Salt Lake City – Researchers at the University of Utah say an unusual sequence of earthquakes in central Utah in the years 2018 and 2019 is the oldest active volcano in Utah. Fortunately, they say there is no sign of an imminent explosion.
The research, first published in Geophysical Research Letters last month, was centered around a pair of bizarre seismic sequences in the Black Rock Desert near Fillmore. One central Utah earthquake occurred on September 12, 2018, and another on April 14, 2019.
The epicenter was reported below the Black Rock Desert volcano, in central Utah between I-15 and the Utah-Nevada state line. U.S. According to the Geological Survey, the volcanic area erupted about 720 years ago, causing basalt cinder to flow through cones and ice springs.
In addition to detecting earthquakes by the Utah Regional Seismic Network, they were captured by temporary seismic equipment used to observe geological wells for various projects less than 20 miles from the desert.
A team of researchers from the University of Utah, USGS and the University of Iowa went to work to analyze the data. Temporary equipment helped locate 35 aftershocks after the 2019 earthquake, which was almost double the normal system.
They found that the quake was 15 miles below the surface, which is very shallow for an earthquake. For example, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the Earth’s surface about a mile below the Earth’s surface; The Mid-Utah earthquakes of 2018 and 2019 were not related to the Mega earthquake, the largest since 1992 in Utah.
In addition, the quake did not produce “shear waves,” which is typical for an earthquake in Utah. Malia Massimeri, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Utah Seismograph Stations and lead author of the study, said in a news release on Tuesday that the frequency of seismic energy radiation was also much lower than the typical Utah earthquake.
“Because these earthquakes were very shallow, we can measure surface deformation (caused by earthquakes) using satellites, which is very unusual for this small earthquake.”
These figures led researchers to believe that earthquakes are not due to colliding defects like most Utah earthquakes; Instead, they said their research showed that the quake was the result of ongoing activity in a volcanic area beneath the desert.
Massimeri said it is possible that both earthquakes were caused by magma or hot water that went close to its surface and caused the quake.
“Our findings suggest that the system is still active and that fluid-related movement in the general area may have been the result of an earthquake.” “An earthquake can be the result of a fluid leaking out of a rock or a defect in the movement of a pressure fluid pressing a surface defect.”
The good news, she added, is that there is no reason to believe that recent earthquakes are signaling an imminent outbreak. This means that it is a place where researchers want to pay more attention.
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