May 21, 2024
8.21am
3BMeteo editorial team
reading time
10 seconds
NEWS, the tremors continue in the evening. These are hours of great fear in Pozzuoli. A pole fell near a level crossing.
For all the details go to the Pozzuoli Weather section
Why does an earthquake happen and what does it depend on? Earthquakes are very violent manifestations of nature originating from complex movement dynamics that predominantly involve the outermost part of our planet, the crust. The crust is divided into numerous plates, or plates fitted together like a puzzle, there are at least seven large ones and a dozen smaller ones. These plates of crust rest on a partially molten lower layer with plastic behavior called the mantle and move slowly over time, dragged as if on a sort of treadmill by the convective motions present within the mantle itself. The margins of the plates are subject to enormous tensions which lead the rock to break and break down into large fractures, called faults. The activation of the faults gives rise to earthquakes which can be superficial (and cause a lot of damage) or deep (over 50-70km). Earthquakes can also occur far from plate boundaries, for example in volcanic areas.
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