This article analyzes the risk of earthquakes in mountainous regions. Researchers have developed a 2D simulation which uses long-time scale processes to explain short time scale problems.  It can replicate the results that were observed from historical earthquake catalogues. This new study which utilizes the simulation has found that the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes is directly related to the rate at which tectonic plates collide.  Fast tectonic plate collisions tend to occur in mountainous regions like the Alps, Himalaya, Apennines, and Zagros.  The researchers have justified this by saying that low temperatures and a large radius of impact is caused by faster collisions and as a result, a large relative number of earthquakes in the area.

These earthquakes are important to study because many of these mountainous regions are also densely populated.  Hopefully, understanding why such powerful earthquakes occur at such a high frequency will help researchers to be able to better predict when they will happen.  I think this is what seismologists should mainly focus on because by simply alerting the people of when they need to evacuate, they will be able to directly help save numerous lives.

References:

  1. Elsevier. (2017, December 4). Earthquakes in the Himalaya are bigger than in the Alps because tectonic plates collide faster. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 11, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171204091833.htm
  2. Luca Dal Zilio, Ylona van Dinther, Taras V. Gerya, Casper C. Pranger. Seismic behaviour of mountain belts controlled by plate convergence rate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2018; 482: 81 DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.053