Image shows travel times of Pacific tsunamis originating from earthquakes off Chile and Alaska.

Last year aboard the vessel Chikyu, a Japanese science vessel, researchers took 3D seismic images of the faultzone, the point where the North American plate is subsiding with the Filipino plate. The images they retrieved helped the researchers to pick the best spot to drill. However, in their imaging, they also managed to discover new steeper faults in the rock. Tthese near-vertical faults could be the reason why the Nankai Trough produces approximately one 8+ earthquake every 150 years.

Fascinating. the forces of nature defy human intervention.