A seismic gap is a segment of an active fault known to produce significant earthquakes, that has not slipped in an unusually long time when compared with other segments along the same structure. Seismic gap hypothesis/theory states that, over long periods of time, the displacement on any segment must be equal to that experienced by all the other parts of the fault. Any large and longstanding gap is therefore considered to be the fault segment most likely to suffer future earthquakes.
The applicability of this approach has been criticised by some seismologists, although earthquakes have occurred in previously identified seismic gaps in some cases.
Famous quotes containing the words seismic and/or gap:
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Sitting as huge as Asia, seismic with laughter,”
—George Barker (b. 1913)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)