EARTHQUAKES may prove impossible to predict, but their aftershocks may be an
easier nut to crack. Geophysicists think they will be able to produce maps of
probable aftershock locations just hours or days after the initial quake,
allowing residents to avoid their effects.
Aftershocks depend on a number of factors, including the geometry of fault
lines and planes across which rock is slipping, the amount of slippage at
different spots along the fault, and the amount of fluid movement inside the
rocks. Gathering all that data after a quake can take time.
But by studying a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that…
