[Roger Hunter]

3 mag 6+ in New Zealand and a mag 8 in the Aleutians and nobody had a clue.

Roger

[Island Chris]

The M8.0 (or 7.9) has an odd focal mechanism: either strike-slip on a flattish fault or else is near vertical fault. It is also deep, so not a regular megathrust quake.

Chris

[Roger Hunter]

(06-23-2014, 11:08 PM)Island Chris Wrote: The M8.0 (or 7.9) has an odd focal mechanism: either strike-slip on a flattish fault or else is near vertical fault. It is also deep, so not a regular megathrust quake.

Chris

Yeah, the mag will bounce around for awhile as more data is processed.

That's a subduction zone up there isn't it?

Roger

[Island Chris]

Yes, there is a subduction zone. USGS says it is within the subducted slab (in their Summary). I only skimmed the tectonic summary, but recall from elsewhere that the plate motion is highly oblique to the subduction zone in that area.

Chris