Estruturação e atuação do Núcleo de Estudos Sismológicos da Unimontes em Minas Gerais

Abstract

The North of the State of Minas Gerais is an important region when it comes to seismic occurrences. In recent years, this was the region where the largest earthquakes occurred in the state, for example, the earthquake that occurred in Itacarambi with magnitude 4.9 and Montes Claros with magnitude 4.2. Most earthquakes are concentrated in these seismic zones along geological structures called faults, within the continental crust, in the crystalline basement. The knowledge of these geological faults occurred through the installation of local seismographic stations where the propagation of seismic waves generated by the tremors was observed. Institutions such as the Brasília Seismological Observatory and the USP Seismology Center were responsible for initiating the scientific work of identifying and characterizing the geological structures of this region, as well as developing seismic monitoring work. In this context, the Unimontes Seismology Center was created in 2014 to help in this work, and since then, it has been performing a strong work of seismic monitoring and seismological and geological research in the State of Minas Gerais. The Center has been requested by the civil defense of the State to study earthquakes that occur in several regions, for example, and more recently, in the city of Sete Lagoas where there is considerable seismic activation. What is expected is that the Unimontes Seismological Studies Center will improve even more regarding the criteria for monitoring and researching seismicity in the State of Minas and become a great reference throughout the national space.