Some examples of our research projects

Magnitude of completeness as a function of time in the Trans-Mexican-Volcanic Belt

F Ramón Zúñiga, Pierre Lacan, Quetzalcóatl Rodríguez-Pérez, Víctor H Márquez-Ramírez, Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2019.

b value Imaging at the mexican subduction zone

Imaging b-value depth variations within the Cocos and Rivera plates at the Mexican subduction zone (Rodríguez-Pérez and Zúñiga, Tectonophysics, 2018).

Aftershock generation simulation

Numerical simulation of aftershock generation using the Fiber Bundle Model (Monterrubio-Velasco, Zúñiga, Márquez-Ramírez and Figueroa-Soto, Journal of Seismology, 2017).

b Values under Popocatepetl Volcano

Rodríguez-Pérez, Q., Monterrubio-Velasco, M., Zúñiga, F. R., Valdés-González, C. M., & Arámbula-Mendoza, R. (2021). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 107320.

R. Garza-Girón and F. R. Zúñiga, GEOS, Vol.33, No.1, Octubre 2013

Paleoseismology in the Central Mexican Volcanic Belt Region

- Ortuño, M., Corominas, O., Villamor, P., Zúñiga, R., Lacan, P., Aguirre-Díaz, G., Perea, H., Stepancikova, P. and Ramírez-Herrera, T.. Evidence of recent ruptures in the central faults of the Acambay Graben (central Mexico). Geomorphology, 326, 17-37, 2019.

- Lacan, P., Ortuño, M., Audin, L., Perea, H., Baize, S., Aguirre-Díaz, G., & Zúñiga, F. R. (2017). Sedimentary evidence of historical and prehistorical earthquakes along the Venta de Bravo Fault System, Acambay Graben (Central Mexico). Sedimentary Geology.

- Ortuño, M, F. R. Zúñiga, G. J. Aguirre-Díaz, D. Carreón-Freyre, M. Cerca, M. Roverato, Holocene paleo-earthquakes recorded at the transfer zone of two major faults: the Pastores and Venta de Bravo faults (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt), Geosphere, v. 11; no. 1; p. 160-184; doi:10.1130/GES01071.1, 2015.

- Langridge, R., M. Persaud, F.R. Zúñiga, G. Aguirre-Díaz, P. Villamor, and P. Lacan, The Pastores Fault: Preliminary paleoseismic results and its role in the Acambay graben, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico, Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas, 30(3), 463-481, 2013.

Artificial variations of seismicity in Guerrero, Mexico

Left frames: "Time slices" showing seismicity variations at different times before correcting a catalogue (study area is Guerrero, Mexico) Right frames: same time periods but after catalog has been corrected for spurious magnitude changes. As before, positive Z values stand for seismicity decreases while negative values indicate increases. These variations are mainly caused by changes in the operation of the networks. Although some may be the result of natural causes.

(Ref: Zúñiga and Wiemer, Pure and Applied Geophysics, V. 155, 1999

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Maps of Minimum Magnitude of completeness for the seismicity catalogue of Nortwestern Mexico.

Spatial variability of Mc for two time stages. a) Time interval depicted is 1987.2 - 1997.11. b) Time interval depicted is 1997.11 - 2001.5. c) Mc difference between both (positive differences are set to show improvement, i.e. indicate lower Mc for the most recent period as compared to before).

(Ref: Zúñiga and Castro, The RESNOM seismic catalog and its bearing on studies of the seismicity of Northwestern Mexico, Geofísica Internacional, 44, 143-155, 2005)

Most likely locations of Large Events based on Local Recurrence values

The red zones show the main decreases in seismicity rate during the period. Dark blue areas outline increases in rate. They identify regions with significant variations in reporting of events.

(Ref: Zúñiga F.R. and M. Wyss, "Most and least likely locations of large to great earthquakes along the Pacific coast of Mexico" , Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 91, 1717-1728, 2001.