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A first appraisal of the seismogenic and tsunamigenic potential of the largest fault systems in the westernmost Mediterranean
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/445 (2022)
ISSN
0025-3227
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages (printed)
106749
Issued date
February 2022
Abstract
The westernmost Mediterranean hosts part of the plate boundary between the European and African tectonic plates. Based on the scattered instrumental seismicity, this boundary has been traditionally interpreted as a wide zone of diffuse deformation. However, recent seismic images and seafloor mapping studies support that most of the plate convergence may be accommodated in a few tectonic structures, rather than in a broad region. Historical earthquakes with magnitudes Mw > 6 and historical tsunamis support that the low-to-moderate instrumental seismicity might also have led to underestimation of the seismogenic and tsunamigenic potential of the area. We evaluate the largest active faults of the westernmost Mediterranean: the reverse Alboran Ridge, and the strike-slip Carboneras, Yusuf and Al-Idrissi fault systems. For the first time, we use a dense grid of modern seismic data to characterize the entire dimensions of the main fault systems, accurately describe the geometry of these structures and estimate their seismic source parameters. Tsunami scenarios have been tested based on 3D-surfaces and seismic source parameters, using both uniform and heterogeneous slip distributions. The comparison of our results with previous studies, based on limited information on the fault geometry and kinematics, indicates that accurate fault geometries and heterogeneous slip distributions are needed to properly assess the seismic and tsunamigenic potential in this area. Based on fault scaling relations, the four fault systems have a large seismogenic potential, being able to generate earthquakes with Mw > 7. The reverse Alboran Ridge Fault System has the largest tsunamigenic potential, being able to generate a tsunami wave amplitude greater than 3 m in front of the coasts of Southern Spain and Northern Africa.
Type
article
File(s)
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Name
Gómez de la Peña et al 2022 Accepted.pdf
Description
Open Access pre-print version
Size
5.61 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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