AI detects hidden movement under San Andreas Fault: Can it trigger a quake?

Scientists have discovered hidden movements beneath California's San Andreas Fault with the help of artificial intelligence, revealing a type of slow fault slip that had largely gone unnoticed till now. The researchers say these silent movements may play a bigger role in earthquake activity than it was previously thought.The study, led by Dr Zahra Zali of the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, found dozens of short-duration slow slip events beneath the Parkfield section of the San Andreas Fault. The findings were published in Nature Communications, sciencex.com reported.Unlike earthquakes, these slow fault movements do not create strong tremors. Instead of that, they release stress over several hours or days, which makes them difficult to detect using traditional earthquake monitoring methods.What led to discoveryResearchers have long believed that faults do not move only during earthquakes. They also slip quietly without causing noticeable ground shaking.