Seismic Characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico Region

The Gulf of Mexico basin is generally considered an aseismic region. However, medium size magnitude earthquakes have been observed recently along the eastern and western margin of the basin on 10 September 2006 (Mag. 5.8) and 23 May 2007 (Mag. 5.2) respectively. These earthquakes occurred near the two important oil fields currently under production. Thus, due to the economical importance of the region its study should be considered a priority. In the present paper a global analysis of the earthquakes is made to elucidate its origin and possible correlation with known geotectonic features of the region. Additionally, results concerning the seismic wave attenuation characteristics of the basin are also reported.