Aftershock kits deployed in NJ — experts still need answers

🔵 Experts don't know which fault ruptured to cause the April 5 earthquake

🔵 They also want to learn more about aftershocks in the region

🔵 The 4.8 quake is not a sign of more to come

There's still plenty to be learned from the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked New Jersey on April 5.

Included in the list of questions: which fracture actually caused the shaking that was felt in New Jersey and beyond?

Aftershock kits

"Aftershock kits" have been deployed in and around the earthquake's epicenter (Hunterdon County) by the U.S. Geological Survey and experts at labs from throughout the country. The temporary seismometers, which are scheduled to be here for months, are taking in any rumblings that may occur in the aftermath of the quake.

There have already been at least 120 aftershocks since the main quake; USGS expects to monitor hundreds.

Experts will learn more about the frequency of aftershocks, and how energetic they can be. In general, studying aftershocks can provide researchers with vital information about the nature of earthquakes so society can be best prepared for future events.

NJ earthquake power

Quakes in the eastern U.S. can be felt farther from their epicenter — and more intensely — because the earth's crust is not as fractured as it tends to be on the West Coast.

The region tends to have older rocks — perhaps hundreds of millions of years older than those in the West — so the seismic waves can't dissipate as easily, meaning more folks are bound to feel the event occurring.

RELATED: NJ house deemed unsafe following earthquake

According to Oliver Boyd, research geophysicist with the USGS, a major piece of information experts are still trying to determine is which fault ruptured in the first place. The April 5 quake occurred in the area of the Ramapo Fault, an ancient fracture that's believed to be inactive.

"The fault that the main shock occurred on and all the aftershocks are occurring on don't appear to be related to any of these mapped faults," Boyd said.

Instead, the answer may be a completely unknown fault, or a poorly mapped one, that branches off of the Ramapo Fault.

According to Boyd, the quake that New Jersey experienced offers no insight into when the state may experience another. No one can predict when or where an earthquake will hit.

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