Cycles of seismic and aseicmic slip recorded in faulted sediments under shallow burial conditions

Abstract

Valuable information concerning the seismic cycle are mainly provided by the study of exposed fossil subduction-accretionary complexes and by coring and probing through present-day active major plate boundary interfaces. Subduction zone investigation and monitoring allowed to comprehend the mechanics of thrust-related faulting and to discern seismic events with different slip rate (coseismic events, slow slip events and tremor). While subduction zones received particular attention especially following the M w 9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan, relatively smallscale extensional faults affecting the uppermost portion of seismogenic zone of the Earth’s crust are still less studied.