The next 'Big One' on the San Andreas fault might not be the earthquake we expect, researchers say

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What could the next mega-earthquake on California's notorious San Andreas fault look like?

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What's clear from the study is that while California's next "Big One" may share some characteristics of previously documented devastating quakes, it's unlikely to be an exact replay. As the recent experience in Myanmar shows, even well-documented faults can behave in surprising ways

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"There is complexity here. And this is because each time you have an earthquake, it redistributes the stress on the fault, which is going to influence the next earthquake," Avouac said. "There's a self-induced complexity in the process, and that leads to a bit of randomness."

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