Antonio Villaseñor

41 – Global Seismicity: 1900–1999

Seismicity data spanning long periods of time are essential for a thorough understanding of earthquake phenomena. Seismic activity is nonuniform over time and the rate of seismic moment release exhibits large temporal variations. This chapter presents a comprehensive and self-consistent catalog of global seismicity spanning the 20 th century. It focuses to produce a comprehensive digital hypocenter and phase arrival-time database for most globally detected earthquakes during the 20th century, including a complete station list with codes, locations, and dates of operation. For the earthquake research community, this database provides a reliable starting point for a wide range of studies—including source parameter studies, delineation of rupture zones of large earthquakes from aftershock distributions, further improvements in Earth models, and detailed studies of the seismicity of active regions. The new database can also be of great utility in providing fundamental information for reliable seismic hazard assessment, especially in developing countries located in active seismic belts whose seismic history is poorly known.

Relationship between bend‐faulting at trenches and intermediate‐depth seismicity

[1] We have studied faulting associated with bending of the incoming oceanic plate along segments of Middle America and Chile subduction zones and its relationship to intermediate-depth intraslab seismicity and slab geometry. Multibeam bathymetry shows that bending-related faulting forms patterns made of sets of faults with orientations ranging from parallel to almost perpendicular to the trench axis. These fault patterns may change along a single subduction zone within along-strike distances of several hundred kilometers or less. Where available, near-trench intraplate earthquakes show normal-fault focal mechanisms consistent with mapped bending-related normal faults. The strike of bending-related faults in the incoming oceanic plate is remarkably similar to the strike of the nodal planes of intermediate-depth earthquakes for each segment of the study areas. This similarity in strike is observed even for faults oriented very oblique to the trench and slab strikes. Thus, in the studied subduction zones, results strongly support that many intraslab earthquakes do not occur along the planes of maximum shear within the slab and that much intermediate-depth seismicity occurs by reactivation of faults formed by plate bending near the trench. Furthermore, a qualitative relationship between trench faulting and intraslab seismicity is indicated by segments of the incoming plate with pervasive bend-faulting that correspond to segments of the slabs with higher intermediate-depth seismicity.

Shear velocity structure of central Eurasia from inversion of surface wave velocities

We present a shear velocity model of the crust and upper mantle beneath central Eurasia by simultaneous inversion of broadband group and phase velocity maps of fundamental-mode Love and Rayleigh waves. The model is parameterized in terms of velocity depth profiles on a discrete 2 2 grid. The model is isotropic for the crust and for the upper mantle below 220 km but, to fit simultaneously long period Love and Rayleigh waves, the model is transversely isotropic in the uppermost mantle, from the Moho discontinuity to 220 km depth. We have used newly available a priori models for the crust and sedimentary cover as starting models for the inversion. Therefore, the crustal part of the estimated model shows good correlation with known surface features such as sedimentary basins and mountain ranges. The velocity anomalies in the upper mantle are related to differences between tectonic and stable regions. Old, stable regions such as the East European, Siberian, and Indian cratons are characterized by high upper-mantle shear velocities. Other large high velocity anomalies occur beneath the Persian Gulf and the Tarim block. Slow shear velocity anomalies are related to regions of current extension (Red Sea and Andaman ridges) and are also found beneath the Tibetan and Turkish‐Iranian Plateaus, structures originated by continent‐continent collision. A large low velocity anomaly beneath western Mongolia corresponds to the location of a hypothesized mantle plume. A clear low velocity zone in vSH between Moho and 220 km exists across most of Eurasia, but is absent for vSV. The character and magnitude of anisotropy in the model is on average similar to PREM, with the most prominent anisotropic region occurring beneath the Tibetan Plateau.

Teleseismic Relocation and Assessment of Seismicity (1918–2005) in the Region of the 2004 Mw 9.0 Sumatra–Andaman and 2005 Mw 8.6 Nias Island Great Earthquakes

The M w 9.0 2004 Sumatra–Andaman Islands and M w 8.6 Nias Island great earthquake sequences have generated over 5000 catalog-reported earthquakes along ∼1700 km of the Sumatra–Andaman and western Sunda regions. Studies of prior regional seismicity have been limited to global catalog locations that often have poorly constrained epicenters and depths. Approximately 3650 teleseismically well- recorded earthquakes occurring in this region during the period 1918–2005 are relocated with special attention to focal depth. Reduced uncertainties of epicenters and depths in the region (on the order of 15 and 10 km, respectively) foster interpretation of focal mechanism data and provide additional details about the subducting Indian and Australian plates. The revised earthquake dataset reveals a sharp delineation between aftershocks of the 2004 and 2005 earthquakes near Simeulue Island and a steepening in slab dip from south to north. The downdip width of the aftershock zone of the 2004 M w 9.0 earthquake varies from ∼200 km at its northern end to ∼275 km at its southern end, and events located between 35 and 70 km focal depth occur more frequently in the southernmost section of this aftershock zone. Outer- rise and near-trench normal and strike-slip faulting earthquakes also increase in frequency following the 2004 and 2005 earthquakes. Earthquake swarms triggered along the Andaman backarc spreading center both north of Sumatra and near Siberut Island, 100 km south of the Nias Island aftershock sequence, illustrate the complex and variable nature of seismicity following these great earthquakes.

Messinian salinity crisis regulated by competing tectonics and erosion at the Gibraltar arc

The Messinian salinity crisis (5.96 to 5.33 million years ago) was caused by reduced water inflow from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea resulting in widespread salt precipitation and a decrease in Mediterranean sea level of about 1.5 kilometres due to evaporation. The reduced connectivity between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the time of the salinity crisis is thought to have resulted from tectonic uplift of the Gibraltar arc seaway and global sea-level changes, both of which control the inflow of water required to compensate for the hydrological deficit of the Mediterranean. However, the different timescales on which tectonic uplift and changes in sea level occur are difficult to reconcile with the long duration of the shallow connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic needed to explain the large amount of salt precipitated. Here we use numerical modelling to show that seaway erosion caused by the Atlantic inflow could sustain such a shallow connection between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean by counteracting tectonic uplift. The erosion and uplift rates required are consistent with previous mountain erosion studies, with the present altitude of marine sediments in the Gibraltar arc and with geodynamic models suggesting a lithospheric slab tear underneath the region. The moderate Mediterranean sea-level drawdown during the early stages of the Messinian salinity crisis can be explained by an uplift of a few millimetres per year counteracted by similar rates of erosion due to Atlantic inflow. Our findings suggest that the competition between uplift and erosion can result in harmonic coupling between erosion and the Mediterranean sea level, providing an alternative mechanism for the cyclicity observed in early salt precipitation deposits and calling into question previous ideas regarding the timing of the events that occurred during the Messinian salinity crisis.

Three-dimensional velocity structure of the Kilauea caldera, Hawaii

High-resolution velocity models (0.5 km resolution) of the Kilauea caldera region are obtained by the tomographic inversion of both P- and S-wave arrival times. Data are from the permanent Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) seismic network, a broadband seismic network, and a temporary array of stations centered on the southern boundary of the caldera. A low-velocity P-wave anomaly is imaged centered on the southeastern edge of the caldera, with a velocity contrast of about 10% and a volume of 27 km³. The VP/VS model mimics the spatial extent of the P-wave anomaly, but is partitioned into two discrete anomalous volumes centered on the southern boundary of the caldera and on the upper east rift of the volcano. The corresponding Poissons ratio in these zones is high (ν=0.25–0.32) which is consistent with a densely-cracked, hot volume which may contain partial melt. The large-scale features of the models are consistent with results obtained from an earlier, larger-scale (2 km resolution) tomographic image of Kilauea Volcano based on HVO network data.

Crustal-scale cross-sections across the NW Zagros belt: implications for the Arabian margin reconstruction

Quantified balanced and restored crustal cross-sections across the NW Zagros Mountains are presented in this work integrating geological and geophysical local and global datasets. The balanced crustal cross-section reproduces the surficial folding and thrusting of the thick cover succession, including the near top of the Sarvak Formation (~90 Ma) that forms the top of the restored crustal cross-section. The base of the Arabian crust in the balanced cross-section is constrained by recently published seismic receiver function results showing a deepening of the Moho from 42 ± 2 km in the undeformed foreland basin to 56 ± 2 km beneath the High Zagros. The internal parts of the deformed crustal cross-section are constrained by new seismic tomographic sections imaging a ~50° NE-dipping sharp contact between the Arabian and Iranian crusts. These surfaces bound an area of 10800 km 2 that should be kept constant during the Zagros orogeny. The Arabian crustal cross-section is restored using six different tectonosedimentary domains according to their sedimentary facies and palaeobathymetries, and assuming Airy isostasy and area conservation. While the two southwestern domains were directly determined from well-constrained surface data, the reconstruction of the distal domains to the NE was made using the recent margin model of Wrobel-Daveau et al . (2010) and fitting the total area calculated in the balanced cross-section. The Arabian continental–oceanic boundary, at the time corresponding to the near top of the Sarvak Formation, is located 169 km to the NE of the trace of the Main Recent Fault. Shortening is estimated at ~180 km for the cover rocks and ~149 km for the Arabian basement, including all compressional events from Late Cretaceous to Recent time, with an average shortening rate of ~2 mm yr −1 for the last 90 Ma.

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of Mt. Etna, Italy

The three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of Mt. Etna is determined to depths of 15 km by tomographic inversion of first arrival times from local earthquakes recorded by a network of 29 permanent and temporary seismographs. Results show a near-vertical low-velocity zone that extends from beneath the central craters to a depth of 10 km. This low-velocity region is coincident with a band of steeply-dipping seismicity, suggesting a magmatic conduit that feeds the summit eruptions. The most prominent structure is an approximately 8-km-diameter high-velocity body located between 2 and 12 km depth below the southeast flank of the volcano. This high-velocity body is interpreted as a remnant mafic intrusion that is an important structural feature influencing both volcanism and east flank slope stability and faulting.

High-resolution imaging of the Pyrenees and Massif Central from the data of the PYROPE and IBERARRAY portable array deployments

The lithospheric structures beneath the Pyrenees, which holds the key to settle long-standing controversies regarding the opening of the Bay of Biscay and the formation of the Pyrenees, are still poorly known. The temporary PYROPE and IBERARRAY experiments have recently filled a strong deficit of seismological stations in this part of western Europe, offering a new and unique opportunity to image crustal and mantle structures with unprecedented resolution. Here we report the results of the first tomographic study of the Pyrenees relying on this rich data set. The important aspects of our tomographic study are the precision of both absolute and relative traveltime measurements obtained by a nonlinear simulated annealing waveform fit and the detailed crustal model that has been constructed to compute accurate crustal corrections. Beneath the Massif Central, the most prominent feature is a widespread slow anomaly that reflects a strong thermal anomaly resulting from the thinning of the lithosphere and upwelling of the asthenosphere. Our tomographic images clearly exclude scenarios involving subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath the Pyrenees. In contrast, they reveal the segmentation of lithospheric structures, mainly by two major lithospheric faults, the Toulouse fault in the central Pyrenees and the Pamplona fault in the western Pyrenees. These inherited Hercynian faults were reactivated during the Cretaceous rifting of the Aquitaine and Iberian margins and during the Cenozoic Alpine convergence. Therefore, the Pyrenees can be seen as resulting from the tectonic inversion of a segmented continental rift that was buried by subduction beneath the European plate.

Pn and Sn tomography across Eurasia to improve regional seismic event locations

Abstract This paper has three motivations: first, to map P n and S n velocities beneath most of Eurasia to reveal information on a length scale relevant to regional tectonics, second, to test recently constructed 3-D mantle models and, third, to develop and test a method to produce P n and S n travel time correction surfaces which are the 3-D analogue of travel time curves for a 1-D model. Our third motive is inspired by the need to improve regional location capabilities in monitoring nuclear treaties such as the nuclear Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). To a groomed version of the ISC/NEIC data, we apply the tomographic method of Barmin et al. [Pure Appl. Geophys. (2001)], augmented to include station and event corrections and an epicentral distance correction. The P n and S n maps are estimated on a 1°×1° grid throughout Eurasia. We define the phases P n and S n as arriving between epicentral distances of 3° and 15°. After selection, the resulting data set consists of about 1,250,000 P n and 420,000 S n travel times distributed inhomogeneously across Eurasia. The rms misfit to the entire Eurasian data set from the P n and S n model increases nearly linearly with distance and averages about 1.6 s for P n and 3.2 s for S n , but is better for events that occurred on several nuclear test sites and for selected high-quality data subsets. The P n and S n maps compare favorably with recent 3-D models of P and S in the uppermost mantle and with recently compiled teleseismic station corrections across the region. The most intriguing features on the maps are the low-velocity anomalies that characterize most tectonically deformed regions such as the anomaly across central and southern Asia and the Middle East that extends along a tortuous path from Turkey in the west to Lake Baikal in the east. These anomalies are related to the closing of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the collision of India with Asia. The uppermost mantle beneath the Pacific Rim back-arc is also very slow, presumably due to upwelling that results from back-arc spreading, as is the Red Sea rift, the Tyrrhenian Sea and other regions undergoing active extension.