TOAST predicts local tsunami for the M7.7 Ecuador earthquake on 16/04/2016

Apr 21, 2016

Categories:
Earthquake

Local tsunami wave heigths of up to 40 cm where observed for the M7.7 Ecuador earthquake on 16/04/2016. The hypocenter, magnitude, centroid depth and moment tensor were calculated using SeisComP3 and MTV. The tsunami was modeled and observed based on TOAST.

The initial earthquake hypocenter at 10 km depth was refined to 40 km by inversion for the centroid moment tensor. The moment tensor shows clear thrust faulting with trench-parallel strike where the Pacific plate subducts underneath South-America. The maximum tsunami wave heights (SSH max) at tide gauges reach 0.4 m similar to the estimated values. The tsunami waves at the coast can be observed for several hours as shown in the SSH (instantaneous wave heights) and the waveforms view. Predicted tsunami waves arrive after about 2 hours at the Galapagos Islands. The observed and predicted tsunami arrival times and wave heights agree well.

TOAST for tsunami observation and modeling and Moment Tensors for centroid moment tensor determination belong to the gempa product family . MTV is a joint development of gempa and GFZ Potsdam .