The 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska: A large magnitude, slip-partitioned event

Authors

Donna Eberhart-Phillips, U.S. Geological Survey
Peter J. Haeussler, U.S. Geological Survey
Jeffrey T. Freymueller, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Arthur D. Frankel, U.S. Geological Survey
Charles M. Rubin, Central Washington University

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Geological Sciences

Publication Date

5-16-2003

Abstract

The M_W (moment magnitude) 7.9 Denali fault earthquake on 3 November 2002 was associated with 340 kilometers of surface rupture and was the largest strike-slip earthquake in North America in almost 150 years. It illuminates earthquake mechanics and hazards of large strike-slip faults. It began with thrusting on the previously unrecognized Susitna Glacier fault, continued with right-slip on the Denali fault, then took a right step and continued with right-slip on the Totschunda fault. There is good correlation between geologically observed and geophysically inferred moment release. The earthquake produced unusually strong distal effects in the rupture propagation direction, including triggered seismicity.

Comments

This article was originally published in Science. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download from ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Recommended Citation

Eberhart-Phillips, D., et al. (2003). The 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake, Alaska: A Large Magnitude, Slip-Partitioned Event. Science, 300(5622), 1113–1118. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082703

Journal

Science

Rights

Copyright © 2003, American Association for the Advancement of Science