On July 27, 2015, the M 7.0 earthquake Abepura, Indonesia occurred as the result of reverse faulting on a fault plane dipping moderately either to the northeast, or southwest. The earthquake occurred in a broad zone of convergence between the Pacific and Australia plates, whose boundary in this region is divided by some authors into a series of microplates that together take up the relative motions between the larger plates.
The epicenter of the July 27 event lies close to the boundaries between the Maoke, Woodlark and Caroline microplates. At this location, the Pacific plate moves towards the southwest with respect to Australia, at the rate of approximately 111 mm/yr. To the north of the event, the Pacific (Caroline) plate subducts to the southwest beneath Australia (Maoke and Woodlark) at the New Guinea Trench, and the location and mechanism of the July 27, 2015 earthquake are consistent with its occurrence on or near that slab interface at depth.
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