Answers to these questions will contribute to a better assessment of the earthquake hazard and risk in a region where more than 50 million people are at risk from future earthquakes and associated landslides and outburst floods.
Confirmation that European subduction had started could allow scientists to model the region better, and so make better assessments of earthquake and tsunami risk.
Participation in the festival has declined in recent years due to migration, declining interest in Qiang heritage among the young and the impact of outside cultures, but the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that destroyed many of the Qiang villages and devastated the region put the New Year festival at grave risk.