A recent discovery by researchers from the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) reveals a possible connection between the newly discovered geological fault in the Plateros a Mixcoac area and the microearthquakes registered in Mexico City.
According to the preliminary study presented by university students Leonardo Ramírez Guzmán, Jorge Aguirre González and Moisés Contreras Ruiz Esparzathis fault could be the cause of the earthquakes that have shaken the capital in recent months.
This discovery raises new questions about the seismic activity in Mexico City and the importance of conducting additional research to better understand this geological phenomenon and its possible impact on the safety of the population.
SKyAlert has developed the new 'Map of the Plateros-Mixcoac Fault', a tool to keep your community informed about local earthquakes in Mexico City.
On the map you can see the municipalities with the most perception reports and locate the Plateros-Mixcoac Fault which crosses the municipalities of Benito Juárez and Álvaro Obregón with an approximate length of 2.8 kilometers.
In recent days, in a virtual press conference, UNAM researchers warned that between December 3, 2023 and January 10, 2024, 23 earthquakes were reported in the municipalities. Magdalena Contreras and Álvaro Obregón, with magnitudes ranging between 1.1 and 3.2 on the Richter scale, and depths less than 1.4 kilometers.
Ramírez Guzmán explained that the fault, provisionally named Plateros-Mixcoac, extends from the west of Anillo Periférico to Revolución Avenuecovering approximately an area one kilometer in length.
He pointed out that although the surface reveals only a visible part of the faulting, various instruments are being used to evaluate its entire extension and depth.
According to the doctor in Civil Engineering, the reactivation of this fault could be related to the accumulation of tension in the region, as well as the sinking of the Valley of Mexico and the recharge of the aquifer in the Sierra de las Cruces, factors that could contribute to the seismic phenomenon.
Plateros-Mixcoac Fault
For his part, Aguirre González explained that, given the importance of these events and the possible risks for the population, 15 recording stations with sensors have been installed to monitor the speed and acceleration of movements.
This network has been operational from December 2023 to February 2024, allowing the epicenters of earthquakes to be precisely identified and their distribution verified.
The researcher highlighted the presence of a crack more than a kilometer long that crosses the Mixcoac area, corroborated by both seismic records and deformations in the terrain.
This finding, he indicated, confirms that the phenomenon is not limited to the surface, but rather takes place deep in the soil.
On the other hand, Contreras Ruiz Esparza mentioned the use of satellite images to determine the displacement of the terrain on both sides of the crack.
Although no significant growth of the fault has been observed so far, more studies are needed to better understand its behavior and its relationship with seismic movements in the area.
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