Pre- and Post-Seismic Displacements Associated with M7.8 Pedernales Earthquake Derived from Ecuadorian GNSS Data

Session: Crustal Stress and Strain and Implications for Fault Interaction and Slip [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/28/2020
Time: 08:00 AM
Room: Ballroom
Description: 

This article presents the research based on permanent GNSS data collected near to the epicenter of the last great Ecuador earthquake. On April 16, 2016, a M7.8 earthquake occurred in Pedernales, Ecuador Pacific coast. This zone is where Nazca plate subducts under South America plate. This research includes observation data processing during one year before and one year after the earthquake event. The Pacific Plate boundaries have the majority earthquakes and subductions zones. The Pacific Ring of Fire hosts about 81% of the world’s largest earthquakes have occurred. Effects of subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate dominate the active tectonics of Ecuador, causing earthquakes, volcanism and upper-plate deformations. Notable earthquakes bigger than M7.0 have occurred in Ecuador. On February 4, 1797, M_L8.3 Riobamba; on January 31, 1906, M8.8 Esmeraldas; on May 14, 1492, M_L7.8 Pedernales; on January 19, 1958, 7.6 Esmeraldas; on August 4, 1998, 7.2 Bahía de Caraquez. The Red GNNS de Monitoreo Continuo del Ecuador, REGME, is a network of continuous GNSS stations operated by Instituto Geográfico Militar del Ecuador, IGM. Geodetic information related with Pedernales earthquake was recorded in REGME stations. For 2015 and 2016 years, each 30 seconds RINEX data of 15 closest stations to earthquake epicenter were collected. RINEX data were processed with The Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS) Precise Point Positioning tool (PPP), CSRS-PPP. We elaborated time series for each geodetic coordinate of each station selected. The velocities of all stations were estimated combining daily solutions. Pre-seismic and post-seismic displacements are obtained by time series analysis. The results shown that continental deforming zone suffered stress and strain. This research can be used for forecasting seismic events in subduction zones.

Presenting Author: Richard Serrano-Agila

Authors