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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 24, NO. 14,
PAGES 1807–1810,
1997
Seismic Activity at the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Area (Mexico) from August 1994 to December 1995, and its Relationship with
Tectonics and Fluid Exploitation
H. Fabriol
Depto. de Sismología, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, B.C. México.
L. Munguía
Depto. de Sismología, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, B.C. México.
Abstract
A continuous monitoring of the Cerro Prieto geothermal field was carried out from August 1994 to December 1995 to investigate
the seismicity of tectonic origin and the seismicity triggered by exploitation activities. Hypocenters for 148 events were
located mainly around the northern end of the Cerro Prieto fault and within the geothermal zone. The estimated focal depths
range mostly from 1 to 6 km, for earthquakes with magnitudes from 0.5 to 4.6. It was difficult to distinguish between natural
and triggered seismicity. We observed a single case of an earthquake for which a correlation in time and space seems plausible
with a sharp increase of fluid injection in a well located at less than 1 km from the epicenter. Fault plane solutions of
26 events with magnitudes between 2.8 and 4.6 indicate right-lateral strike-slip motion for earthquakes that occur near the
Cerro Prieto and Imperial faults. Inside the geothermal zone, events with normal components of motion were recorded, as expected
from the extensional stress regime of the pull-apart basin laying between both faults.
Received 15
November
1996;
accepted 15
May
1997.
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Citation: Fabriol, H., and L. Munguía
(1997),
Seismic Activity at the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Area (Mexico) from August 1994 to December 1995, and its Relationship with
Tectonics and Fluid Exploitation,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
24(14),
1807–1810.
Copyright 1997 by the American Geophysical Union.
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