Tidal synchronicity of the 26 December 2004 Sumatran earthquake and its aftershocks

The frequency of earthquake incidence along the Andaman/Sunda/Java Trench plate‐boundary region has been investigated for the ten‐lunar‐month period 28 October 2004–19 August 2005, encompassing the 26 December 2004 earthquake. During this period variations in earthquake activity correlate with the t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2006-10, Vol.33 (19), p.n/a
Main Authors: Crockett, R. G. M., Gillmore, G. K., Phillips, P. S., Gilbertson, D. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
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Summary:The frequency of earthquake incidence along the Andaman/Sunda/Java Trench plate‐boundary region has been investigated for the ten‐lunar‐month period 28 October 2004–19 August 2005, encompassing the 26 December 2004 earthquake. During this period variations in earthquake activity correlate with the tidal‐force cycles: maxima in earthquake activity occur around the times of new and full moons, typically lagging by 0–3 days. This relationship is consistent with earthquake inducement via ocean tidal loading. Also, during this period the earthquake incidence associated with new and full moons at the western end of the region was (a) 38% and (b) 86% higher than the period averages for the full and declustered major‐earthquake catalogs respectively.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2006GL027074