Strong and Deep M7.0 Strikes Peru

3/1/2019

In this post I will show some basic information and some seismic plots to the recent M7.0 that struck in Peru on March 1, 2019 around 257km in depth. I will first show two deep focus earthquakes and then I will show the M7.0. As usual, please click the title of this post or read more to continue...

Since the beginning of 2019, many deep focus earthquakes have struck the world. Deep focus earthquakes are those which occur at 300km or deeper. The M7.0 that just struck Peru was almost a deep focus event. It struck, however, at a depth of 257.4km in depth therefore dubbing it an intermediate-depth earthquake. As explained in the USGS information shown later in this post, large magnitude intermediate-depth quakes produce less damage above their foci than more shallow events. However, due to the depth of the event, intermediate-depth quakes can travel much farther. That means people a great distance away can still feel the event.

Above you can see a USGS earthquake map. It shows that there were 146 deep focus earthquakes of all magnitudes since January 1, 2019. Of course the M7.0 is not listed on the map since it was a little more shallow than the parameters I entered. If you wish to visit the page that shows the map above, please CLICK HERE.

Ever since January 1, 2019, there have been many deep earthquakes that have struck deeper than 300km in depth. However as of recently, the past week or so as of March 1, 2019, the deep earthquake activity has somewhat calmed. The link below is the earthquake catalog I used to see earthquakes deeper than 300km since January 1, 2019. There have been 146 events of all sizes. But again, the past few weeks deep quake activity has quieted except for a very deep M5.5 that struck just yesterday (as of the date I am writing this).

I will below show the largest deep focus earthquake and then I will show the most recent one. After that I will show the data to the M7.0. Deep earthquakes are of particular interest to me, especially ones striking near 550-600km in depth. Although it has never been proven or recorded, I believe it is possible for earthquakes to occur all the way down to the outer core/mantle boundary.

First, I will show the largest deep focus event to occur from January 1, 2019 to the time I am writing this. It was a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Brazil that struck at a very deep depth of 570.4km. Remember to always pay attention to all chart labels and any captions beneath any image. Also, although amplitudes on the M6.8 in Brazil were cut greatly by myself on the plots below, just know the highest spike, which occurred at the P wave, registered around 5e5 (500,000) amplitude count on CZSB, which was the closest seismic station. It definitely was a strange deep earthquake event!

The following is the M6.8 in Brazil that struck on January 5, 2019 at 570.4km in depth:

The locations of the M6.8 and the closest seismic station. CZSB will be used for the plots below, as well as MCID from Yellowstone.

Helicorders:

Custom 3-plot seismic images:

Same as in the 3-plot image above. Notice amplitudes were cut here as well in order to draw out the smaller ones. This 3-plot image has been "zoomed in" to lengthen the waveforms for a better look.

This deep-focus M6.8 in Brazil was detected quite strong on station MCID! 15,000 amplitude count is pretty impressive for its size and depth!

M5.5 in Argentina

The first image above shows the location of the M5.5 in relation to the closest seismic station: AC02 in the C1 network. AC02 is the station I will use for the custom plots shown below. The second image above is the current USGS event page. This M5.5 struck on March 1, 2019 at 00:13UTC at 559km in depth. It is likely nobody felt this event due to its small size and deep depth. Nonetheless, it still was detected on seismic station MCID at Yellowstone. I like to use MCID for teleseisms.

For the plots below, please remember to always read chart labels and any captions beneath any images. Also, the amplitudes on the seismogram plot for AC02, the closest station to the M5.5 in Argentina, was slightly cut to detect the smaller amplitudes.

M7.0 in Peru

On March 1, 2019 at 8:50UTC a strong M7.0 earthquake struck Peru at a depth of 257.4km. This earthquake was actually reportedly felt by 240 people. The first image above is the location of the M7.0 in relation to the closest seismic station: LPAZ in the GT network. LPAZ will be the station I will use for the custom plots shown below. The 2nd image you see above is the USGS event page for this earthquake.

Below is the explanation USGS gave for this M7.0 in Peru: