Continued Operation of the Guerrero Accelerograph Network

Board Of Regents, Nshe, Obo University Of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

This action is to continue support for operation of the Guerrero network, together with analysis of the data collected. The Guerrero Accelerograph Network was installed in 1985 as a 30-station network of strong motion instruments along the coast of Mexico. The purpose of the network is to recover accelerograms from an expected magnitude 8 earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap. While this major earthquake has not yet occurred, the network has obtained accelerograms from numerous small to moderate-sized earthquakes. In the 15 years through the end of 1998, the network recorded 1768 high-quality digital accelerograms from 738 earthquakes with magnitudes less than 3 to 8.1. The Guerrero network is operated as a joint project of the Instituto de Ingenieria at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, and the University of Nevada at Reno. Major support is provided by UNAM, which has upgraded most of the equipment from 12-bit to 19-bit digital recorders, as well as providing the major part of the field support, data playback, and data organization. Data from the expected break on the Guerrero gap will have international significance. In the United States, the data will provide estimates of ground motion in the Pacific Northwest due to a comparable earthquake expected on the Cascadia subduction zone; also for locations affected by the subduction zone in Alaska.