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mburke6 t1_j9mu9oq wrote

It would make sense that they come in clusters though. An earthquake happens when tectonic plates slip past each other. When a plate shifts it could create or release pressure somewhere else on the plate. I think this would be a regional phenomenon, so I doubt it would affect a someplace as far away as California. That doesn't mean that an earthquake won't shake CA to little bits of rubble tomorrow, but I think that quake would be unrelated.

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notunek t1_j9mws5k wrote

That's what I remember from studying them in school. It was some kind of transfer of stress. I should have paid more attention. I don't think it was in only a small area either.

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NoodlesrTuff1256 t1_j9nija1 wrote

I've read claims that with the icecaps and glaciers melting away to global warming that with the 'weight' of all that ice removed that large sections of the earth which had been 'pressed down' by it will rebound thus triggering more quakes.

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mburke6 t1_j9njn52 wrote

I've read that about Greenland in particular. The weight of the ice on Greenland pushes it down and raises the north east area of North Easter part of the American continent up. When that ice melts, supposedly Greenland rises and NE America sinks, exacerbating the rise in sea level.

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