Triggered Seismic Events along the Eastern Denali Fault in Northwest Canada Following the 2012 M_w 7.8 Haida Gwaii, 2013 M_w 7.5 Craig, and Two M_w>8.5 Teleseismic Earthquakes

Authors

Chastity Aiken, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jessica Z. Mejia, University of AlaskaFollow
Zhigang Peng, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jacob I. Walter, University of Texas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2015

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1785/0120140156

Abstract

We conduct a systematic search for remotely triggered seismic activity along the eastern Denali fault (EDF) in northwest Canada, an intraplate strike‐slip region. We examine 19 distant earthquakes recorded by nine broadband stations in the Canadian National Seismograph Network and find that the 2012 M_w 7.8 Haida Gwaii and 2013 M_w 7.5 Craig, Alaska, earthquakes triggered long duration (>10  s), emergent tremor‐like signals near the southeastern portion of the EDF. In both cases, tremor coincides with the peak transverse velocities, consistent with Love‐wave triggering on right‐lateral strike‐slip faults. The 2011 M_w 9.0 Tohoku‐Oki and 2012 M_w 8.6 Indian Ocean earthquakes possibly triggered tremor signals, although we were unable to locate those sources. In addition, we also identify many short‐duration (<5  s) bursts that were repeatedly triggered by the Rayleigh waves of the 2012 M_w 7.8 Haida Gwaii earthquake. Although we were unable to precisely locate the short‐duration (<5  s) events, they appear to be radiating from the direction of the Klutlan Glacier and from a belt of shallow historical seismicity at the eastern flank of the Wrangell–St. Elias mountain range. The fact that these events were triggered solely by the Rayleigh waves suggests a different source mechanism as compared with triggered tremor observed along the EDF and other plate boundary regions.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 105, issue 2B, p. 1165-1177

Scholar Commons Citation

Aiken, Chastity; Mejia, Jessica Z.; Peng, Zhigang; and Walter, Jacob I., "Triggered Seismic Events along the Eastern Denali Fault in Northwest Canada Following the 2012 M_w 7.8 Haida Gwaii, 2013 M_w 7.5 Craig, and Two M_w>8.5 Teleseismic Earthquakes" (2015). School of Geosciences Student Publications. 42.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_studpub/42