Brandon Shuck

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Cascadia subduction zone is tearing apart off Vancouver Island

As of September 2026: Lead researcher on the Cascadia tearing study

Scientists have watched a tectonic plate off Vancouver Island tearing itself apart. The Juan de Fuca plate, sliding beneath North America along the Cascadia subduction zone, is fragmenting piece by piece rather than failing all at once.

Updated Sep 25

Notable Quotes

It's a progressive breakdown, one episode at a time. And it matches really well with what we see in the geologic record, where volcanic rocks get younger or older in a sequence that reflects this step-by-step tearing.

from Cascadia subduction zone is tearing apart off Vancouver Island · Updated Sep 25

Rather than shutting down all at once, the plate is ripping apart piece by piece, creating smaller microplates and new boundaries. So instead of a big train wreck, it's like watching a train slowly derail, one car at a time.

from Cascadia subduction zone is tearing apart off Vancouver Island · Updated Sep 25