Seismotectonic characterization of the Becerreá area (NW Spain)

The NW sector of the Iberian Peninsula has been classically considered as a seismically stable area, with only dispersed and low-magnitude activity. Around the village of Becerreá (Lugo) a significant concentration of earthquakes is observed. Since the beginning of instrumental record in 1979, seven...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: López-Fernández, C., Pulgar, J. A., Diaz, J., Gallart Muset, Josep, González-Cortina, J.M., Ruiz Fernández, Mario
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/74524
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/74524
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Northwest Iberia Becerreá fault
Intraplate earthquakes
Fault interaction
Temporary array
Descripción
Sumario:The NW sector of the Iberian Peninsula has been classically considered as a seismically stable area, with only dispersed and low-magnitude activity. Around the village of Becerreá (Lugo) a significant concentration of earthquakes is observed. Since the beginning of instrumental record in 1979, seven seismic crisis have been reported in that zone, including 14 events of magnitude >4 and a larger event of magnitude 5.1mb Lg (VII EMS) in 1997. Even if this seismicity is to be related to the general compressive regime between Africa and Eurasia, the seismotectonic characterization of the area is still controversial, as the different hypotheses considered are based on insufficiently accurate data. New insights to the problem are discussed here, coming from the deployment of a seismic portable network between 1999 and 2002, which has provided new accurate seismic data. The corresponding events are distributed around a subvertical axis, reaching a depth of 12km, and epicentres tend to concentrate beneath the intersection of the main Becerreá fault and secondary, ENE/WSW oriented faults. This intersection structure is thus interpreted as being responsible for the relatively high level of seismic activity over the area.