Surface effects of triggered fault slip on Reykjanes Peninsula, SW Iceland

Three large earthquakes (Mw>4.5) were triggered within 5 min, 85 km west of a Mw 6.5 earthquake in the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). We report on surface effects of these triggered earthquakes, which include fresh rupture, widespread rockfall, disrupted rockslides and block slides. Field data confirm that the earthquakes occurred along N-striking right-lateral strike-slip faults. Field data also support the conclusion from modeling of InSAR data that deformation from the second triggered event was more significant than for the other two. A major hydrological effect was the draining of water through an open fissure on a lake bed, lowering the lake level by greater than 4 m. Field relationships suggest that a component of aseismic slip could have been facilitated by water draining into the fault zone. D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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