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This article discusses how research facilitating the increased understanding of slow earthquakes may provide a more complete understanding of the processes associated with ordinary earthquakes. The term slow earthquake encompasses a number of phenomena, including slow-slip events and very-low-frequency earthquakes. Slow earthquakes are typically accompanied by deep tremor and occur as shear slip events of tectonic plates. These tremors can be sensitive to small variations in geophysical stress, as they have been triggered by lunar tides. Monitoring of tremor phenomena via seismic stations is discussed, and peculiarities associated with the San Andreas Fault are elucidated.

The article reports on a study which analyzes the aerial photograph of the Mw 7.6 Kashmir earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005. The authors of the study note that the rupture broke through the surface. The displacement was evident in Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer images of the region that were taken a week after the event. The rupture surface was confined to a strip a few hundred meters wide in which horizontal slip along the faults measured ∼4 m on average. The authors point out that because of the shallow compact of the earthquake, it can cause intense but localized destruction.