A blind fault found responsible for the 2021 Victorian earthquake in Australia

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A quartet of seismologists at the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia, has determined that the earthquake that occurred near the town of Woods Point, in Victoria, Australia, in 2021, was caused by a blind fault. In their paper published in Seismology Research Letters, Sima Mousavi, Babak Hijrani, Megan Miller, and Michelle Salmon describe their analysis of seismic data collected from multiple schools in the region and what they learned from it.

Victoria is the second smallest state in Australia and is located in the southeastern part of the country. It is also the most densely populated, which means that many people are at risk when an earthquake hits. The state has a long history of earthquakes, though none have been responsible for major damage or loss of life. However, seismologists remain concerned that a large earthquake may occur near more densely populated areas due to a blind fault – where there is a fault but no evidence of it at the surface.

These faults tend to only be detected when they cause earthquakes. Because of these risks, government officials have worked with local entities to install seismometers in various locations around the state, allowing them to track small tremors from blind faults. As part of this program, seismometers have been installed in a number of schools, all of which are operated by teachers or others in the area who know how to operate.

In 2021, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred, with its epicenter near the town of Woods Point. Fortunately, the earthquake occurred in one of the few populated parts of Victoria, which means no one was killed, and there was very little damage. Most of the damage occurred in Melbourne, Victoria’s largest city, although it was more than a hundred miles away.

In this new effort, the researchers collected earthquake data from the schools’ network and then used it to determine the true nature of the earthquake. In doing so, they found that the quake was centered around a blind fault—a previously unrecognized fault. They also noted that more than a thousand aftershocks have occurred since 2021. They concluded by noting that tracking such information is a vital part of the country’s earthquake research, which helps identify future threats.

More information: Sima Mousavi et al, Hypocenter, Fault Plane, and Rupture of an Australian Earthquakes: Application to September 2021 Mw 5.9 Woods Point Earthquake, Seismological Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1785/0220220348

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Citation: Blind fault found responsible for 2021 Victorian earthquake in Australia (2023, March 20) Retrieved March 20, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-03-fault-responsible-victorian-earthquake-australia .html

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