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Tidal triggering of microearthquakes on the Juan de Fuca Ridge
Author(s) -
Wilcock William S. D.
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1029/2001gl013370
Subject(s) - geology , ridge , seismology , extensional definition , oceanography , tectonics , paleontology
Tidal stresses beneath the oceans can be up to an order of magnitude higher than those found in the continents because of the effects of loading by ocean tides. I have analyzed 1899 microearthquakes recorded during a 55‐day experiment on the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge for tidal triggering. The tidal phase of the full data set and of a declustered subset comprising 987 events appears non‐random to a high level of confidence. Earthquakes occur more frequently near low tides, especially the lowest spring tides, when the extensional stresses are a maximum in all directions.