“Our new study provides some of the clearest evidence for this enigmatic mechanism occurring in a real fault,” said Stephen Hicks, an earthquake seismologist at the Imperial College London.

Undersea seismometers detected the tectonic terror traversing the Romanche Fracture Zone, a 560-mile-long fault located approximately halfway between Brazil and Africa, reports National Geographic.

“This was a weird sort of configuration to see,” said Hicks of the earth-shattering event.

Unfortunately, researchers aren’t entirely sure what caused the earthquake to boomerang.

“Even though the fault structure seems simple, the way the earthquake grew was not, and this was completely opposite to how we expected the earthquake to look,” said Hicks.

Most importantly, the groundbreaking findings can help researchers understand how “boomerang earthquakes” could potentially impact populated areas, according to Kasey Aderhold, a seismologist with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology.

Seismologists have warned that last year’s tremors in Southern California have upped the likelihood of a major San Andreas Fault earthquake

Hong Kong residents defend free press as China cracks down

Hong Kong residents defend free press as China cracks down

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