%0 Journal Article
%A Martínez Díaz, José Jesús
%A Álvarez Gómez, José Antonio
%A Benito, Belén
%A Hernández, Douglas
%T Triggering of destructive earthquakes in El Salvador
%D 2004
%@ 0091-7613
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/51103
%X We investigate the existence of a mechanism of static stress triggering driven by theinteraction of normal faults in the Middle American subduction zone and strike-slip faultsin the El Salvador volcanic arc. The local geology points to a large strike-slip fault zone,the El Salvador fault zone, as the source of several destructive earthquakes in El Salvadoralong the volcanic arc. We modeled the Coulomb failure stress (CFS) change producedby the June 1982 and January 2001 subduction events on planes parallel to the El Salvadorfault zone. The results have broad implications for future risk management in the region,as they suggest a causative relationship between the position of the normal-slip events inthe subduction zone and the strike-slip events in the volcanic arc. After the February 2001event, an important area of the El Salvador fault zone was loaded with a positive changein Coulomb failure stress (.0.15 MPa). This scenario must be considered in the seismichazard assessment studies that will be carried out in this area.
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