Location:

Period:

1 Feb 2013 05:36:41 - 3 Feb 2013 03:57:34 (1 day 22 hours 20 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Earthquakes:

M 7.0+:

M 7.0; 80 km WNW of Lata, Solomon Islands; (18 Jul 2015) (68km from the swarm center)
M 7.1; 32 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands; (8 Feb 2013) (72km from the swarm center)
M 7.0; 33 km NW of Lata, Solomon Islands; (6 Feb 2013) (59km from the swarm center)
M 7.1; 112 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands; (6 Feb 2013) (56km from the swarm center)
M 8.0; 2013 Santa Cruz Islands Earthquake; (6 Feb 2013) (33km from the swarm center)
M 7.2; 97 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands; (2 Sep 2007) (82km from the swarm center)

11 swarms found nearby.

2000

PS20000217.1(141.0km)

16 Feb

7 hours

5 earthquakes

2004

PS20040516.1(146.7km)

16 May

3 hours

8 earthquakes

2007

PS20070902.1(113.2km)

2 Sep

1 day 0 hours

12 earthquakes

2008

PS20080719.1(82.4km)

19 Jul

2 hours

6 earthquakes

2009

PS20091008.1(111.2km)

7 Oct

1 day 10 hours

13 earthquakes

2012

PS20120119.1(21.4km)

18 Jan

12 hours

6 earthquakes

2013

PS20130131.1(121.3km)

30 Jan

7 hours

7 earthquakes

PS20130206.1(21.5km)

5 Feb

6 days 0 hours

144 earthquakes

PS20130206.2(88.0km)

6 Feb

21 hours

11 earthquakes

PS20130213.1(96.7km)

12 Feb

16 hours

6 earthquakes

PS20130218.1(45.8km)

17 Feb

20 hours

5 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm PS20130202.1 near Lata, Solomon Islands

The seismic swarm designated PS20130202.1 occurred 47 km west of Lata in the Solomon Islands. It began at 05:36 on 1 February 2013 and concluded at 03:57 on 3 February 2013, spanning 46 hours and 20 minutes during which 11 earthquakes were recorded.

The sequence commenced with a magnitude 6.0 event at 05:36:41 on 1 February at 15 km depth. Later that day, two larger shocks occurred in quick succession: a magnitude 6.3 at 22:16:34 (10 km depth) and a magnitude 6.4 at 22:18:33 (10 km depth). On 2 February, activity included a magnitude 5.0 at 01:15:47 (13 km), magnitude 4.9 at 01:20:36 (2 km), magnitude 5.8 at 04:16:17 (22 km), magnitude 5.1 at 18:54:28 (10 km), magnitude 6.0 at 18:58:06 (6 km), magnitude 5.0 at 19:24:31 (10 km), and magnitude 5.1 at 21:20:34 (7 km). The swarm ended with a magnitude 5.0 event at 03:57:34 on 3 February at 23 km depth.

This swarm took place in the tectonically active Santa Cruz Islands region of the Solomon Islands, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The area lies at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate, generating frequent shallow to intermediate-depth seismicity along the subduction interface and associated fault systems. Historical records indicate persistent seismic unrest, with the swarm representing one of seven documented events since 1 January 2000. Earlier swarms occurred in 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012.

Major earthquakes have also clustered nearby. Since 2000, events exceeding magnitude 7.0 include the magnitude 7.0 shock 80 km west-northwest of Lata on 18 July 2015 (68 km from the swarm center), the magnitude 7.1 event 32 km southeast of Lata on 8 February 2013 (72 km), the magnitude 7.0 quake 33 km northwest of Lata on 6 February 2013 (59 km), the magnitude 7.1 shock 112 km west-southwest of Lata on 6 February 2013 (56 km), the magnitude 8.0 Santa Cruz Islands mainshock on 6 February 2013 (33 km), and the magnitude 7.2 event 97 km south of Lata on 2 September 2007 (82 km). These occurrences underscore the elevated seismic hazard driven by ongoing plate convergence and crustal deformation.

The February 2013 swarm preceded the magnitude 8.0 mainshock by several days, illustrating how foreshock sequences can signal heightened stress accumulation along regional faults. Such patterns align with the broader tectonic framework of rapid subduction and back-arc spreading that characterizes the Solomon Islands arc.

References

SeismoSight internal swarm classification records
USGS Earthquake Catalog (historical events)