Premium
Reconciling seismic and geodetic models of the 1989 Kilauea south flank earthquake
Author(s) -
Hooper Andrew,
Segall Paul,
Johnson Kaj,
Rubinstein Justin
Publication year - 2002
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 - 10.1029/2002gl016156
Subject(s) - geodetic datum , geology , seismology , volcano , seafloor spreading , geodesy , geophysics
The inconsistency in depth between geodetic and seismic models of the 1989 Kilauea earthquake has long been puzzling. Previous attempts to incorporate elastic heterogeneity have deepened geodetic models substantially, bringing them closer to the seismic depth. However, recent studies that have included heterogeneity for other faults indicate that the effect is not so great. We show here that elastic heterogeneity has a relatively minor effect on the geodetic model depth for this earthquake also. However, by combining three different sets of geodetic data we are able to get a more accurate estimate of the depth, which does in fact coincide with the hypocentral depth at the 95% confidence level. When we consider that static elastic parameter values are commonly less than dynamic values, the agreement is even better. Furthermore, the depth is consistent with the earthquake having occurred at the interface between the volcanic pile and the pre‐volcanic seafloor.