HR: 09:15h
AN: S21C-06    [PDF]
TI: Earthquakes and Seismic Structure of the United Arab Emirates
AU: * Rodgers, A
EM: rodgers7@llnl.gov
AF: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-205, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94551 United States
AU: Fowler, A
EM: tomabdurahman@hotmail.com
AF: United Arab Emirates University, Al-Maqam Campus Box 17551, Al-Ain, 1 United Arab Emirates
AU: Tkalcic, H
EM: tkalcic1@llnl.gov
AF: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-205, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94551 United States
AB: Tectonic structure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is dominated by the obduction of ocean crust and mantle onto the continental shelf of the Arabian Plate in the context of continental collision of the Arabian Plate with the southern Eurasian margin. On March 11, 2002 a moderate-sized earthquake, M 5.1, struck the northern United Arab Emirates. The event and aftershocks were widely felt in the northern Emirates, however damage was greatest near the town of Masafi. The mainshock was large enough to be located by global catalogs from teleseismic data (e.g. USGS-PDE, CMT, REB). Earthquakes are rare in this region and this event provides an opportunity to understand the active tectonics of the region. Two faults are known from structural mapping: the Dibba-Masafi (Wadi Al-Fay) Fault north of Masafi and the Wadi Ham Fault between Masafi and Fujairah south of Masafi. A focal mechanism, estimated from regional waveform modeling, suggests that the event occurred by normal faulting probably along the north-striking Dibba-Masafi Fault, however right-lateral strike-slip is not entirely ruled out. We compare this mechanism with the Harvard CMT, which reported a normal mechanism. In May 2003 we deployed two broadband seismic stations to record local and distant earthquakes. We will report results on this earthquake, as well as local earthquakes and crustal structure from a recent deployment of broadband instruments.
DE: 7215 Earthquake parameters
DE: 7230 Seismicity and seismotectonics
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting