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Source parameters of the 1957 Aleutian Earthquake from tsunami waveforms
Author(s) -
Johnson Jean M.,
Satake Kenji
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1029/93gl01217
Subject(s) - tsunami earthquake , seismology , geology , aftershock , tide gauge , waveform , slip (aerodynamics) , moment magnitude scale , magnitude (astronomy) , epicenter , seismic moment , interplate earthquake , subduction , geodesy , foreshock , tectonics , sea level , oceanography , fault (geology) , geometry , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , voltage , astronomy , scaling , thermodynamics
We studied the source parameters of the 1957 Aleutian earthquake using tsunami waveform data recorded on tide gauges around the Pacific Ocean. Using a finite‐difference computation, this tsunami can be numerically simulated. The tsunami records were inverted for the slip distribution on the rupture area. Results show that slip was concentrated in the western half of the aftershock zone with a maximum displacement of 7m. The moment computed from the slip distribution is 88×10 20 Nm, giving the 1957 earthquake a moment magnitude of M w =8.6. The waveform inversion confirms that no slip occurred in the Unalaska Island area, making this area a possible seismic gap with a potential to rupture in a great earthquake and generate a Pacific‐wide tsunami.