Earthquakes in the Solomon Islands, Pacific Ocean

The contrast in ocean depths between the Australia Plate and the Pacific Plate near the Solomon islands reveals the subduction of the former beneath its northeastern neighbor. This subduction was responsible for the 7.2-magnitude quake on January 4, 2010.

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NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using earthquake and plate tectonics data from the USGS Earthquake Hazard Program, elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) provided by the University of Maryland’s Global Land Cover Facility, and ocean bathymetry data from the British Oceanographic Data Center’s Global Bathmetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Published January 5, 2010
Data acquired January 4, 2010

Source:

Space Shuttle > SRTM