HR: 10:50h
AN: S52B-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Characteristics of Recent Moderate-Magnitude Seismic Activity in the Gulf of Mexico
AU: * Todd, E
EM: erin.todd31@gmail.com
AF: Department of Geosciences, Penn State, University Park, PA 16802, United States
AU: Ammon, C J
EM: cammon@geosc.psu.edu
AF: Department of Geosciences, Penn State, University Park, PA 16802, United States
AB: On 10 September 2006, a reverse faulting earthquake occurred in the north central Gulf of Mexico (USGS Source parameters: Ms 5.5, mb 5.9, 14:56:08.16 UTC, 26.32N, -86.61E,14 km; GCMT Mw 5.8, 30 km depth). Although close to 300 km from the coast, the event was felt widely across the southeastern coastal region of the conterminous United States (particularly Florida) and parts of coastal Mexico and the Bahamas. Earlier that year, on 10 February, a slightly smaller moderate magnitude seismic event occurred beneath the continental slope south of Louisiana and Alabama (USGS Source parameters: Ms 5.2, mb 4.1, 27.597, -90.163, 5 km). This event was also felt in coastal regions. These events, the largest in "stable" region of the Gulf since at least 1973, did not occur on well known fault systems but in regions with at best sparse seismic activity. Since these events are not associated with well known structures, rare events of similar size may conceivably occur elsewhere in the Gulf region. Similar-sized events closer to the Gulf Coast economic infrastructure represent a potential seismic hazard from either shaking-induced damage or slope instability. We will present an analysis of the body-wave signals from these two events to compare and contrast their depths and source characteristics.
DE: 1240 Satellite geodesy: results (6929, 7215, 7230, 7240)
DE: 7230 Seismicity and tectonics (1207, 1217, 1240, 1242)
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting