Are Earth's tectonic plates BENDY?

Scientists say they're more flexible than first thought - and this could explain why some earthquakes occur

• A study by US scientists suggests Earth's tectonic plates are malleable
• They say that the plates can cool and change in size and shape
• This means they contract faster in certain sections and deform
• It could explain how earthquakes within a plate (intraplate earthquakes) can form 

They found that the cooling of the lithosphere, the outermost layer of Earth, makes some sections of the Pacific plate contract horizontally at faster rates than other sections, which causes the plate to deform.

For example they showed that there is a positive correlation between where the plate is predicted to deform and where intraplate earthquakes - ones inside a tectonic plate rather than two rubbing together - occur.They say that the deformation could explain why some parts of the plate tectonic puzzle don't make sense.

The formation of intraplate earthquakes has been somewhat of a mystery until now. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2822005/Are-Earth-s-tectonic-plates-BENDY-Scientists-say-flexible-thought-explain-earthquakes-occur.html#ixzz3Ih2hrCtq