A new study from Oregon State University researchers and colleagues worldwide shows that massive earthquakes along the Cascadia subduction zone have occurred somewhat more frequently than has been believed in the past. The study, based on examination of considerably more core samples than were used in previous studies, also concluded that the chances of a major earthquake occurring along the zone in the next 50 years are slightly higher than researchers had believed. Chris Goldfinger, a professor in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, said he and colleagues from Camosun College in British Columbia and Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra in Spain were able to examine nearly 200 core samples for the new study for evidence of earthquake activity in the past. Previous studies had used just 20 or so samples. In some cases, he said, the core samples examined were some 40 years old but still in perfect condition. The idea is to use the core samples from different