Transient fault slip in Guerrero, southern Mexico

Abstract

The Guerrero region of southern Mexico has accumulated more than 5 m of relative plate motion since the last major earthquake. In early 1998, a continuous GPS site in Guerrero recorded a transient displacement. Modeling indicates that anomalous fault slip propagated from east to west along‐strike of the subduction megathrust. Campaign GPS and leveling data corroborate the model. The moment release was equivalent to an M w ≥6.5 earthquake. No M >5 earthquakes accompanied the event, indicating the frictional regime is velocity‐strengthening at the location of slip.