HR: 1400h
AN: T43B-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Identification of Potential Tsunamogenic Areas From Multibeam and Seismic Data in the Greater Antilles South Slope
AU: Granja, J
EM: jlgranja@geo.ucm.es
AF: Applied Tectonophysics Group. Geodynamics Department. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/Jose Antonio Novais S/N, Madrid, 28040, Spain
AU: * Carbo, A
EM: carbo@geo.ucm.es
AF: Applied Tectonophysics Group. Geodynamics Department. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/Jose Antonio Novais S/N, Madrid, 28040, Spain
AU: Muñoz-Martin, A
EM:
AF: Applied Tectonophysics Group. Geodynamics Department. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/Jose Antonio Novais S/N, Madrid, 28040, Spain
AU: Martin Davila, J
EM:
AF: Real Observatorio de la Armada de San Fernando, Cecilio Pujazon, s/n, San Fernando, 11100, Spain
AU: ten Brink, U
EM:
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, United States
AU: Gomez, M
EM:
AF: Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia, C/Corazon de Maria 8, Madrid, 28002, Spain
AU: Cordoba, D
EM:
AF: Departamento de Fisica de la Tierra, Astronomia y Astrofisica I, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, 28040, Spain
AU: Von Hilldebrandt, C
EM:
AF: Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Universidad de Puerto Rico. Recinto de Mayaguez, Mayaguez, United States
AU: Payero, J
EM:
AF: Instituto Sismologico Universitario - Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Av. Alma Mater, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
AB: As it is known, tsunamis have various general generating mechanisms associated with earthquakes, landslides/slumps and volcanic processes. Active tectonics along the north-eastern Caribbean plate is the principal cause de tsunami in the eastern Greater Antilles islands. In this area, earthquake and tsunami record suggest that the main tsunami sources are large shallow earthquakes (6.5) in submarine areas, which can yield a significant vertical motion over seafloor, and sudden landslides/slumps maybe triggered by this earthquakes generally in steeped bathymetry areas. In the spring of 2005 was carried out in the north-eastern Caribbean plate the marine geophysical survey GEOPRIO-DO aboard of Spanish R/V Hesp¦rides. This marine survey explored the north-eastern area of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands and the southern slope of Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The survey included diverse geophysical techniques to research from deep to shallow structure, but with special emphasis on multibeam systematic mapping carried out in the Muertos Accretionary Prism and Muertos Trough, in the south of Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. This accretionary complex is occupying a broad band of active compression regime with an east-west trend. It is limited to the south by the Muertos Trough (>5600 m depth), where the Venezuelan Basin oceanic crust is being underthrusted beneath Puerto Rico and Hispaniola islands. We have used multibeam systematic data to get detailed bathymetry grids in which we have made geothematic mapping (contours, slopes, slope direction, channel network). The processing of multibeam data and their integration with shallower seismic data has allowed us to make a detailed morphotectonic analysis. We have identified many seafloor structures like landslides/slumps and active fault zones with high tsunamogenic potential. Our results suggest that the combination of very active tectonics with steep seafloor slopes in the vicinity of highly populated islands yields high tsunami hazard for the eastern Greater Antilles. We consider the integration of high resolution multibeam data with shallow seismic data essential tools to identify sources with high tsunamogenic potential.
DE: 3070 Submarine landslides
DE: 7230 Seismicity and tectonics (1207, 1217, 1240, 1242)
DE: 7294 Seismic instruments and networks (0935, 3025)
DE: 8107 Continental neotectonics (8002)
DE: 8123 Dynamics: seismotectonics
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly