Morocco Earthquake Had Unusual Deep Slip, According to New Modeling

Aftermath of 2023 earthquake in Taroudant Province, Morocco. | alyaoum24/ Wikimedia Commons

14 December 2023–In their rapid characterization of the magnitude 6.8 Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) suggest that the earthquake ruptured roughly 25 kilometers deep beneath the surface. The USGS source modeling, published in The Seismic Record, shows a compact … Continue Reading »

Was the Earthquake Induced or Natural? New Study Tests Frameworks to Answer the Question

The town of Peace River, Alberta, seen from the Sagitawa Lookout. | awmcphee/ Wikimedia Common

13 December 2023–Using questionnaires created to determine whether a particular earthquake is natural or induced by human activity, a panel of experts concluded that the November 2022 magnitude 5.2 Peace River earthquake sequence in Alberta, Canada was likely to be induced. The case study published in Seismological Research Letters was … Continue Reading »

BSSA Special Issue on Earthquakes in Slowly Deforming Mountain Belts

2023 Herat earthquake rescue efforts

14 November 2023–The devastating September 2023 earthquake in Morocco and the unusual series of October 2023 earthquakes in Afghanistan are painful reminders of the seismic hazard that exists even in slowly deforming mountain belts away from major plate boundaries. Earthquakes take place infrequently in these regions, but their impacts can … Continue Reading »