Tectonics of Guerrero, Mexico

Vladimir Kostoglodov
Kristine Larson

The boundary between the Cocos and North American plates is the locus of numerous subduction earthquakes driven by a convergence velocity of 5-7 cm/yr. Most of the plate boundary has experienced ruptures in historic time - with the exception of the Guerrero Coast. This project hopes to improve our understanding of the subduction process and its potential for rupture by conducting a series of geodetic measurements along the Guerrero Coast. We will will combine GPS and levelling to provide optimal information on both vertical and horizontal crustal deformation. The geodetic data, along with seismic data, will be used to model the Guerrero dislocation and its defining characteristics.

GPS Site Information

Results thru 2005.

Publications

• Transient slip on the subduction interface in Guerrero, southern Mexico
• A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico
• The silent earthquake of 2002 in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico (Mw=7.6): inversion of slip on the plate interface and some implications
• Crustal Deformation Measurements in Guerrero, Mexico

We thank our colleagues:

• UNAM, Osvaldo Sanchez, Gerardo Suarez, Shri Krishna Singh, Javier Pacheco, Wallis Hutton, Sara Ivonne Franco Sanchez
• USGS, Ken Hudnut
• CU, Roger Bilham
• Utah State, Tony Lowry

Funding:

• This material is based upon work supported by NSF grant 0125618.
  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.
• CONACyT