Time‐dependent modeling of slow slip events and associated seismicity and tremor at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Bartlow, N. M.; Wallace, Laura; Beavan, R. J.; Bannister, Stephen; Segall, P.

doi:10.1002/2013jb010609

Cited by 87 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…An especially large tremor burst occurred from the end of 2010 to the beginning of 2011. An SSE occurred at the up-dip region of tremor activity in 2010, though there is a few months lag between the occurrence of SSE around tremor hypocenters and the activation of tectonic tremor (Bartlow et al 2014). …”

Section: Results Of Tectonic Tremor Detectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

2014

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In the Hikurangi subduction zone, situated along the east coast of the North Island, New Zealand, where the old oceanic Pacific Plate is subducting beneath the Australian Plate, several slow slip events and tectonic tremors have recently been documented. These observations are somewhat surprising because such slow seismic phenomena tend to be common in subduction zones where relatively young oceanic plate is subducting. The locations of tectonic tremors, down-dip limit of slow slip events and seismic coupling transition change along strike from greater depths in the south to shallower depths in the north, suggesting significant along-strike variations in the characteristics of the plate interface. Similar along-strike variations have been observed for other characteristic features of the Hikurangi subduction zone. Here, we demonstrate that along-strike variations observed for tectonic tremors, slow slip events, and seismic coupling can be explained by lateral differences in the thermal structure of the subduction zone, which are controlled mainly by variations in convergence rate and friction along the plate interface. To demonstrate this, we first confirm that tectonic tremors occur around the plate interface. Then, we calculate the thermal structure of the Hikurangi subduction zone using a two-dimensional finite difference code. To explain the along-strike variation in the heat flow observed in the forearc region, temperatures along the plate interface should be systematically higher in the northern region than in the southern region, which we interpret as a consequence of higher convergence rates and greater frictional heating in the northern region. We compare the along-strike variation of seismic characteristics with calculated thermal structure and highlight that this along-strike variation in temperature controls the depth of the brittle-ductile transition, which is consistent with the observed spatial variations in tectonic tremors, down-dip limit of slow slip events and seismic coupling. Our results suggest that tectonic tremors recorded within subduction zones reflect the transient rheology of the materials being subducted, which is controlled by variations in temperature along the plate interface.

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Section: Results Of Tectonic Tremor Detectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

2014

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“…In this study, we found that aftershocks occurred not only in regions partially overlapping the major afterslip but also among patches practically devoid of afterslip (Figure b). This is consistent with recent observations that both tremor and microseismicity are outside of the main slip regions during slow‐slip events along the Hikurangi subduction zone in New Zealand [ Bartlow et al ., ], due to static stress changes outside the slow‐slip region. However, alternative models, such as pore fluid diffusion, cannot be ruled out without further detailed analysis or modeling [ Bosl and Nur , ; Hainzl et al ., ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed spatiotemporal evolution of microseismicity and repeating earthquakes following the 2012 M_w 7.6 Nicoya earthquake

et al. 2017

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We apply a waveform matching technique to obtain a detailed earthquake catalog around the rupture zone of the 5 September 2012 moment magnitude 7.6 Nicoya earthquake, with emphasis on its aftershock sequence. Starting from a preliminary catalog, we relocate ~7900 events using TomoDD to better quantify their spatiotemporal behavior. Relocated aftershocks are mostly clustered in two groups. The first is immediately above the major coseismic slip patch, partially overlapping with shallow afterslip. The second one is 50 km SE to the main shock nucleation point and near the terminus of coseismic rupture, in a zone that exhibited little resolvable afterslip. Using the relocated events as templates, we scan through the continuous recording from 29 June 2012 to 30 December 2012, detecting approximately 17 times more than template events. We find 190 aftershocks in the first half hour following the main shock, mostly along the plate interface. Later events become more scattered in location, showing moderate expansion in both along‐trench and downdip directions. From the detected catalog we identify 53 repeating aftershock clusters with mean cross‐correlation values larger than 0.9, and indistinguishably intracluster event locations, suggesting slip on the same fault patch. Most repeating clusters occurred within the first major aftershock group. Very few repeating clusters were found in the aftershock grouping along the southern edge of the Peninsula, which is not associated with substantial afterslip. Our observations suggest that loading from nearby afterslip along the plate interface drives spatiotemporal evolution of aftershocks just above the main shock rupture patch, while aftershocks in the SE group are to the SE of the observed updip afterslip and poorly constrained.

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“…The NIF has been employed to recover the spatiotemporal evolution of many SSEs (e.g., Bartlow et al, 2011Bartlow et al, , 2014Liu et al, 2010Liu et al, , 2015Miyazaki et al, 2006Miyazaki et al, , 2003Murray & Segall, 2005;Schmidt & Gao, 2010). However, previous studies have shown that the NIF often applies excessive smoothing to the accelerating or decelerating slip due to temporal smoothing of the slip (Fukuda et al, 2004(Fukuda et al, , 2008, thereby making it difficult to accurately retrieve the nucleation and subsequent evolution of the SSEs.…”

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Variability of the Space‐Time Evolution of Slow Slip Events Off the Boso Peninsula, Central Japan, From 1996 to 2014

Fukuda

2018

JGR Solid Earth

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Global Navigation Satellite System data are inverted to investigate the space‐time evolution of five Mw 6.6–6.7 slow slip events (SSEs) off the Boso Peninsula, central Japan, in 1996, 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2013–2014. Our analyses reveal that the nucleation style and space‐time evolution of slip vary among the five SSEs. The 2002, 2007, and 2011 SSEs nucleated more rapidly, with moment accelerations higher than those of the 1996 SSE by a factor of ∼2–6, and higher than those of the 2013–2014 SSE by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, the 2002, 2007, and 2011 SSEs exhibited more rapid temporal variations in their slip and moment rates and showed larger seismic moments and higher maximum slip rates than the 1996 and 2013–2014 SSEs, suggesting that the overall evolution of the SSEs is correlated with the nucleation style. The along‐strike expansion/propagation of slip is identified for the five SSEs, revealing that the expansion/propagation patterns vary from event to event. The earthquake swarms accompanying the SSEs occurred near the downdip edge of high‐slip‐rate areas, and the seismicity migrated during slow slip with directions and speeds similar to those of the slip expansion/propagation. These space‐time correlations between seismicity and slow slip suggest that the earthquake swarms were triggered by stress changes due to slow slip. The relative timing between the onsets of the SSEs and their associated seismicity varies from event to event and appears to be correlated with the nucleation style of the SSEs.

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Time‐dependent modeling of slow slip events and associated seismicity and tremor at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Cited by 87 publications

References 73 publications

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Detailed spatiotemporal evolution of microseismicity and repeating earthquakes following the 2012 M_w 7.6 Nicoya earthquake

Variability of the Space‐Time Evolution of Slow Slip Events Off the Boso Peninsula, Central Japan, From 1996 to 2014

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Time‐dependent modeling of slow slip events and associated seismicity and tremor at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Cited by 87 publications

References 73 publications

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Along-strike variations in temperature and tectonic tremor activity along the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand

Detailed spatiotemporal evolution of microseismicity and repeating earthquakes following the 2012 Mw 7.6 Nicoya earthquake

Variability of the Space‐Time Evolution of Slow Slip Events Off the Boso Peninsula, Central Japan, From 1996 to 2014

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Detailed spatiotemporal evolution of microseismicity and repeating earthquakes following the 2012 M_w 7.6 Nicoya earthquake