probability decreases to 7%. When the percentages are broken down by region, the Los Angeles area has more significant numbers than the San Francisco area.