U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY MAP XXX U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY M7.5 Molucca Sea Earthquake of 21 January 2007 Epicentral Area 119° 120° 121° 122° 123° 124° 125° 126° 127° 128° 129° 130° 131° Tectonic Setting Seismicity of Indonesia and Vicinity 95° 100° 105° 110° 115° 120° 125° 130° 135° 140° 1910 95° 100° 105° 110° 115° 120° 125° 130° 135° 140° Mindanao 1913 Kepulauan Mindanao T H A I L A N D 4° Talaud 4° T H A I L A N D S O U T H P H I L I P P I N E S 1936 S O U T H P H I L I P P I N E S C H I N A P H I L I P P I N E 1972 C H I N A P H I L I P P I N E S E A B R U N E I S E A C E L E B E S S E A S E A B R U N E I S E A 5° 5° 5° 5° BURMA Kepulauan BURMA PHILIPPINE P A C I F I C 3° 3° P A C I F I C PLATE M A L A Y S I A C E L E B E S A Sangir PLATE M A L A Y S I A C E L E B E S SEA O C E A N O C E A N Kuala Lumpur S E A Kuala Lumpur S E A PLATE Singapore CAROLINE PLATE Singapore SINGAPO RE Borneo SINGAPO RE Borneo 0° S 0° 2° 2° 0° S 0° u t u m Kalimantan MOLUCCA i m Kalimantan a SEA BIRD'S HEAD a a t M i n a h a s s a P e n i n s u l a 1986 t r SUNDA PLATE Sulawesi PLATE PLATE r r Sulawesi a A t a A (Celebes) Irian Jaya E 1991 I N D O N (CelebeEs) S I A Irian Jaya E N 1968 N MAOKE PLATE S I I 1° 1990 1° S New Guinea U S New Guinea U 5° I N D O N E S I A G 5° r 5° G 5° U 1905 1907 U B A N D A a B A N D A N Jakarta J A V A S E A DETAILED MAP W N Jakarta J A V A S E A DETAILED MAP W BANDA SEA PLATE S E A E s 1996 S E A E D N D N A s A Java A Java A a T U 0° 1932 0° T U I N D I A N R P k I N D I A N R P T I M O R L ' E S T E A A' Waigeo T I M O R L ' E S T E A E a E O C E A N P O C E A N P N C TIMOR PLATE M O L U C C A Halmahera N C 10° H 10° M 1939 10° H 10° Timor A R A F U R A S E A 1938 S E A Timor A R A F U R A S E A 69 mm/yr 1° 1° AUSTRALIA PLATE Bird's Head A U S T R A L I A 2000 Obi A U S T R A L I A Taliabu 95° 100° 105° 110° 115° 120° 125° 130° 135° 140° 95° 100° 105° 110° 115° 120° 125° 130° 135° 140° Misoöl 2° I N D O N E S I A 2° SCALE 1:22,000.000 at the Equator SCALE 1:22,000.000 at the Equator 1998 Mercator Projection S E R A M S E A Mercator Projection S U L A W E S I C E Kilometers Kepulauan Sula R A M 0 100 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 Kilometers T R O 0 100 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1965 U G H EXPLANATION 3° 3° N o r t h Seram Main Shock RELATIVE PLATE MOTIONS B a n d a Buru B a s i n The relative motion of adjacent tectonic plates is depicted on the map by a EXPLANATION 21 January 2007 short vector located at a selected point on the plate boundary. In this Main Shock 4° 1950 4° presentation, the vector therefore represents the direction of the moving Aftershocks Depth Profile plate relative to the adjacent reference plate. The rate of relative motion is 27 January 2006 2001 Earthquakes 1964 - 2002 A A' A B -550 -500 -450 -400 -350 -300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 labelled next to the vector. ' ' 0 - 69 km Magnitude Classes 70 - 299 0 0 The components of the vector perpendicular and parallel to the plate 6.00 - 6.99 119° 120° 121° 122° 123° 124° 125° 126° 127° 128° 129° 130° 131° 300 - 700 margin approximate convergent/divergent and transverse direction of 7.00 - 7.99 SCALE 1:5,500,000 at the Equator Magnitude Classes -50 -50 motion between the plates, respectively. As viewed from the reference 8.00 - 9.00 Mercator Projection 3.50 - 4.99 plate, an inward directed component suggests convergence at and near the Kilometers -100 -100 Earthquakes 1900 - 2006 5.00 - 5.99 plate boundary that may be expressed as crustal folding, uplift, thrust 0 50 100 200 300 400 0 - 69 km 6.00 - 6.99 faulting, or plate subduction. Similarly, an outward directed component -150 -150 suggests plate divergence such as would be expected at a zone of crustal 70 - 299 7.00 - 7.99 300 - 700 spreading. Transcurrent or transform faulting would be expected when the MOLUUCA SEA, INDONESIA 8.00 - 9.00 -200 -200 predominant vector component is parallel to the plate margin. Plate Boundaries DISCUSSION Volcanoes All Others 21 January 2007 11:27:42 UTC -250 -250 In the example shown on the map, the Australian plate is moving N 8° E 1.244° N., 126.400° E. Subduction Eastern Indonesia, forming the southeastern extremity of the Southeast relative to the Sunda reference plate. Depth 22 km Mw = 7.5 (USGS) Asian lithospheric plate, crushed between the northward-moving Indo- -300 -300 Volcanoes Australian and the westward-moving Pacific plates, is certainly the A major earthquake occurred 130 km (80 miles) WNW of Ternate, most complex active tectonic zone on earth. The relative motion of -350 -350 Moluccas, Indonesia 165 km (100 miles) E of Manado, Sulawesi, Australia toward the interior of the Sunda plate, about 70 mm/yr, drives LARGEST EARTHQUAKES M ≥ 7.5 1900-2007 EPICENTRAL AREA Indonesia at 5:27 AM MDT, Jan 21, 2007 (6:54 PM local time in Molucca the motion of small plates that are situated between the Australia plate -400 -400 Sea). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. and the interior of the Sunda plate. YR MO DY LAT LON DEPTH MAG -450 -450 Generalized Seismic Hazard One person died from a heart attack, 3 others killed, 4 others injured and Frequent volcanic eruptions and frequent earthquake shocks testify to 1905 1 22 1.000 123.000 90 7.80 minor damage to some buildings at Mandano, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Felt the active tectonic processes which are currently in progress in response 1907 6 25 1.000 127.000 200 7.50 -500 -500 1910 12 16 4.500 126.500 0 7.60 95° 100° 105° 110° 115° 120° 125° 130° 135° 140° (VI) at Bitung and Tondano; (V) at Kotamobagu; (IV) at Gorontalo, to the continued movement of these major plates. The distribution of 1913 3 14 4.500 126.500 0 7.90 Sulawesi, Indonesia. Also felt (VI) on Ternate and (IV) in southern -550 -550 Mindanao Halmahera, Indonesia. small ocean basins, continental fragments, remnants of ancient 1932 5 14 0.258 126.169 35 8.10 T H A I L A N D magmatic arcs and numerous subduction complexes which make up the 1936 4 1 4.165 126.521 35 7.70 S O U T H P H I L I P P I N E S Indonesian region indicate that the past history of the region was 1939 12 21 -0.208 122.565 35 7.80 -600 -600 C H I N A 1950 10 8 -3.750 128.250 0 7.50 P H I L I P P I N E equally tectonically active. S E A B R U N E I S E A 1965 1 24 -2.455 125.965 28 8.20 -650 -650 5° 5° 1968 8 10 1.422 126.260 20 7.60 BURMA P A C I F I C For more information, see the NEIC website on Indonesia tectonics, at 1972 6 11 3.864 124.234 331 7.80 -550 -500 -450 -400 -350 -300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 PLATE M A L A Y S I A C E L E B E S O C E A N 1986 8 14 1.805 126.485 31 7.50 Kuala Lumpur S E A http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/regional/world.php?region=Indonesia 1990 4 18 1.195 122.816 39 7.60 Singapore 1991 6 20 1.206 122.773 31 7.50 SINGAPO RE Borneo 1998 11 29 -1.938 124.818 16 7.70 0° S 0° 2000 5 4 -1.105 123.573 26 7.60 u 2001 10 19 -4.102 123.907 33 7.50 m Kalimantan a 2007 01 21 1.244 126.400 22 7.50 t r Sulawesi a A (Celebes) Irian Jaya E DATA SOURCES REFERENCES N I S New Guinea U I N D O N E S I A G EARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC HAZARD Bird, P., 2003, An updated digital model of plate boundaries: 5° 5° U B A N D A EXPLANATION N Jakarta J A V A S E A W USGS, National Earthquake Information Center Geochem.