New Understanding of Deep Earthquakes (VIDEO) University of California - Davis This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption Earthquakes that occur more than 300 kilometers below the Earth are poorly understood. UC Davis geophysicist Magali Billen modeled stresses in a sinking tectonic plate at a subduction zone. In this video, yellow regions on the sinking plate show where deep earthquakes are most likely to occur, because the plate is both strong and deforming rapidly. This work can explain why earthquakes cluster at certain depths and lead to a better understanding of the causes of deep earthquakes. Credit Magali Billen, UC Davis Usage Restrictions May be used with acknowledgement. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.