Dynamic Triggering of Seismic Activity in Halmahera, Indonesia Induced by 2016 Mw 7.7 Solomon Earthquake

The tectonic setting of Halmahera is the one of the most complicated as well as interested to be studied in Indonesia. There was also an unusual energetic swarm in West Halmahera that concentrated near Jailolo volcano. Large earthquake can trigger stress perturbation on the fault system and sometimes cause new earthquake both in the same fault and far distance. We examined Mw 7.7 Solomon earthquakewhich empirically impart dynamic stress larger than 1 kPa to Halmahera region in Northern Moluccas, Indonesia. Using restricted seismic data from 7G temporary network which had been installed by Agency for Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) and GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), we identified remotely triggered seismicity. Here we provide a potential of dynamic triggering as large as 12.53kPa of stress impart from Mw 7.7 Solomon earthquake on beginning of December 2016 caused seismic activity in this isolated region. We are certain that Halmahera as geothermal region unresisted with the high stress accumulation, although with a small transient stress perturbation the local earthquake or tremor probably occurred. This research also supported previous finding that remote triggering was not as widespread as previous study.