Open AccessContinued Earthquake Hazard in Northern Sumatra
Author(s) -
Sørensen Mathilde B.,
Atakan Kuvvet
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2008eo140001
Subject(s) - seismology , subduction , geology , trench , intraplate earthquake , fault (geology) , tectonics , chemistry , organic chemistry , layer (electronics)
The occurrence of two large earthquakes ( M w = 8.4 and M w = 7.9) along the Sumatran west coast on 12 September 2007 as well as an M w = 7.4 event on 20 February 2008 have again put the high earthquake hazard of this region into focus. These events are the most recent in a series of major subduction zone earthquakes that began with the great M w = 9.3 event of 26 December 2004 followed by an M w = 8.7 event on 28 March 2005 [ Bilham , 2005; Lay et al. , 2005; Stein and Okal , 2005]. The major subduction zone earthquakes have been propagating southward along the Sunda trench, and the remaining stress is expected to be released along the subduction zone in a long stretch from the Andaman Sea in the north to the southernmost extension of the recent ruptures, especially in the southernmost part close to the Sunda Strait (Figure 1). Also, there is an additional and significant hazard due to potential earthquakes along the Great Sumatran Fault (GSF), a major rightlateral strike‐slip fault parallel to the western coast of Sumatra. The GSF accommodates the component of plate convergence parallel to the trench, where strain partitioning is a result of the oblique collision along the Sunda trench.