← Back to Sessions

Date: 4/21/2021

Session Time: 5:00 PM to 6:15 PM Pacific

The 2020 Simeonof Island, Alaska, Earthquake: Observations, Modeling and Tectonic Insights

In July 2020, a Mw 7.8 earthquake struck along the Alaskan subduction zone at the edge of the Shumagin Gap, a region with poorly coupled megathrust that has been devoid of large earthquakes for the last century. The relation of the Simeonof Island earthquake and its associated afterslip to plate coupling in the region is important to determine the future tsunamigenic potential of the subduction interface, of interest to both local and Pacific basin wide communities. Moreover, understanding why seismic and aseismic slip occurs in poorly coupled subduction zones is relevant to characterizing hazards globally. Past events along the edges of the Shumagin gap, most notably in 1936 and 1948, showed that shallow megathrust slip is possible. Here we invite submissions that describe the entire earthquake cycle within the Shumagin Gap, including but not limited to: historical seismicity, preseismic deformation and coupling, earthquake rupture modeling, aftershock monitoring and forecasts, field observations, postseismic deformation, tsunami observations and hazards implications. 

Conveners

Brendan W. Crowell, University of Washington (crowellb@uw.edu)
Natalia Ruppert, University of Alaska Fairbanks (naruppert@alaska.edu)

Oral Presentations