Phys.org  September 13, 2024 In subduction zones, water expelled from the subducting slab is believed to be involved in seismic activity. However, little is known about its quantity and flow processes. Researchers in Japan showed that the Arima hot springs in western Japan contained high concentrations of water derived from the subducting Philippine Sea slab. A long-term record spanning over half a century revealed that the fraction of slab-derived water exhibited a temporary surge in the year preceding and/or subsequent years of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. In total, an estimated 2.6–4.2 × 105 cubic meters of slab-derived water was introduced in conjunction […]