Geologic and geodetic constraints on the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes along Malawi's active faults: the Malawi Seismogenic Source Model (MSSM)

Williams, Jack N.; Wedmore, Luke N. J.; Fagereng, Åke; Werner, Maximilian J.; Mdala, Hassan; Shillington, Donna J.; Scholz, Christopher A.; Kolawole, Folarin; Wright, Lachlan J. M.; Biggs, Juliet; Dulanya, Zuze; Mphepo, Felix; Chindandali, Patrick

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3607-2022

Articles | Volume 22, issue 11

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3607-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3607-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 11

Research article

|

07 Nov 2022

Research article |

| 07 Nov 2022

Geologic and geodetic constraints on the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes along Malawi's active faults: the Malawi Seismogenic Source Model (MSSM)

Jack N. Williams, Luke N. J. Wedmore, Åke Fagereng, Maximilian J. Werner, Hassan Mdala, Donna J. Shillington, Christopher A. Scholz, Folarin Kolawole, Lachlan J. M. Wright, Juliet Biggs, Zuze Dulanya, Felix Mphepo, and Patrick Chindandali

Data sets

LukeWedmore/malawi\_seismogenic\_source\_model: Malawi Seismogenic Source Model v1.2 (v1.2) J. N. Williams, L. N. J. Wedmore, Å. Fagereng, M. J. Werner, J. Biggs, H. Mdala, F. Kolawole, D. J. Shillington, Z. Dulanya, F. Mphepo, P. R. N. Chindandali, L. J. N. Wright, and C. A. Scholz https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5599616

Malawi Active Fault Database (v1.0) J. N. Williams, L. N. J. Wedmore, C. A. Scholz, F. Kolawole, L. Wright, J. M. D. J. Shillington, Å. Fagereng, J. Biggs, H. Mdala, Z. Dulanya, F. Mphepo, P. Chindandali, and M. J. Werner https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5507189

Model code and software

Malawi probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) using the Malawi Seismogenic Source Model (MSSM) (1.0) J. Williams, M. Werner, K. Goda, R. De Risi, L. Wedmore, J. Biggs, H. Mdala, Z. Dulanya, A. Fagereng, F. Mphepo, and P. Chindandali https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7265780

Short summary

We use geologic and GPS data to constrain the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes that occur along active faults in Malawi. These faults slip in earthquakes as the tectonic plates on either side of the East African Rift in Malawi diverge. Low divergence rates (0.5–1.5 mm yr) and long faults (5–200 km) imply that earthquakes along these faults are rare (once every 1000–10 000 years) but could have high magnitudes (M 7–8). These data can be used to assess seismic risk in Malawi.