The Moon may be the culprit causing a terrifying earthquake

The Moon may cause massive earthquakes due to the tidal pressure peaking for geological faults on the Earth's surface.

According to Independent, recent research by seismologist Satoshi Ide and colleagues at the University of Tokyo shows that the pressure of the Moon on Earth's crust can cause massive earthquakes.

Scientists have long suspected that the Moon was linked to the cause of major earthquakes , causing many casualties and damages around the world. This is the first time a scientific study has shown this connection.

Picture 1 of The Moon may be the culprit causing a terrifying earthquake
Large earthquakes in the world often occur at the time of the full moon.(Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi).

The rising tide is caused by the Moon's gravitational pull, causing water on the Earth's ocean to shift."It is particularly high twice in the month when the moon is full and the moon is full, especially when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned," the report said in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sept. 12 for the group. good.

This phenomenon increases pressure on the surface of the Earth and geological fractures , leading to earthquakes, the researchers said.

They came to the conclusion after using the information obtained from the recent large earthquakes to consider the extent of tidal pressure that could be attributed to geological fault sections.

The team found large earthquakes such as the 2004 Sumatra earthquake, the 2010 Chile earthquake or the 2011 earthquake in Japan tended to occur at the highest tide. In the 12 largest earthquakes there are 9 events occurring at the time of the new moon, full moon or about to round.

This finding could help scientists predict major earthquakes. However, they still do not know if a similar phenomenon has occurred with small earthquakes.