Seismology: energy radiation from the Sumatra earthquake

Nature. 2005 Mar 31;434(7033):582. doi: 10.1038/434582a.

Abstract

We determined the duration of high-frequency energy radiation from Indonesia's great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (26 December 2004) to be about 500 seconds. This duration can be translated into a rupture length of about 1,200 km, which is more than twice as long as that inferred from body-wave analyses performed soon after the event. Our analysis was able rapidly to define the extent of rupture, thereby aiding the assessment of seismic hazard in the immediate future.