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1.
A magnitude MW7.0 earthquake struck north of Anchorage, Alaska, USA on 1 December 2018. This earthquake occurred in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, on a fault within the subducting Pacific slab rather than on the shallower boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. In order to better understand the earthquake source characteristics and slip distribution of source rupture process as well as to explore the effect of tectonic environment on dynamic triggering of earthquake, the faulting geometry, slip distribution, seismic moment, source time function are estimated from broadband waveforms downloaded from IRIS Data Management Center. We use the regional broadband waveforms to infer the source parameters with ISOLA package and the teleseismic body wave recorded by stations of the Global Seismic Network is employed to conduct slip distribution inversion with iterative deconvolution method. The focal mechanism solution indicates that the Alaska earthquake occurred as the result of tensile-type normal faulting, the estimated centroid depth from waveform inversion shows that the earthquake occurred at the depth of 56.5km, and the centroid location is 10km far away in northeast direction relative to the location of initial epicenter. We use the aftershock distribution to constrain the fault-plane strike of a normal fault to set up the finite fault model, the finite fault inversion shows that the earthquake slip distribution is concentrated mainly on a rectangular area with 30km×20km, and the maximum slip is up to 3.6m. In addition, the slip distribution shows an asymmetrical distribution and the range of possible rupture direction, the direction of rupture extends to the northeast direction, which is same as that of aftershock distribution for a period of ten days after the mainshock. It is interesting to note that a seismic gap appears in the southwest of the seismogenic fault, we initially determined that the earthquake was a typical normal fault-type earthquake that occurred in the back-arc extensional environment of the subduction collision zone between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, this earthquake was not related to tectonic movement of faults near the Earth's surface. Due to the influence of high temperature and pressure during the subduction of the Pacific plate toward to the north, the subduction angle of the Pacific plate becomes steep, causing consequently the backward bending deformation, thus forming to a tensile environment at the trailing edge of the collision zone and generating the MW7.0 earthquake in Alaska.  相似文献   

2.
Slip partitioning along major convergent plate boundaries   总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3  
Along plate boundaries characterized by oblique convergence, earthquake slip vectors are commonly rotated toward the normal of the trench with respect to predicted plate motion vectors. Consequently, relative plate motion along such convergent margins must be partitioned between displacements along the thrust plate interface and deformation within the forearc and back-arc regions. The deformation behind the trench may take the form of strike-slip motion, back-arc extension, or some combination of both. We observe from our analysis of the Harvard Moment Tensor Catalog that convergent arcs characterized by back-arc spreading, specifically the Marianas and New Hebrides, are characterized by a large degree of slip partitioning. However, the observed rates, directions, and location of back-arc spreading are not sufficient to account for degree of partitioning observed along the respective arcs, implying that the oblique component of subduction is also accommodated in part by shearing of the overriding plate. In the case of the Sumatran arc, where partitioning is accommodated by strike-slip faulting in the overriding plate, the degree of partitioning is similar to that observed along the Marianas, but the result is viewed with caution because it is based on a predicted plate motion vector that is based on locally derived earthquake slip vectors. In the case of the Alaskan-Aleutian arc, where back-arc spreading is also absent, the degree of partitioning is less and rotation of slip vectors toward the trench normal appears to increase linearly as a function of the obliquity of convergence. If partitioning in the Alaskan-Aleutian arc is accommodated by strike-slip faulting within the upper plate, the positive relationship between obliquity of convergence and the rotation of earthquake slip vectors to the trench normal may reflect that either (1) the ratio of the depth extent of strike-slip faults behind the trenchZ s to the subduction thrustZ t increases westward along the arc, (2) the dip of the subduction thrust increases westward along the arc, or (3) the strength of the subduction thrust decreases westward along the arc.  相似文献   

3.
— We developed a 3-D simulation model for long-term crustal deformation due to steady plate subduction in and around Japan by incorporating viscoelastic slip-response functions into a realistic 3-D plate interface model, constructed on the basis of the topography of ocean floors and hypocenter distributions of earthquakes. The lithosphere-asthenosphere system is modelled by an elastic surface layer overlying a Maxwellian viscoelastic half-space. Kinematic interaction at plate interfaces is rationally represented by the increase of tangential displacement discontinuity (fault slip) across the interfaces. With this model, giving the steady slip rates at plate interfaces calculated from NUVEL-1A, we simulated long-term crustal deformation due to steady plate subduction in and around Japan. The simulated crustal deformation pattern is characterized by steep uplift at island arcs, sharp subsidence at ocean trenches and gentle uplift at outer rises. The numerical results show the strong dependence of the deformation pattern on the 3-D geometry of plate interfaces.  相似文献   

4.
The southern part of the Outer Zone of Southwest Japan including the Kii peninsula belongs to the tectonic ‘shadow zone’, where fewer conspicuous active faults and less Quaternary sediments develop than in the Nankai subduction zone and Inner Zone of Southwest Japan. In order to study the paleostress sequence of the Kii peninsula, we analyzed fault‐slip data and tension gashes at pilot sites of Early–Middle Miocene forearc sediments and Late Cretaceous accretionary complex. According to the results, six faulting events are reconstructed in sequence: (i) east–west extension (normal faulting); (ii) east–west compression and north–south extension (strike‐slip faulting); (iii) NNW–SSE compression and ENE–WSW extension (strike‐slip faulting); (iv) northeast–southwest compression and northwest–southeast extension (strike‐slip faulting); (v) WNW–ESE compression (strike‐slip or reverse faulting); and (vi) NNE–SSW extension. The north–south to NNW–SSE trending dyke swarm of Middle Miocene age in the Kii peninsula is thought to be related to Event 3, implying that Event 3 was active at least during the Middle Miocene. Because Event 6 is recognized solely at a site, the overall latest faulting event seems to be Event 5. Assuming that the compression results from the motion of the crust or plate, the compression direction of Event 5 is in good accordance with the present‐day WNW crustal velocity vectors of the Kii peninsula. The stress trajectory map of Southeast Korea and Southwest Japan reveals that the current compression directions of the Kii peninsula correspond to the combinatory stress fields of the Himalayan and Philippine Sea tectonic domains.  相似文献   

5.
Kenshiro  Otsuki 《Island Arc》1992,1(1):51-63
Abstract The Izanagi plate subducted rapidly and obliquely under the accretionary terrane of Japan in the Cretaceous before 85 Ma. A chain of microcontinents collided with it at about 140 Ma. In southwest Japan the major part of it subducted thereafter, but in northeast Japan it accreted and the trench jumped oceanward, resulting in a curved volcanic front. The oblique subduction and the underplated microcon-tinent caused uplifting of high-pressure (high-P) metamorphic rocks and large scale crustal shortening in southwest Japan. The oblique subduction caused left-lateral faulting and ductile shearing in northeast Japan. The arc sliver crossed over the high-temperature (high-T) zone of arc magmatism, resulting in a wide high-T metamorphosed belt. At about 85 Ma, the subduction mode changed from oblique to normal and the tectonic mode changed drastically. Just after this the Kula/Pacific ridge subducted and the subduction rate of the Pacific plate decreased gradually, causing the intrusion of huge amounts of granite magma and the eruption of acidic volcanics from large cauldrons. The oblique subduction of the Pacific plate resumed at 53 Ma and the left-lateral faults were reactivated.  相似文献   

6.
--A 2-D finite-element-method (FEM) numerical experiment of earthquake cycles at a subduction zone is performed to investigate the effect of viscoelasticity of the earth on great interplate earthquake fault slip. We construct a 2-D viscoelastic FEM model of northeast Japan, which consists of an elastic upper crust and a viscoelastic mantle wedge under gravitation overlying the subducting elastic Pacific plate. Instead of the dislocation model prescribing an amount of slip on a plate interface, we define an earthquake cycle, in which the plate interface down to a depth is locked during an interseismic period and unlocked during coseismic and postseismic periods by changing the friction on the boundary with the master-slave method. This earthquake cycle with steady plate subduction is periodically repeated to calculate the resultant earthquake fault slip.¶As simulated in a previous study (Wang, 1995), the amount of fault slip at the first earthquake cycle is smaller than the total relative plate motion. This small amount of fault slip in the viscoelastic medium was considered to be one factor explaining the small seismic coupling observed at several subduction zones. Our simulation, however, shows that the fault slip grows with an increasing number of repeated earthquake cycles and reaches an amount comparable to the total relative plate motion after more than ten earthquake cycles. This new finding indicates that the viscoelasticity of the earth is not the main factor in explaining the observed small seismic coupling. In comparison with a simple one-degree-of-freedom experiment, we demonstrate that the increase of the fault slip occurs in the transient state from the relaxed initial state to the stressed equilibrium state due to the intermittent plate loading in a viscoelastic medium.  相似文献   

7.
Abstract Based on a field analysis of slip vectors from Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks and coupled with rift basin analysis in north China, the Cenozoic deformation history of the Tancheng–Lujiang (Tan–Lu) Fault Zone can be divided into three main phases: early Tertiary normal faulting and northwest–southeast extension; Miocene normal faulting and northeast–southwest to north‐northeast–south‐southwest extension; and Quaternary dextral strike–slip faulting and east‐northeast transpression. The early Tertiary extension, which was responsible for rift basin formation in north China, originated from back‐roll mantle convection induced by westward subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Asia continent. The Miocene extension occurred possibly in association with the process of the Japan Sea opening. The Quaternary dextral slip was mainly localized along the middle part of the Tan–Lu Fault Zone and resulted from the far‐field effect of the late‐stage India–Eurasia convergence.  相似文献   

8.
—Rayleigh and Love waves generated by sixteen earthquakes which occurred in the Indian Ocean and were recorded at 13 WWSSN stations of Asia, Africa and Australia are used to determine the moment tensor solution of these earthquakes. A combination of thrust and strike-slip faulting is obtained for earthquakes occurring in the Bay of Bengal. Thrust, strike slip or normal faulting (or either of the combination) is obtained for earthquakes occurring in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The resultant compressive and tensional stress directions are estimated from more than 300 centroid moment tensor (CMT) solution of earthquakes occurring in different parts of the Indian Ocean. The resultant compressive stress directions are changing from north-south to east-west and the resultant tensional stress directions from east-west to north-south in different parts of the Indian Ocean. The results infer the counterclockwise movement of the region (0°–33°S and 64°E–94°E), stretching from the Rodriguez triple junction to the intense deformation zone of the central Indian Ocean and the formation of a new subduction zone (island arc) beneath the intense deformation zone of the central Indian Ocean and another at the southern part of the central Indian basin. The compressive stress direction is along the ridge axis and the extensional stress manifests across the ridge axis. The north-south to northeast-south west compression and east-west to northwest-southeast extension in the Indian Ocean suggest the northward underthrusting of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate and the subduction beneath the Sunda arc region in the eastern part. The focal depth of earthquakes is estimated to be shallow, varying from 4 to 20 km and increasing gradually in the age of the oceanic lithosphere with the focal depth of earthquakes in the Indian Ocean.  相似文献   

9.
—The plate boundary along the north-central Caribbean margin is geologically complex. Our understanding of this complexity is hampered by the fact that plate motions are relatively slow (1 to 2 cm/yr), so that recent seismicity often does not provide a complete picture of tectonic deformation. Studies of the faulting processes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes occurring prior to 1962 thus provide important information regarding the nature and rate of seismic deformation within the region, and are essential for a comprehensive assessment of seismic hazard. We have conducted body waveform modeling studies of eight earthquakes which occurred along the north-central Caribbean plate margin, extending from southeastern Cuba to the Swan Island fracture zone (75 to 83°W). None of these earthquakes has been previously studied and several occurred in regions where no recent (post-1962) seismicity has been recorded. The plate margin in the western portion of our study area is characterized by a transform fault-spreading center system. In the central and eastern portions of our study area the plate margin is a complex, diffuse region of deformation that couples transform motion in the Cayman trough to subduction along the Lesser Antilles arc. Our results show that the western portion of the study area has only experienced large strike-slip earthquakes. Off southeastern Cuba two earthquakes appear to have occurred on high angle, northward dipping, reverse faults with south to southeastward directed slip vectors. An earthquake in northern Jamaica in 1957 shows pure strike-slip faulting, most likely along an east-west trending fault. Finally, an unusual sequence of events located in the Pedro Bank region ~70 km southwest of Jamaica has a mainshock with a reverse-oblique mechanism, suggesting continuity of the plate interface stress field well south of the northern Caribbean margin.  相似文献   

10.
Over the last twenty years, Chagos Bank has a seismicity rate disproportionate to its supposed intraplate location. Earthquake relocation also shows a high seismicity rate in pre-WWSSN time (1912–1963), with seven events located off of the Central Indian Ridge, including large events in 1912 (M = 6.8) and 1944 (M = 7.2). This study uses the moment variance technique, a systematic search for the mechanism which best fits P, PP, SH, Love and Rayleigh amplitudes, to determine the focal mechanisms of two pre-WWSSN earthquakes. A test with a recent event of known mechanism demonstrates that accurate focal parameter determination is possible even when only a few good records are available. Moment variance analysis shows a thrust faulting mechanism for the 1944 event, northeast of Chagos Bank near the Chagos-Laccadive ridge, and a strike-slip focal mechanism for a smaller 1957 event west of Chagos Bank. The 1944 event, one of the largest oceanic “intraplate” earthquakes known (moment 1.4 × 1027 dyne-cm), indicates that the Chagos seismicity reflects not an isolated occurrence of normal faulting as previously thought, but rather regional tectonic deformation extending northeast of Chagos Bank and including thrust, normal and strike-slip events. This seismicity and previously studied seismicity near the Ninetyeast Ridge and Central Indian Basin suggest a broad zone of deformation stretching across the equatorial Indian Ocean. This zone contains all known magnitude seven oceanic “intraplate” earthquakes not associated with subduction zones or continental margins, suggesting that elsewhere such extensive deformation occurs only along plate boundaries. This study proposes that a slow, diffuse plate boundary extends east from the Central Indian Ridge to the Ninetyeast Ridge and north to the Sumatra Trench. A recent plate motion study confirms this boundary and suggests that it separates the Australian plate from a single Indo-Arabian plate.  相似文献   

11.
Fault plane solutions for earthquakes in the central Hellenic arc are analysed to determine the deformation and stress regimes in the Hellenic subduction zone in the vicinity of Crete. Fault mechanisms for earthquakes recorded by various networks or contained in global catalogues are collected. In addition, 34 fault plane solutions are determined for events recorded by our own local temporary network on central Crete in 2000–2001. The entire data set of 264 source mechanisms is examined for types of faulting and spatial clustering of mechanisms. Eight regions with significantly varying characteristic types of faulting are identified of which the upper (Aegean) plate includes four. Three regions contain interplate seismicity along the Hellenic arc from west to east and all events below are identified to occur within the subducting African lithosphere. We perform stress tensor inversion to each of the subsets in order to determine the stress field. Results indicate a uniform N-NNE direction of relative plate motion between the Ionian Sea and Rhodes resulting in orthogonal convergence in the western forearc and oblique (40–50) subduction in the eastern forearc. There, the plate boundary migrates towards the SE resulting in left-lateral strike-slip faulting that extends to onshore Eastern Crete. N110E trending normal faulting in the Aegean plate at this part is in accordance with this model. Along-arc extension is observed on Western Crete. Fault plane solutions for earthquakes within the dipping African lithosphere indicate that slab pull is the dominant force within the subduction process and responsible for the roll-back of the Hellenic subduction zone.  相似文献   

12.
Free-air gravity anomaly in plate subduction zones, characterized by island-arc high, trench low and outer-rise gentle high, reflects the cumulative effects of long-term crustal uplift and subsidence. In northeast Japan the island-arc high of observed free-air gravity anomaly takes its maximum about the eastern coastline. On the other hand, the current vertical crustal motion estimated from geological and geomorphological observations shows a gentle uplift in the land area and steep subsidence in the sea area with the neutral point near the eastern coastline. Such a discrepancy in spatial patterns between the free-air gravity anomaly and current vertical crustal motion can be ascribed to a change in the mode of crustal uplift and subsidence associated with the initiation of tectonic erosion at the North American-Pacific plate interface. We developed a realistic 3-D simulation model of steady plate subduction with tectonic erosion in northeast Japan on the basis of elastic/viscoelastic dislocation theory. Through numerical simulations with this model we found that simple steady plate subduction brings about the crustal uplift characterized by island-arc high with its maximum about the eastern coastline, while steady plate subduction with tectonic erosion, which is represented by the landward retreat of the plate interface, brings about gentle uplift in the land area and steep subsidence in the sea area with the neutral point near the eastern coastline. Therefore, if we suppose that tectonic erosion started 3–4 million years ago after the long duration of simple steady plate subduction, we can consistently explain both patterns of free-air gravity anomaly and current crustal uplift in northeast Japan.  相似文献   

13.
We derived explicit expressions in the time domain for 3-D quasi-static strain and stress fields, due to a point moment tensor source in an elastic surface layer overlying viscoelastic half-space under gravity. The expressions of strain in the elastic surface layer were directly obtained from the expressions of displacement in our previous paper. The conversion of strain into stress is easy, because the stress–strain relation of elastic material is linear. In the viscoelastic substratum, the expressions of strain were obtained by applying the correspondence principle of linear viscoelasticity to the associated elastic solution. The strain–stress conversion is not straightforward, as the stress–strain relation of viscoelastic material is usually given in a differential form. To convert strain into stress, we used an integral form of the stress–strain relation instead of the usual differential form. The expressions give the responses of elastic half-space at \( t = 0 \) , and the responses of an elastic plate floating on non-viscous liquid at \( t = \infty \) . The moment tensor is rationally decomposed into the three independent force systems, corresponding to isotropic expansion, shear faulting and crack opening, and so the expressions include the strain and stress fields for these force systems as special cases. As the first numerical example, we computed the temporal changes in strain and stress fields after the sudden opening of an infinitely long vertical crack cutting the elastic surface layer. Here, we observe that the stress changes caused by the sudden crack opening gradually decay with time and vanish at \( t = \infty \) everywhere. After the completion of stress relaxation, a characteristic pattern of shear strain remains in the viscoelastic substratum. Since the strain and stress fields at \( t = \infty \) can be read as the strain- and stress-rate fields caused by steady crack opening, respectively, this numerical example demonstrates the realization of a steady stress state supported by steady viscous flow in the asthenosphere, associated with steady seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges. For the second numerical example, we computed the temporal changes in strain and stress fields after the 2011 Tohoku-oki mega-thrust earthquake, which occurred at the North American-Pacific plate interface. In this numerical example, the stress changes caused by coseismic fault slip vanish at \( t = \infty \) in the viscoelastic substratum, but remain in the elastic surface layer. The coseismic stress changes (and also strain changes) in the elastic surface layer diffuse away from the source region with time, due to gradual stress relaxation in the viscoelastic substratum.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract To the northeast of Taiwan, northwestward subduction of the Philippine Sea plate is occurring beneath the Eurasian plate along the Ryukyu Trench. The Ryukyu Trench, which is well defined along the northeastern part of the Ryukyu arc, cannot be easily defined west of 123° east. This is an area where the Gagua Ridge (whose origin is controversial) enters the trench from the south. On the basis of the marine geophysical survey data the following results have been obtained. The structural elements associated with the Ryukyu subduction system deform and partially disappear west of 123° east. Among other things the Ryukyu Trench terminates close to the western slope of the Gagua Ridge. The Gagua Ridge is the result of tectonic heaping and is likely to be an uplifted sliver of oceanic crust. The interaction between the Ryukyu subduction system and the Taiwan collision zone encompasses a wide region from Taiwan to the longitude 124.5° east. The Gagua Ridge is a boundary between the active deformation zone related to the collision in Taiwan and the West Philippine Basin. It is proposed that there is a tectonic zone that can be traced from the Okinawa Trough on the north to the southern termination of the Gagua Ridge on the south.  相似文献   

15.
The continental plate collision across the South Island of New Zealand is highly oblique (dextral) and bounded by oppositely verging ocean plate subduction zones. As such, the region can be considered as a type of ‘subduction scissor’. Within this tectonic context, we use three-dimensional computational geodynamic models to consider how convergent mantle lithosphere can be modified by scissor and strike–slip effects. Bounding subduction at both ends of the continental collision causes flow of the descending mantle lithosphere in the direction along strike of the model plate boundary, with thinning in the centre and thickening towards the subduction zones that bifurcates the continental mantle lithosphere root. With dipping bounding subduction, the mantle lithosphere root takes on a more complex morphology that folds over from one subduction polarity to the other, but remains as a continuous feature as it folds under the collision zone. In the absence of bounding subduction, the plate convergence causes a linear (along strike) mantle lithosphere root to develop. A rapid strike–slip motion between the converging plates transfers material in the plate boundary-parallel direction and tends to blur out features that develop in this direction—such as descending viscous instabilities. The along-strike variations in the morphology of the mantle lithosphere root that develop in the models—viz., thickening of the root towards the subduction edges, thinning in the centre—are consistent with recent, albeit poorly constrained, geophysical interpretations of the large-scale lithospheric structure of the South Island. We speculate that this reflects the nature of the evolution of the South Island collision as a limited continental segment of the plate boundary that it is dominated and guided by adjacent well-developed/developing ocean plate subduction.  相似文献   

16.
—The plate boundary between Iberia and Africa has been studied using data on seismicity and focal mechanisms. The region has been divided into three areas: A; the Gulf of Cadiz; B, the Betics, Alboran Sea and northern Morocco; and C, Algeria. Seismicity shows a complex behavior, large shallow earthquakes (h < 30 km) occur in areas A and C and moderate shocks in area B; intermediate-depth activity (30 < h < 150 km) is located in area B; the depth earthquakes (h 650 km) are located to the south of Granada. Moment rate, slip velocity and b values have been estimated for shallow shocks, and show similar characteristics for the Gulf of Cadiz and Algeria, and quite different ones for the central region. Focal mechanisms of 80 selected shallow earthquakes (8 mb 4) show thrust faulting in the Gulf of Cadiz and Algeria with horizontal NNW-SSE compression, and normal faulting in the Alboran Sea with E-W extension. Focal mechanisms of 26 intermediate-depth earthquakes in the Alboran Sea display vertical motions, with a predominant plane trending E-W. Solutions for very deep shocks correspond to vertical dip-slip along N-S trends. Frohlich diagrams and seismic moment tensors show different behavior in the Gulf of Cadiz, Betic-Alboran Sea and northern Morocco, and northern Algeria for shallow events. The stress pattern of intermediate-depth and very deep earthquakes has different directions: vertical extension in the NW-SE direction for intermediate depth earthquakes, and tension and pressure axes dipping about 45 ° for very deep earthquakes. Regional stress pattern may result from the collision between the African plate and Iberia, with extension and subduction of lithospheric material in the Alboran Sea at intermediate depth. The very deep seismicity may be correlated with older subduction processes.  相似文献   

17.
So far, the direction and rate of relative motion between the Rivera and the North American plates (RIV-NAM) has been determined by the combination of two Euler poles: Rivera (RIV), with respect to Pacific (PAC), and PAC with respect to North America. Here, we estimate the relative motion of this plate pair (RIV-NAM) assuming that the horizontal projection of the direction of slip of the earthquakes occurring on the RIV-NAM boundaries reflect their relative plate motion. A catalog of earthquakes for which focal mechanisms are reported since 1976 is used in the analysis. Earthquakes were considered in the three segments of the RIV-NAM plate boundary: the subduction zone of the Rivera plate beneath the Jalisco block, the Tres Marias Escarpment and the events associated with the Tamayo Fracture Zone. The best fitting Euler pole is determined using a grid search of 64 potential poles. The slip direction predicted for each grid point is compared to the slip direction of the focal mechanisms of the earthquakes on the plate boundary. The best fitting Euler pole, determined in a root mean square sense (RMS), is located at 21.8°N, 107.6°W. A rate of rotation of 5.3°/year is estimated assuming the seismic earthquake cycle of the 1932 and 1995 great earthquakes represents a lower bound of the rate of plate motion in the subduction zone. The best fitting Euler pole shows that the subduction of the Rivera plate takes place in a direction perpendicular to the trench with a relative velocity of 4.3 cm/year, offshore Manzanillo. The rate of relative motion RIV-NAM decreases from SE to NW. North of approximately 21°N, the subduction of the Rivera plate becomes oblique to the trench and the relative velocity between the two plates decreases to an average of 1.9 cm/year. This slow rate of convergence may explain the rapid decrease of seismicity in the trench and the apparent absence of large earthquakes in this region. In the Tres Marias Escarpment, our best-fitting pole suggests that subduction stops, giving way to high-angle reverse faulting perpendicular to the Tres Marias Escarpment, in agreement with the reverse faulting earthquakes occurring here. To the north of 22.5°N, the slip predicted by the best-fitting pole suggests right-lateral faulting in a direction parallel to the Tamayo Fracture Zone, at a very low velocity (0.5–1.0 cm/year). The best fitting Euler pole determined here lies very close to the RIV-NAM plate boundary in the vicinity of the Tamayo Fracture Zone. This location of our best fitting Euler pole explains the low relative plate velocity, the relatively low level of seismic activity and the presence of a broad zone of deformation that accommodates the RIV-NAM motion.  相似文献   

18.
— I studied crustal deformation in the Kanto district, central Japan, based on continuous GPS data. Horizontal as well as vertical displacement rate demonstrate significant interaction between the landward Kanto block and the Philippine Sea plate. Although the subduction effect of the Pacific plate is not apparent, it is reasonable to consider the entire Kanto district is displaced westward due to the interaction with the Pacific plate. The GPS velocity data were inverted to estimate the slip deficit distribution on the Sagami Trough subduction zone. The result delineates a strongly coupled region on the plate interface, part of which corresponds to the 1923 Kanto earthquake. The strongly coupled region is located shallower than 20 km. In addition, the plate interaction is laterally heterogeneous even in the same depth range, implying thermal structure is not the only factor controlling interplate coupling. The GPS data also detected a silent earthquake event on the interface of the Philippine Sea slab east of the Boso Peninsula in the middle of May, 1996. The silent rupture propagated over a 50 km * 50 km wide area during about a week. The maximum slip was approximately 50 mm and the released seismic moment was 4.7*1018Nm (M w 6.4). There was a small seismicity triggered by this silent event. The silent slip was located in the peripheral of the strongly coupled area, suggesting that frictional properties and/or stress conditions are inhomogeneous on the plate boundary interface.  相似文献   

19.
Tectonic forces from the relative movements between plates are transmitted into the continental crust, and then they create the earthquake generating stress field there. The space-time distribution of the seismic activity including the small earthquakes in a region reflects the variation of the stress field in the region. According to this idea, the characteristics of the stress fields in the various regions of East Asia have been analyzed in detail in this paper based on a lot of solutions of focal mechanisms and data of seismic activity during the last 500 years. The results indicate that the tectonic forces from the subduction of the Pacific Ocean plate underneath the Eurasian plate control the stress field in the region from North China to the northern part of the North-South Seismic Belt. The variation of the regional stress field shown by the variation of seismic activity in some regions of Japan has also been discussed based on characteristics of variation of the seimicity of small earthquakes. Synchronous variations of seismicity in the past 100 years or so in West China and in the boundary region between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates implicate that there is the transmission of tectonic forces into West China through the collision between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. The active seismic activity in the boundary region between the Indo-Australian and the Eurasian plates and in West China is continuing consistently. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,13, 287–294, 1991.  相似文献   

20.
To evaluate the tectonic significance of the October 20, 1986 Kermadec earthquake (M w =7.7), we performed a comprehensive analysis of source parameters using surface waves, body waves, and relocated aftershocks. Amplitude and phase spectra from up to 93 Rayleigh waves were inverted for centroid time, depth, and moment tensor in a two-step algorithm. In some of the inversions, the time function was parameterized to include information from the body-wave time function. The resulting source parameters were stable with respect to variations in the velocity and attenuation models assumed, the parameterization of the time function, and the set of Rayleigh waves included. The surface wave focal mechanism derived (=275°, =61°, =156°) is an oblique-compressional mechanism that is not easy to interpret in terms of subduction tectonics. A seismic moment of 4.5×1020 N-m, a centroid depth of 45±5 km, and a centroid time of 13±3 s were obtained. Directivity was not resolvable from the surface waves. The short source duration is in significant contrast to many large earthquakes.We performed a simultaneous inversion ofP andSH body waves for focal mechanism and time function. The focal mechanism agreed roughly with the surface wave mechanism. Multiple focal mechanisms remain a possibility, but could not be resolved. The body waves indicate a short duration of slip (15 to 20 s), with secondary moment release 60s later. Seismically radiated energy was computed from the body-wave source spectrum. The stress drop computed from the seismic energy is about 30 bars. Sixty aftershocks that occurred within three months of the mainshock were relocated using the method of Joint Hypocentral Determination (JHD). Most of the aftershocks have underthrusting focal mechanisms and appear to represent triggered slip on the main thrust interface. The depth, relatively high stress drop, short duration of slip, and paucity of true aftershocks are consistent with intraplate faulting within the downgoing plate. Although it is not clear on which nodal plane slip occurred, several factors favor the roughly E-W trending plane. The event occurred near a major segmentation in the downgoing plate at depth, near a bend in the trench, and near a right-lateral offset of the volcanic are by 80 km along an E-W direction. Also, all events in the region from 1977 to 1991 with CMT focal mechanisms similar to that of the Mainshock occurred near the mainshock epicenter, rather than forming an elongate zone parallel to the trench as did the aftershock activity. We interpret this event as part of the process of segmentation or tearing of the subducting slab. This segmentation appears to be related to the subduction of the Louisville Ridge, which may act as an obstacle to subduction through its buoyancy.  相似文献   

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