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Evidence of Wadati‐Benioff zone triggering following the M w 7.9 Little Sitkin, Alaska intermediate depth earthquake of 23 June 2014
Author(s) -
Macpherson Kenneth A.,
Ruppert Natalia A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl065023
Subject(s) - aftershock , hypocenter , geology , seismology , induced seismicity , fault plane , moment tensor , shock (circulatory) , geodesy , fault (geology) , medicine , oceanography , deformation (meteorology)
The 23 June 2014 M w =7.9 earthquake that struck the Rat Islands region of Alaska was a rare intermediate‐depth event followed by a vigorous aftershock sequence. The earthquake's location within a regional network has allowed us to study it in rich detail. Double‐difference relocations of aftershocks and static stress modeling reveal some intriguing features; most aftershocks are not located on the main shock rupture plane, but are concentrated in the adjacent Wadati‐Benioff zone in areas of increased stress. Further, a secondary plane of seismicity aligns well with a moderately dipping nodal plane reported by the Global Centroid Moment Tensor Project, and the separation of these locations and the main shock hypocenter from the slab indicates that the main shock ruptured into the oceanic mantle.