High precision measurements of absolute gravity in Mexico

The jalisco block changes in gravity triggered by distant earthquakes

verfasst von
Alfredo Esparza, Jorge Arzate, Ludger Timmen, Jason Silliker, Manuel Schilling
Abstract

We report the results of 16 Absolute Gravity (AG) measurements distributed central and western Mexico employing two free-fall gravity instruments; the FG5X-220 of Leibniz Universitat Hannover (LUH), and the FG5X-252 instrument of the Centro Nacional de Metrologia (CENAM). Previous to the setup of new stations and acquisition campaigns, the FG5X-252 was certified in two steps, first a mutual comparison with the reference gravimeter FG5X-220, which have a long range stability below 2 μGal, and later through an international comparison at NOAAs Table Mountain, Col. facilities with 13 other instruments of different countries. The acquisition campaigns in the Jalisco Block (JB) took place during the dry season of 2016 and 2018, which included AG stations in Chamela (CHA), Guadalajara (AGG), Manzanillo (MAN), Puerto Vallarta (UGP), and Tepic (TEP); the later established new reference station in the north of the JB in 2016. The results obtained from the 2016 and 2018 field campaigns in the JB were compared with 1996 AG data acquired by NOAA at the same sites established. The observed vertical displacements in the two years period at stations CHA (+22.7 cm), UGG (+44.3 cm) and MAN (+54.6 cm) overcomes substantially the annual average (2.8 cm, 4.2 cm y 3.6 cm respectively) from the difference of the AG measurements 2016-1996. In the same period the UGP station subsided 8.5 cm, while station TEP remained quite stable (-0.25). In September 2017 two large earthquakes of magnitudes 8.2 and 7.1 occurred in the coast of Chiapas (07/Nov/2017) and in the State of Puebla (19/Nov/2017), which were recorded at some of the UNAVCOs GPS stations, namely MAN, UGG and CHA even though the nearest seismic source was located more than 500 km to the east. The analysis of our results in combination with other geophysical data support the hypothesis that the earthquake with epicenter in Puebla triggered the aseismic subduction of a segment of the Ribera Plate (RP), which in turn uplifted the stations above mentioned. We conclude that the aseismic subduction in this region is facilitated by a wet oceanic crust that carries important amounts of marine sediments, producing a lubricated interface between oceanic RP and the overriding JP.

Organisationseinheit(en)
Institut für Erdmessung
Externe Organisation(en)
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
National Metrology Center (CENAM)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
Typ
Artikel
Journal
Geofisica Internacional
Band
58
Seiten
155-168
Anzahl der Seiten
14
ISSN
0016-7169
Publikationsdatum
01.07.2020
Publikationsstatus
Veröffentlicht
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geophysik, Energie (insg.)
Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung
SDG 14 – Lebensraum Wasser
Elektronische Version(en)
https://doi.org/10.22201/igeof.00167169p.2020.59.3.2091 (Zugang: Offen)
 

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