seismic gap

American  

noun

1. the part of an active fault that has experienced little or no seismic activity for a long period, indicating the buildup of stresses that are useful in predicting earthquakes.

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Example Sentences

Large earthquakes have marched westward along the fault, leaving an obvious seismic gap beneath the Sea of Marmara, dangerously close to Istanbul, one of the most populous cities on Earth.

From Washington Post • Feb. 9, 2023

A long hiatus in activity along a fault segment with a history of recurring earthquakes is known as a seismic gap.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Last April's tremor occurred in what scientists refer to as a seismic gap - a segment of the fault that has not experienced any significant strain-releasing activity in a long while.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2016

The Nazca and South American tectonic plates rub up against each other just off the coast of Iquique, where a "seismic gap" has been building up.

From Scientific American • Apr. 3, 2014

"Wherever stress builds up for a long time in a seismic gap," says David Simpson of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, "something's got to give."

From Time Magazine Archive