Hi John. There are many questions looking for answers. Take Care…Don in creepy town

The following points are made by Rachel Abercrombie (Nature 2005 438:171):

1) How does a seismic fault, initially essentially immobile, start to slip at speeds of meters per second as an earthquake rupture front runs along it at speeds of up to 3 kilometers per second? Does the eventual size of an earthquake depend on the nature of this process? Or do all earthquakes begin in the same way, with the extent of rupture determined by conditions along the fault? Such fundamental questions get seismologists talking, because knowing how earthquakes begin is an essential part of understanding and modelling the dynamics of earthquake rupture, and may allow an earthquake's course to be predicted.

http://scienceweek.com/2006/sw060217-6.htm

• How A Quake Begins