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Constraints on the Slip Distribution of the 1938 M W 8.3 Alaska Peninsula Earthquake From Tsunami Modeling
Author(s) -
Freymueller Jeffrey T.,
Suleimani Ele.,
Nicolsky Dmitry J.
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2021gl092812
Subject(s) - slip (aerodynamics) , geology , seismology , episodic tremor and slip , peninsula , earthquake rupture , subduction , surface rupture , geodesy , tectonics , geography , fault (geology) , physics , archaeology , thermodynamics
We simulated tsunami propagation for several scenario slip distributions for the 1938 M W 8.3 earthquake along the Alaska Peninsula and compared these to the observed records at Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Sitka. The Sitka record is sensitive to the depth of slip but not the along‐strike location and is fit best by slip at shallow depth. The Unalaska record is sensitive mainly to the along‐strike location of slip and is fit best by slip that is concentrated in the eastern part of the presumed 1938 rupture zone. The tsunami data show that the actual 1938 earthquake rupture zone was likely ∼200 km in length or shorter and had no slip near the Shumagin Islands or in the 2020 Simeonof earthquake's rupture zone. The rupture models that best predict the 1938 tsunami lie within the region of high present day slip deficit inferred from GPS.