Caltech’s new tech can peer deep inside tectonic secrets to smell earthquakes

Caltech researchers have developed a new seismic technology called distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to study the Mohorovičić discontinuity, the boundary between Earth's crust and mantle. Using fiber optic cables as seismometers, DAS allows high-resolution mapping of the Moho over large areas, providing insights into tectonic plate behavior and revealing that the Garlock Fault extends deeper into the mantle than previously thought.