We use cookies to improve your experience, some are essential for the operation of this site.

Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.

Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.
Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.
Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.
Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.
Comments (0)
292737
Lin, Jian et. al
Illustration showing the stress buildup from Enriquillo fault earthquake.
Illustration
04/01/2010
Fig3_Haiti_stress_fig.jpg
Image Of the Day caption:
The island of Haiti is cut by the Enriquillo fault, the border between two of Earths tectonic platesthe Caribbean Plate, moving generally eastward, and the Gonave Microplate, moving westward. In 1770, Haiti experienced a major earthquake. Stress along the fault built up slowly again for the next 240 years until Jan. 12, 2010, when the fault ruptured, causing a magnitude 7 quake that killed an estimated 220,000 people. WHOI scientist Jian Lin and colleagues calculated that the 2010 quake alleviated stress in some areas along the fault (blue boxes), but it increased stressand the likelihood of earthquakeson both adjacent segments of the fault (red boxes).
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 48, No. 1, pg. 11:
The Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti alleviated built-up stress (blue boxes) along one segment of the Enriquillo fault, which cuts across the island. But scientists calculated areas (red boxes) on both adjacent segments of the fault in which stress and the likelihood of earthquakes increased.
Figure modified from Lin, Stein, Sevilgen, and Toda (2010)
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Labels
This item includes these files
Image
Image
Collections