Tectonic Summaries of Magnitude 7 and Greater Earthquakes from 2000 to 2015
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Tectonic Summaries of Magnitude 7 and Greater Earthquakes from 2000 to 2015 Open-File Report 2016–1192 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Tectonic Summaries of Magnitude 7 and Greater Earthquakes from 2000 to 2015 By Gavin P. Hayes, Emma K. Myers, James W. Dewey, Richard W. Briggs, Paul S. Earle, Harley M. Benz, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Hanna E. Flamme, William D. Barnhart, Ryan D. Gold, and Kevin P. Furlong Open-File Report 2016–1192 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2017 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Hayes, G.P., Myers, E.K., Dewey, J.W., Briggs, R.W., Earle, P.S., Benz, H.M., Smoczyk, G.M., Flamme, H.E., Barnhart, W.D., Gold, R.D., and Furlong, K.P., 2017, Tectonic summaries of magnitude 7 and greater earthquakes from 2000 to 2015: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1192, 148 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161192. ISSN 2331-1258 (online) iii Acknowledgments The knowledge and information expressed in these tectonic summaries is compiled by the authors and often utilizes a wealth of geological and geophysical literature, too numerous to list here. The authors thank all researchers who have worked to improve our understanding of global tectonics, historic earthquakes, and seismotectonic problems. All relative tectonic plate velocities were calculated using the UNAVCO Plate Motion Calcula- tor and the MORVEL 2010 model (https://www.unavco.org/software/geodetic-utilities/plate- motion-calculator/plate-motion-calculator.html). Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Event-Specific Tectonic Summaries .........................................................................................................12 2000: 15 Events.....................................................................................................................................12 2001: 16 Events.....................................................................................................................................18 2002: 13 Events.....................................................................................................................................25 2003: 15 Events.....................................................................................................................................31 2004: 16 Events.....................................................................................................................................38 2005: 11 Events.....................................................................................................................................45 2006: 11 Events.....................................................................................................................................50 2007: 18 Events.....................................................................................................................................56 2008: 12 Events.....................................................................................................................................64 2009: 17 Events.....................................................................................................................................69 2010: 24 Events.....................................................................................................................................77 2011: 20 Events.....................................................................................................................................89 2012: 16 Events.....................................................................................................................................98 2013: 19 Events...................................................................................................................................105 2014: 12 Events...................................................................................................................................114 2015: 19 Events...................................................................................................................................120 Regional Tectonic Summaries .................................................................................................................129 North America ...................................................................................................................................129 Aleutian Arc and Vicinity ........................................................................................................129 Offshore British Columbia – Southeastern Alaska and Vicinity .......................................131 Mexico and Vicinity .................................................................................................................132 Caribbean Plate and Vicinity ..................................................................................................133 South America ...................................................................................................................................134 South America, Nazca Plate Region ....................................................................................134 Europe .................................................................................................................................................135 Mediterranean Sea and Vicinity ............................................................................................135 iv Africa...................................................................................................................................................136 East African Rift .......................................................................................................................136 Middle East ........................................................................................................................................137 Middle East and Vicinity .........................................................................................................137 Asia......................................................................................................................................................139 Himalaya and Vicinity ..............................................................................................................139 Japan and Vicinity ...................................................................................................................140 Kuril-Kamchatka Arc and Vicinity .........................................................................................141 Philippine Sea Plate and Vicinity ...........................................................................................141 Java and Vicinity ......................................................................................................................142 Sumatra and Vicinity ...............................................................................................................143 Australia/Oceania .............................................................................................................................144 Australia Plate and Vicinity ....................................................................................................144 New Guinea and Vicinity ........................................................................................................145 Eastern Margin of the Australian Plate ................................................................................146 References ..................................................................................................................................................147 Figure 1. Map showing earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater, 2000–2015. In (A), earthquake locations are colored by depth and sized according to their magnitude. In (B), earth- quake focal mechanism solutions (derived via moment tensor inversion) are plotted and are also colored by depth and sized according to their magnitude .............................3 Table 1. Earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater, 2000–2015 ................................................................4 Conversion Factors International System of Units to U.S. customary units Multiply By To obtain Length centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.) millimeter (mm) 0.03937