Earthquakes Affect Plate Movement in a Feedback Loop

An analysis of GPS data from the 1999 İzmit quake in Turkey finds the the quake changed the movement direction of the Anatolian Plate.

IMAGE: Tectonic plates of the Earth. CREDIT: USGS

Earthquakes, it turns out, can affect the movement of the plates. I know what you’re thinking. Plate movement causes earthquakes, not the other way…