Researchers in southern Switzerland successfully triggered thousands of tiny earthquakes under a controlled experiment called Fault Activation and Earthquake Rupture (FEAR-2) to better understand seismic activity and reduce earthquake risks.
Scientists injected 750 cubic metres of water into boreholes deep beneath the Swiss Alps at the BedrettoLab, causing a series of small tremors below magnitude 1 without creating a new fault, but by facilitating movement along an existing one.
The experiment is expected to provide valuable insights into induced seismicity, including the best injection techniques for future studies, while improving understanding of earthquake mechanisms and underground stress behaviour.
About Alps
The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system in Europe, extending approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) in a crescent shape across eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.
The Alps are fold mountains. This means that they formed when two large tectonic plates slowly collided, pushing up the ground over tens of millions of years. This created some of the highest peaks in Europe.
They feature high peaks like Mont Blanc (4,810 m) and act as a major European climate divide.
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