Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 25 June 1965:
Vol. 148. no. 3678, pp. 1675 - 1687
DOI: 10.1126/science.148.3678.1675
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Tectonic Deformation Associated with the 1964 Alaska Earthquake

The earthquake of 27 March 1964 resulted in observable crustal deformation of unprecedented areal extent

George Plafker 1

1 Alaskan Geology Branch, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California

Alaska's Good Friday earthquake of 27 March 1964 was accompanied by vertical tectonic deformation over an area of 170,000 to 200,000 square kilometers in south-central Alaska. The deformation included two major northeast-trending zones of uplift and subsidence situated between the Aleutian Trench and the Aleutian Volcanic Arc; together they are 700 to 800 kilometers long and from 150 to 250 kilometers wide. The seaward zone is one in which uplift of as much as 10 meters on land and 15 meters on the sea floor has occurred as a result of both crustal warping and local faulting. Submarine uplift within this zone generated a train of seismic sea waves with half-wave amplitudes of more than 7 meters along the coast near the source. The adjacent zone to the northwest is one of subsidence that averages about 1 meter and attains a measured maximum of 2.3 meters. A second zone of slight uplift may exist along all or part of the Aleutian and Alaska ranges northwest of the zone of subsidence.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Estimation of Strong Ground Motion from the Great 1964 Mw 9.2 Prince William Sound, Alaska, Earthquake.
G. P. Mavroeidis, B. Zhang, G. Dong, A. S. Papageorgiou, U. Dutta, and N. N. Biswas (2008)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 98, 2303-2324
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evaluation of Tsunami Risk from Regional Earthquakes at Pisco, Peru.
E. A. Okal, J. C. Borrero, and C. E. Synolakis (2006)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 96, 1634-1648
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Paleoecological insights into subduction zone earthquake occurrence, eastern North Island, New Zealand.
U. Cochran, K. Berryman, J. Zachariasen, D. Mildenhall, B. Hayward, K. Southall, C. Hollis, P. Barker, L. Wallace, B. Alloway, et al. (2006)
Geological Society of America Bulletin 118, 1051-1074
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Deformation and slip along the Sunda megathrust in the great 2005 Nias-Simeulue earthquake..
R. W. Briggs, K. Sieh, A. J. Meltzner, D. Natawidjaja, J. Galetzka, B. Suwargadi, Y.-j. Hsu, M. Simons, N. Hananto, I. Suprihanto, et al. (2006)
Science 311, 1897-1901
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence for possible precursor events of megathrust earthquakes on the west coast of North America.
A. D. Hawkes, D. B. Scott, J. H. Lipps, and R. Combellick (2005)
Geological Society of America Bulletin 117, 996-1008
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Microfossil evidence for land movements associated with the AD 1964 Alaska earthquake.
Y. Zong, Y. Zong, I. Shennan, R. A. Combellick, S. L. Hamilton, and M. M. Rutherford (2003)
The Holocene 13, 7-20
   Abstract »    PDF »
Modern Vertical Deformation above the Sumatran Subduction Zone: Paleogeodetic Insights from Coral Microatolls.
(2000)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 90, 897-913
Late Holocene Tectonics and Paleoseismicity, Southern Cascadia Subduction Zone.
S. H. Clarke, S. H. CLARKE JR., and G. A. CARVER (1992)
Science 255, 188-192
   Abstract »    PDF »
Sedimentation patterns and facies geometries on a temperate glacially-influenced continental shelf: the Yakataga Formation, Middleton Island, Alaska.
C. H. Eyles and M. B. Lagoe (1990)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 53, 363-386
   Abstract »    PDF »
Earthquake-Caused Coastal Uplift and Its Effects on Rocky Intertidal Kelp Communities.
J. C. Castilla and J. C. CASTILLA (1988)
Science 242, 440-443
   Abstract »    PDF »
Regional variations in the rupture-length magnitude relationships and their dynamical significance.
H. K. ACHARYA (1979)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 69, 2063-2084
   Abstract »    PDF »
A two-dimensional analysis of surface deformation due to dip-slip faulting.
L. B. FREUND and D. M. BARNETT (1976)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 66, 667-675
   Abstract »    PDF »
Seismicity and plate tectonics in south Central Alaska.
J. D. VAN WORMER, J. DAVIES, and L. GEDNEY (1974)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 64, 1467-1475
   Abstract »    PDF »
A dislocation model for the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
L. M. HASTIE and J. C. SAVAGE (1970)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 60, 1389-1392
   PDF »
Earthquake mechanisms and island arc tectonics in the Indonesian-Philippine region.
T. J. FITCH (1970)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 60, 565-591
   Abstract »    PDF »
Dislocation models and seismomagnetic calculations for California 1906 and Alaska 1964 earthquakes.
S. SHAMSI and F. D. STACEY (1969)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 59, 1435-1448
   Abstract »    PDF »
Focal mechanism of the Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake of March 28, 1964.
S. T. HARDING and S. T. ALGERMISSEN (1969)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 59, 799-811
   Abstract »    PDF »
Aftershocks and microaftershocks of the great Alaska earthquake of 1964.
R. PAGE (1968)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 58, 1131-1168
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Alaska earthquake of 28 March 1964: A complex multiple rupture.
M. WYSS and J. N. BRUNE (1967)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 57, 1017-1023
   Abstract »    PDF »
Sherman Landslide, Alaska.
R. L. Shreve and R. L. Shreve (1966)
Science 154, 1639-1643
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)