From a human perspective, earthquakes are natural disasters—in the past hundred years, they have caused more than 200,000 deaths and enormous economic damage. Mega-earthquakes with a magnitude of nine or higher on the Richter scale are considered a particular threat. Yet the inconceivable energy released in these events doesn't seem to affect the uplift of mountains, according to a new study by geoscientists at the University of Tübingen. The energy of small earthquakes that work steadily in the background appears to play a far greater role in shaping the landscape. In Chile and Japan, Professor Todd Ehlers and Dr. Andrea Madella found parallels between seismic activity and the pattern and rate of mountain uplift. The results have been published in the journal Nature Geoscience.