Hidden fault 1,600 kilometers from Ecuador reveals why earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean have been recurring in almost the same place for 30 years.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 15/05/2026 at 22:39

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Scientists have identified brake zones in the Gofar fault, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, capable of limiting seismic ruptures and explaining why magnitude 6 earthquakes have been repeating almost at the same points for decades

The Pacific Ocean harbors a geological fault that, for at least 30 years, has produced magnitude 6 earthquakes at intervals of five or six years, almost always at the same points. Scientists now associate this rare pattern with natural “brake zones.”

The discovery involves the transformed Gofar fault, located about 1,600 kilometers west of Ecuador, along the East Pacific Rise. Unlike most major earthquakes, which remain highly unpredictable, this fault shows unusual repetition.

Researchers concluded that structurally complex regions within the fault act as barriers capable of limiting the distance traveled by seismic ruptures. These zones interrupt the earthquakes almost at the same points in each observed seismic cycle.

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Pacific Ocean has a monitored fault on the seabed

To investigate the mechanism, researchers analyzed data from two major ocean floor monitoring experiments. The campaigns took place in 2008 and between 2019 and 2022, with seismometers installed along separate segments of the Gofar fault.

These devices recorded tens of thousands of small earthquakes before and after two magnitude 6 events. The sequence allowed observation of the barrier regions’ behavior in different phases of the seismic cycle.

In the days leading up to the major earthquakes, these zones showed bursts of small seismic activity. Right after the larger rupture, the same regions suddenly became silent, revealing a repeated and consistent pattern.

Barriers are not passive parts of the fault

The analysis indicated that the barriers are not just immobile stretches of rock. They are active regions, formed by complicated geometry, in which the fault splits into several strands with lateral displacements between them.

This configuration creates small extension gaps within the fault system. The team also found evidence that seawater penetrates deeply into these fractured areas, becoming trapped within the affected zones.

The combination of fault geometry and trapped fluids generates the so-called “dilatancy strengthening.” When a large rupture reaches the barrier, the rapid movement drastically reduces the pore pressure in the water-saturated rock.

This temporary pressure drop blocks the fault zone and slows the rupture before it continues to spread. Gong stated that understanding this mechanism changes the way we think about earthquake limits on these faults.

Underwater earthquakes may have natural limits

The findings help explain why many underwater earthquakes do not grow as much as geological conditions suggest. Transform faults like Gofar exist on ocean floors where tectonic plates slide horizontally over each other.

Scientists believe that similar zones may act as natural rupture limiting systems in underwater faults. This could improve models used to assess seismic risks near coastal regions and oceanic systems.

The Gofar fault poses little direct danger as it is far from populated coastlines. Nevertheless, the mechanism observed in the Pacific Ocean may apply to other underwater fault systems. The study was published in the journal Science.

Hidden fault 1,600 kilometers from Ecuador reveals why earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean have been recurring in almost the same place for 30 years.

Scientists have identified brake zones in the Gofar fault, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, capable of limiting seismic ruptures and explaining why magnitude 6 earthquakes have been repeating almost at the same points for decades

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Pacific Ocean has a monitored fault on the seabed

Barriers are not passive parts of the fault

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Hidden fault 1,600 kilometers from Ecuador reveals why earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean have been recurring in almost the same place for 30 years.

Scientists have identified brake zones in the Gofar fault, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, capable of limiting seismic ruptures and explaining why magnitude 6 earthquakes have been repeating almost at the same points for decades

Your backyard has traveled thousands of kilometers without you noticing, and a new tool shows where it was up to 320 million years ago.

Pacific Ocean has a monitored fault on the seabed

Barriers are not passive parts of the fault

Underwater earthquakes may have natural limits

A Chinese factory in Guangdong is assembling a humanoid robot every 30 minutes while Tesla, Figure, and Boston Dynamics still struggle to deliver 10 thousand per year.

Seven world powers including the US, China, and Russia are spending €22 billion on a reactor in the south of France that aims to confine plasma at 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times the temperature of the Sun’s core, using a magnetic field capable of lifting an entire aircraft carrier.

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