Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Singkil Quake Caused by Fault Movement Down

Singkil earthquake that happened several days ago (Tuesday, September 6, 2011) killed two people and destroyed 100 houses in Aceh Singkil. Tremor was also felt in several areas in North Sumatra.

"The earthquake fault movement down allegedly due from the Indo-Australian plate beneath the island of Sumatra," said quake researchers from the Institut Teknologi Bandung, Irwan Meilano, and doctoral student of ITB, Zulfakriza, yesterday.

Both concluded that the earthquake occurred on a collision plate (subducting plate) as a result there are parts of the continental crust beneath Sumatra's slips (slab pull). They explained that it was not the earthquake is shallow and not caused by a fault on the mainland.
Earthquake location (Picture from : http://www.antaranews.com)
According to Irwan, an earthquake caused part of the Indo-Australian plate are attracted by the plates that have been entered into the bowels of the earth, these conditions produce strain on it, resulting in pull-down style, which became the earthquake at a depth of 80-100 kilometers.

Down normal fault movement or Indo-Australian plate that has a speed of 5-6 centimeters per year that does not hit the Eurasian plate on it. Eurasia is the continent of Asia and European plates.

Based on the information Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika - BMKG), Singkil earthquake of magnitude 6.7 earthquake 78 km depth source. The data record is different from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), said Irwan, the magnitude 6.6 earthquake with the source depth of 110.1 km.

Based on the propagation of seismic waves recorded on seismographs tool USGS, earthquake mechanisms are normal faults or down, not the fault shear. Thus, Irwan said, from the information that is likely not related to the earthquake Singkil Sumatra fault zone Renun segment.

Earthquakes will increase the pressure on the Sumatra fault and volcano near the earthquake source. There is a possibility of shallow volcanic and tectonic activity increased, although this activity does not always rise to volcanic eruptions.

The potential of another earthquake in Sumatra caused the collision of two plate Indo-Australian and Eurasian. Then the activity of Sumatra fault (fault Semangko) along 1.900 km from the city of Banda Aceh to Kota Agung in Lampung. *** [ANWAR SISWADI | KORAN TEMPO 3640]

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