Near-simultaneous great earthquakes at Tongan megathrust and outer rise in September 2009

J. Beavan (), X. Wang (), C. Holden, K. Wilson, W. Power, G. Prasetya, M. Bevis and R. Kautoke
Additional contact information
J. Beavan: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
X. Wang: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
C. Holden: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
K. Wilson: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
W. Power: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
G. Prasetya: GNS Science, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt 5040, New Zealand
M. Bevis: School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University
R. Kautoke: Ministry of Lands, Survey, Natural Resources and Environment, PO Box 5, Nuku’alofa, Tonga

Nature, 2010, vol. 466, issue 7309, 959-963

Abstract: Double strike: two linked earthquakes caused 2009 South Pacific tsunami The tsunami that struck the Samoan and northern Tongan islands in September 2009 was preceded by a magnitude-8 earthquake on the outer slope of the oceanic trench, where the Pacific plate bends as it enters the subduction zone. This was initially thought to be the sole source of the tsunami, but a more complex picture is emerging. Two groups report the occurrence of two earthquakes, a 'triggered doublet', at nearly the same time and place. What is not clear is which triggered the other. Beavan et al. use an analysis of Global Positioning System station displacements and tsunami models to show that the outer-rise earthquake was accompanied — possibly triggered by — a near-simultaneous mega-thrust earthquake in the adjacent Tonga subduction zone. Lay et al. analyse the available seismic data, and their model suggests that the outer-rise event triggered megathrust faulting. Either way, this dual strike suggests a mechanism for the occasional large tsunamis generated at the Tonga subduction zone.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09292

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