Abstract
On the 8th of February 2016, a Mw 4.2 earthquake was detected inside the Los Humeros caldera, located in the eastern sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The event occurred after a sharp increase in the injection rate at the Los Humeros Geothermal Field and it was recorded by the seismic monitoring network of the power plant. The earthquake was felt by the local population and it caused damage in the power plant infrastructure. The focal mechanism solution of a previous study based on seismological data shows a reverse movement with a minor left-lateral component: Mw=4.2, depth=1500m, strike=169°, dip=61°, rake=42°. We have performed a geodetic and geomechanical analysis of the seismic source event based on ground deformation inferred from DInSAR. We used ascending and descending Sentinel-1 differential interferograms to retrieve the horizontal and vertical components of the co-seismic deformation. Subsequently, we inverted the estimated deformation to obtain the solution of an activated fault using the Okada model. These results shed light on the geomechanical aspects of the event and can help to understand the effects of field operations interacting with pre-existing structural features and active tectonic processes in the Los Humeros caldera.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | European Geothermal Congress 2019 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Event | European Geothermal Congress 2019 - World Forum, The Hague, Netherlands Duration: 11 Jun 2019 → 14 Jun 2019 http://europeangeothermalcongress.eu/ |
Conference
Conference | European Geothermal Congress 2019 |
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Abbreviated title | EGC |
Country/Territory | Netherlands |
City | The Hague |
Period | 11/06/19 → 14/06/19 |
Internet address |
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Keywords
- Induced Seismicity
- DInSAR
- Los Humeros Geothermal Field