A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary

Jaime Yamamoto; Zenón Jiménez

doi:doi:10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary

Jaime Yamamoto, Zenón Jiménez

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 1)

Received: 2 December 2014 Accepted: 5 January 2015 Published: 19 January 2015

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Abstract

From 31 July through 13 August 2006 a series of fourteen earthquakes (M 3.9 to 6.1) occurred in the western end of the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt (CMVB) in a twenty-five days period. The most prominent earthquake (Mw 6.1) occurred on 11 August 2006 at 14:30 UTC (9:30 local time) approximately at 18.37° N, 101.25° W and 81 km depth. The epicenter was less than 40 km from Huetamo, Michoacan a 41,250-inhabitant city and 60 km from the El Infiernillo dam embayment the third largest hydroelectric plant in Mexico. This earthquake was widely felt with minor to moderate reported damage. In Mexico City 250 km away from the epicenter the earthquake produced alarm among the population and several buildings were evacuated. The earthquakes series developed into two activity clusters one centered in the coast and separated about 300 km from a second inland cluster. The initial coastal cluster consisted of a nearly linear activity distribution, which includes shallow-depth earthquakes of reverse and normal faulting mechanisms. The inland cluster shows more compact and deeper hypocenters distribution. Earthquakes first-motion polarities indicate that ruptures occurred as a normal faulting, which is a characteristic of the CMVB earthquakes. The overall trend of earthquakes distribution shows two branches, one, along the El Gordo-Colima graben system direction (~N45°E) nearly perpendicular to the coast and another along an east-west direction parallel to the southern border of the CMVB. Our results indicate that these two branches might constitute part of the continental extension of the Rivera-Cocos plate boundary.

Published in	Earth Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12
Page(s)	21-30
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Seismicity, Colima Rift, Rivera Plate, Earthquake Triggering

References

[1]	Bandy, W.L., 1992. Geological and geophysical investigation of the Rivera-Cocos plate boundary: Implications for plate fragmentation. Ph.D. dissertation. Texas A & M Univ. College Station.
[2]	Bandy, W., C. Mortera-Gutierrez, J. Urrutia-Fucugauchi, and T. W. Hilde, 1995. The subducted Rivera-Cocos plate boundary: Where is it, what is it, and what is its relationship to the Colima rift?. Geophys. Res. Letters, 22, 3075-3078.
[3]	Bourgois, J. and F. Michaud, 1991. Active fragmentation of the North America plate at the Mexican triple junction area of Manzanillo. Geo-Marine Letters, 11, 59-65.
[4]	DeMets, C., R. Gordon and S. Stein. 1994. Effect of recent revisions of the geomagnetic reversal time scale on estimates of current plate motions. Geophys. Res. Lett., 21, 2191-2194
[5]	DeMets, C. and D.S. Wilson, 1997. Relative motions of the Pacific, Rivera, North American, and Cocos plates since 0.78 Ma. J. Geophys. Res., 102, 2789-2806.
[6]	Eissler H. K., and K.C. McNally, 1984. Seismicity and tectonics of the Rivera plate and implications for the 1932 Jalisco, Mexico earthquake. J. Geophys. Res., 89, 4520-4530.
[7]	Global Centroid Moment Tensor Project. (2014). http://www.globalcmt.org/CMTsearch.html
[8]	Gomberg, J., and P. Bodin, 1994. Triggering of the Ms=5.4 Little Skull Mountain, Nevada earthquake with dynamic strain. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 84, 844-853.
[9]	Havskov, J., and L..Ottemöller, 1999. Seisan earthquake analysis software. Seism. Res. Letters, 70, 532-534.
[10]	Kim, Y., R.W. Clayton, and J.M. Jackson, 2010. Geometry and seismic properties of the subducting Cocos plate in central Mexico. J. Geophys. Res., 115, B06310, doi:10.1029/2009JB006942, 2010.
[11]	Nuñez-Cornú, F. J., G. A. Reyes-Dávila, M. Rutz Lopez, E. Trejo Gómez, M. A. Camarena-García, and C. Ariel Ramirez-Vazquez. 2004. The 2003 Armería, México Earthquake (Mw 7.4): Mainshock and early Aftershocks. Seism. Res. Lett., 75, 734-743.
[12]	Pardo, M. and G. Suarez. 1993. Steep sbduction geometry of the Rivera Plate beneath the Jalisco Block in western Mexico. Geophysical Research Letters, 20, 2391-2394.
[13]	Pardo, M. and G. Suarez, 1995. Shape of the subducted Rivera and Cocos plates in southern Mexico: Seismic and tectonic implications. J. Geophys. Res., 100, 12357-73.
[14]	Santoyo, M. A., T. Mikumo and L. Quintanar. 2006. Faulting process and coseismic stress change during the 30 January, 1973, Colima, México, eartquake (Mw=7.6). Geofisica Internacional, 45, 163-178.
[15]	Singh, S.K., L. Ponce and S.P. Nishenko. 1985. The great Jalisco, Mexico earthquakes of 1932: Subduction of the Rivera plate. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am.. 75, 1301-1313.
[16]	Suarez, G., D. Escobedo, W. Bandy, and F. Pacheco, 1999. The 11 December, 1995 earthquake (Mw=6.4): Implications for the present-day relative motion on the Rivera-Cocos plate. Geophys. Res. Letters, 26, 1957-1960.
[17]	Yang, T., S.P. Grand, D. Wilson, M. Guzman-Speziale, J.M. Gomez-Gonzalez, T. Dominguez-Reyes, and J. Ni. 2009. Seismic structure beneath the Rivera subduction zone from finite-frequency seismic tomography. J. Geophys. Res., 114, B01302, doi: 10,1029/2008JB005830.

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Jaime Yamamoto, Zenón Jiménez. (2015). A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sciences, 4(1), 21-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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Jaime Yamamoto; Zenón Jiménez. A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sci. 2015, 4(1), 21-30. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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AMA Style

Jaime Yamamoto, Zenón Jiménez. A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sci. 2015;4(1):21-30. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12,
  author = {Jaime Yamamoto and Zenón Jiménez},
  title = {A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {1},
  pages = {21-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20150401.12},
  abstract = {From 31 July through 13 August 2006 a series of fourteen earthquakes (M 3.9 to 6.1) occurred in the western end of the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt (CMVB) in a twenty-five days period. The most prominent earthquake (Mw 6.1) occurred on 11 August 2006 at 14:30 UTC (9:30 local time) approximately at 18.37° N, 101.25° W and 81 km depth. The epicenter was less than 40 km from Huetamo, Michoacan a 41,250-inhabitant city and 60 km from the El Infiernillo dam embayment the third largest hydroelectric plant in Mexico. This earthquake was widely felt with minor to moderate reported damage. In Mexico City 250 km away from the epicenter the earthquake produced alarm among the population and several buildings were evacuated. The earthquakes series developed into two activity clusters one centered in the coast and separated about 300 km from a second inland cluster. The initial coastal cluster consisted of a nearly linear activity distribution, which includes shallow-depth earthquakes of reverse and normal faulting mechanisms. The inland cluster shows more compact and deeper hypocenters distribution. Earthquakes first-motion polarities indicate that ruptures occurred as a normal faulting, which is a characteristic of the CMVB earthquakes. The overall trend of earthquakes distribution shows two branches, one, along the El Gordo-Colima graben system direction (~N45°E) nearly perpendicular to the coast and another along an east-west direction parallel to the southern border of the CMVB. Our results indicate that these two branches might constitute part of the continental extension of the Rivera-Cocos plate boundary.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary
AU - Jaime Yamamoto
AU - Zenón Jiménez
Y1 - 2015/01/19
PY - 2015
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12
DO - 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12
T2 - Earth Sciences
JF - Earth Sciences
JO - Earth Sciences
SP - 21
EP - 30
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-5982
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12
AB - From 31 July through 13 August 2006 a series of fourteen earthquakes (M 3.9 to 6.1) occurred in the western end of the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt (CMVB) in a twenty-five days period. The most prominent earthquake (Mw 6.1) occurred on 11 August 2006 at 14:30 UTC (9:30 local time) approximately at 18.37° N, 101.25° W and 81 km depth. The epicenter was less than 40 km from Huetamo, Michoacan a 41,250-inhabitant city and 60 km from the El Infiernillo dam embayment the third largest hydroelectric plant in Mexico. This earthquake was widely felt with minor to moderate reported damage. In Mexico City 250 km away from the epicenter the earthquake produced alarm among the population and several buildings were evacuated. The earthquakes series developed into two activity clusters one centered in the coast and separated about 300 km from a second inland cluster. The initial coastal cluster consisted of a nearly linear activity distribution, which includes shallow-depth earthquakes of reverse and normal faulting mechanisms. The inland cluster shows more compact and deeper hypocenters distribution. Earthquakes first-motion polarities indicate that ruptures occurred as a normal faulting, which is a characteristic of the CMVB earthquakes. The overall trend of earthquakes distribution shows two branches, one, along the El Gordo-Colima graben system direction (~N45°E) nearly perpendicular to the coast and another along an east-west direction parallel to the southern border of the CMVB. Our results indicate that these two branches might constitute part of the continental extension of the Rivera-Cocos plate boundary.
VL - 4
IS - 1
ER -

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Author Information

Jaime Yamamoto

Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
Zenón Jiménez

Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.

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APA Style

Jaime Yamamoto, Zenón Jiménez. (2015). A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sciences, 4(1), 21-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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ACS Style

Jaime Yamamoto; Zenón Jiménez. A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sci. 2015, 4(1), 21-30. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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AMA Style

Jaime Yamamoto, Zenón Jiménez. A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary. Earth Sci. 2015;4(1):21-30. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12

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@article{10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12,
  author = {Jaime Yamamoto and Zenón Jiménez},
  title = {A 2006 Colima Rift Earthquakes Series and Its Relationship to the Rivera-Cocos Plate Boundary},
  journal = {Earth Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {1},
  pages = {21-30},
  doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20150401.12},
  abstract = {From 31 July through 13 August 2006 a series of fourteen earthquakes (M 3.9 to 6.1) occurred in the western end of the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt (CMVB) in a twenty-five days period. The most prominent earthquake (Mw 6.1) occurred on 11 August 2006 at 14:30 UTC (9:30 local time) approximately at 18.37° N, 101.25° W and 81 km depth. The epicenter was less than 40 km from Huetamo, Michoacan a 41,250-inhabitant city and 60 km from the El Infiernillo dam embayment the third largest hydroelectric plant in Mexico. This earthquake was widely felt with minor to moderate reported damage. In Mexico City 250 km away from the epicenter the earthquake produced alarm among the population and several buildings were evacuated. The earthquakes series developed into two activity clusters one centered in the coast and separated about 300 km from a second inland cluster. The initial coastal cluster consisted of a nearly linear activity distribution, which includes shallow-depth earthquakes of reverse and normal faulting mechanisms. The inland cluster shows more compact and deeper hypocenters distribution. Earthquakes first-motion polarities indicate that ruptures occurred as a normal faulting, which is a characteristic of the CMVB earthquakes. The overall trend of earthquakes distribution shows two branches, one, along the El Gordo-Colima graben system direction (~N45°E) nearly perpendicular to the coast and another along an east-west direction parallel to the southern border of the CMVB. Our results indicate that these two branches might constitute part of the continental extension of the Rivera-Cocos plate boundary.},
 year = {2015}
}

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