The potential seismic hazard of the Tarímbaro-Álvaro Obregón fault, a major structure of the Morelia-Acambay fault system in central México

Martha Gabriela Gómez-Vasconcelos (), Denis Ramón Avellán (), Jesús Avila García (), Pierre Lacan (), Isabel Israde-Alcántara (), Oscar García (), Jélime Aray Castellano () and Laurence Audin ()
Additional contact information
Martha Gabriela Gómez-Vasconcelos: Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Denis Ramón Avellán: CONAHCYT-Instituto de Geofísica Unidad Michoacán, UNAM campus Morelia
Jesús Avila García: Ciudad Universitaria
Pierre Lacan: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Isabel Israde-Alcántara: Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Oscar García: Xochipala Gold
Jélime Aray Castellano: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Laurence Audin: Institut des Sciences de la Terre, ISTerre, IRD, Université Grenoble Alpes

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2025, vol. 121, issue 1, No 5, 109-133

Abstract: Abstract Seismic hazard assessment in central México is essential considering the numerous crustal active faults crossing densely populated cities. The Morelia-Acambay Fault System in central México comprises at least thirty active E-W normal fault zones that affect Miocene to Holocene rocks and are responsible for several devastating earthquakes. However, most of these faults are unstudied; their behavior and seismogenic potential are unknown. The ENE-striking ~ 40-km-long Tarímbaro-Álvaro Obregón (TAO) fault is one of these major tectonic structures. It is located on the northern border of the Morelia Metropolitan area, where ca. one million inhabitants live within 10 km of the fault. We studied this normal fault through a detailed and multidisciplinary characterization due to its large surface expression and the current anthropization, which makes using classical techniques difficult. This study integrates geological, geophysical, and quantitative geomorphology, providing data for a better seismic hazard assessment. The TAO fault zone comprises three right-stepping en échelon segments separated by relay zones. This study reveals a mean vertical slip rate of 0.04 ± 0.08 mm/yr and 1.3 m of single-event vertical displacement. The TAO fault can produce earthquakes of magnitude 6.2 to 7.2, representing a significant potential seismic source in central México.

Keywords: Neotectonics; Active fault system; Trans-mexican volcanic belt; Morelia; Seismic hazard (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-024-06832-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:121:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11069-024-06832-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11069

DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06832-6

Access Statistics for this article

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards is currently edited by Thomas Glade, Tad S. Murty and Vladimír Schenk

More articles in Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards from Springer, International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().