Scientists are sailing off the coast of Haiti to assess the recent earthquake there, and the potential for more. This is the latest update, emailed by chief scientist Cecilia McHugh from the research vessel Endeavor.
(Read the full story of the project, involving the Earth Institute and other major institutions.)
Today we surveyed the Baie de Grand Goave, west of Port-au-Prince, where we crossed a scarp that we are pretty certain is the offshore extension of the Enriquillo fault [the main fault that caused the Jan. 12 earthquake]. The fault scarp is best displayed on the side-scan sonar images (left) but was also captured on the multibeam bathymetry. Our initial findings show that this scarp trends 260 degrees, very close to the predicted path of the Enriquillo fault across the shelf. The plan is to conduct a chirp and side-scan sonar survey tomorrow from a Zodiac boat in the Baie.
