
Return of the R/V Pelican to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
The expedition discovered stresses along an underwater plate boundary and a record of historic and pre-historic earthquakes, which will shed light on the geohazard risks for Jamaica and Haiti.
In January 2022, this research cruise will evaluate the potential earthquake hazard along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault in the Jamaica Passage, located between Haiti and Jamaica. The team, composed of scientists from the U.S. and Jamaica, will map ruptures and other seafloor features left by earthquakes generated along the same huge fault system that caused the catastrophic 2010 Haiti quake that killed 200,000 people, as well as the deadly August 2021 quake. In 2010, a team of U.S. and Haitian scientists surveyed the fault in Haiti. The upcoming 2022 survey will focus on the Jamaica Passage area of the fault, creating maps of the seafloor and subseafloor, and aiming to recover sedimentary evidence of the 2021 earthquake and other historical earthquakes. The study will take place on board the R/V Pelican.
Dates: January 2022
Project Lead: Cecilia McHugh
The expedition discovered stresses along an underwater plate boundary and a record of historic and pre-historic earthquakes, which will shed light on the geohazard risks for Jamaica and Haiti.
Along the Enriquillo fault, large-scale submarine landslides provide possible evidence of earthquakes.
Researchers studying earthquake hazards in the Caribbean faced several challenges at sea, from rough weather to equipment failures.
Motion along these faults is associated with the 1907 Kingston earthquake, which shook the capital of the island with a magnitude of 6.2
Researchers are mapping the seafloor and subseafloor between Haiti and Jamaica, to evaluate the potential for earthquakes.