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Triggering of destructive earthquakes in El Salvador

¹ Departamento de Geodinámica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain
² E.U.I.T., Topografía, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid 28031, Spain
³ Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales, Avda Las Mercedes, San Salvador, El Salvador

We investigate the existence of a mechanism of static stress triggering driven by the interaction of normal faults in the Middle American subduction zone and strike-slip faults in the El Salvador volcanic arc. The local geology points to a large strike-slip fault zone, the El Salvador fault zone, as the source of several destructive earthquakes in El Salvador along the volcanic arc. We modeled the Coulomb failure stress (CFS) change produced by the June 1982 and January 2001 subduction events on planes parallel to the El Salvador fault zone. The results have broad implications for future risk management in the region, as they suggest a causative relationship between the position of the normal-slip events in the subduction zone and the strike-slip events in the volcanic arc. After the February 2001 event, an important area of the El Salvador fault zone was loaded with a positive change in Coulomb failure stress (>0.15 MPa). This scenario must be considered in the seismic hazard assessment studies that will be carried out in this area.

Key Words: seismic triggering • seismic hazard • stress transfer • active tectonics • El Salvador

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Funk, P. Mann, K. McIntosh, and J. Stephens Cenozoic tectonics of the Nicaraguan depression, Nicaragua, and Median Trough, El Salvador, based on seismic-reflection profiling and remote-sensing data Geological Society of America Bulletin, November 1, 2009; 121(11-12): 1491 - 1521. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Corti, E. Carminati, F. Mazzarini, and M. O. Garcia Active strike-slip faulting in El Salvador, Central America Geology, December 1, 2005; 33(12): 989 - 992. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]