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Seismology

Talc at fault

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The behaviour of the San Andreas fault varies along its length — it slips in some places and creeps in others. The discovery of the ultrasoft mineral talc in rocks from deep inside the fault could help to explain why.

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Figure 1: In search of weak creep.

USGS

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Wibberley, C. Talc at fault. Nature 448, 756–757 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/448756a

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