Many of the world's most dangerous earthquake faults have not ruptured in more than 100 years. To gauge the hazard they pose, geologists must figure out how the faults behaved in the past by looking for clues in the rocks themselves, including slickenlines, scour marks along the exposed rock face of a fault. Researchers in New Zealand now say that slickenlines, when curved, can reveal which end of a fault slipped first. The work, stemming out of the 7.8-magnitude Kaikōura earthquake, could refine the earthquake hazard faced by cities located at the ends of faults, such as Los Angeles or Istanbul.

中文翻译：

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弯曲的冲刷痕迹追溯了古代地震的方向

世界上许多最危险的地震断层都没有超过100年破裂。为了评估它们造成的危险，地质学家必须通过寻找岩石本身的线索（包括滑行线），沿着断裂的裸露岩石表面冲刷痕迹来弄清楚断层过去的表现。新西兰的研究人员现在说，光滑的弯线可以揭示断层的哪一端先滑落。这项工作源于7.8级的Kaikōura地震，可以改善位于断层末端的城市（如洛杉矶或伊斯坦布尔）面临的地震危险。