Magnitude 6.5 quake near Bam, Southern Iran

Last updated: 2018-03-26 17:50:56 UTC

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The Anza group at the University of California San Diego operates a broadband seismograph network consisting of 17 three component broadband seismograph stations centered near Anza, California (see map).

On Thursday, December 25th, 2003 at 5:56 PM (PST) we recorded a quake (preliminary mb 6.5) located near the city of Bam, Southern Iran. Local reports suggest that thousands have been killed, with estimates ranging from 4,000 to 20,000. The injured number varies from 30,000 to 50,000. A pictorial essay has been compiled by Iranmania.com and can be viewed by clicking here.

View the most recent map of local events near San Diego or a slightly wider regional view of events recoded by ANZA, or a map of events recoded by ANZA from around the globe.

Initial source parameters for the recent event are shown below. The epicentral distance (distance separating the epicenter and the closest station in the recording network) for Anza is 13086 km (117.658 degrees).

This map shows the mainshock (red star) and any associated aftershocks (orange stars). Anza network stations are blue triangles.

Global mecator event map

Latitude	Longitude	Origin time (UTC)	Origin time (PST)	Depth (km)	mb	Author
28.99	58.29	12/26/03 (360) 01:56:52	12/25/03 (359) 17:56:52	10	6.5*	USGS

* The location and magnitude determined for this event are preliminary and are subject to change upon further review of seismic data.

The ANZA broadband network is located in the 'shadow zone' with respect to this earthquake and as a result there is an absence of P-wave energy in the associated seismic waveforms (see below). Find out what the 'shadow zone' is and why it is important in seismic studies: SHADOW ZONE.

We also collect data from the KNET network, located in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, which is much closer to the epicenter of this event and not in the shadow zone. You can click on the links below and see the waveforms from both the Anza and KNET networks. It is interesting to compare the waveforms recorded from each network and see the effect of the shadow zone.

Of local interest:
We operate a broadband station on Mt. Soledad. At 18:15 (PST) station SOL recorded the S wave from this event. Here is a view of that event as picked by our analyst. A pink "P" indicates a P wave arrival, a pink "S" indicates an S wave arrival.

3 component seismometer recordings at Soledad

View a larger image showing the waveforms recorded at Mt. Soledad.

Visit the USGS website with additional links to seismic data for this event.

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To search the internet for more information about this event, click on the button below:

Learn more about the Anza group (including who works here, other networks, nuclear tests in China/India/Pakistan).
Learn more about the ANZA network (includes more station information, research, etc).

URL: http://eqinfo.ucsd.edu/special_events/2003/360/a/index.php [Last updated: 2018-03-26 17:50:56 UTC]