A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

47

Geodesy And Gravity: Crustal Movements-Interplate (8155), Geodesy And Gravity: Seismic Deformations (7205), Seismology: Seismicity And Seismotectonics, Tectonophysics: Plate Boundary-General (3040), Tectonophysics: Stresses-General

Scientific paper

Geodetic measurements from a network of permanent GPS stations along the Pacific coast of Mexico reveal a large ``silent earthquake'' along the segment of the Cocos-North American plate interface identified as the Guerrero seismic gap. The event began in October of 2001 and lasted for 6-7 months. Average slip of ~10 cm produced measurable displacements over an area of ~550 × 250 km2. The equivalent moment magnitude of the event was Mw ~ 7.5. Recognition of this and previous slow event here indicate that the seismogenic portion of the plate interface is not loading steadily, as hitherto believed, but is rather partitioning the stress buildup with episodic, as opposed to steady-state or periodic, slip downdip of the seismogenic zone. This process increases the stress at the base of the seismogenic zone, bringing it closer to failure. These results call for a reassessment of the seismic potential of Guerrero and other seismic gaps in Mexico.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1669798

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.