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Health & Science21h 21m ago

A team led by Sunyoung Park published a paper in Science proposing that a seismic wave from the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake travelled to Earth's outer core, reflected, and returned to the surface, causing a five to six millimetre eastward displacement across Japan.

Japan

Who
Sunyoung Park, assistant professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, and her team
What
A team led by Sunyoung Park published a paper in Science proposing that a seismic wave from the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake travelled to Earth's outer core, reflected, and returned to the surface, causing a five to six millimetre eastward displacement across Japan.
When
Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT · 21h 21m ago
Where
Japan ·
Why
The shift was caused by an ScS wave, a shear wave that reflected off the liquid outer core, returning to Japan's tectonic plate boundaries with enough energy to trigger small additional slip.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This finding suggests that the influence of the largest earthquakes may extend much further and through deeper geological pathways than previously understood, representing a previously unrecognised source of seismic hazard.

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  1. Currently Reading21h 21m ago
    A team led by Sunyoung Park published a paper in Science proposing that a seismic wave from the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake travelled to Earth's outer core, reflected, and returned to the surface, causing a five to six millimetre eastward displacement across Japan.
  2. Health & Science21h 21m ago
    A team led by Sunyoung Park published a paper in Science, concluding that a seismic wave from the 2011 magnitude-9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake traveled to Earth’s outer core, reflected, and returned to the surface, causing a 5-6 millimeter eastward displacement across Japan.
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