Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone
Abstract The Hikurangi subduction zone is capable of producing moderate to large earthquakes as well as regularly repeating slow slip events. However, it is unclear what structures host these different slip styles along the margin. Here we address whether splay faults can host seismic slip at shallo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GC009638 |
| _version_ | 1827771611159199744 |
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| author | Genevieve L. Coffey Heather M. Savage Pratigya J. Polissar Francesca Meneghini Matt J. Ikari Åke Fagereng Julia K. Morgan Maomao Wang |
| author_facet | Genevieve L. Coffey Heather M. Savage Pratigya J. Polissar Francesca Meneghini Matt J. Ikari Åke Fagereng Julia K. Morgan Maomao Wang |
| author_sort | Genevieve L. Coffey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Hikurangi subduction zone is capable of producing moderate to large earthquakes as well as regularly repeating slow slip events. However, it is unclear what structures host these different slip styles along the margin. Here we address whether splay faults can host seismic slip at shallow (<1 km) depth by investigating the Pāpaku fault, sampled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 375. We use biomarker thermal maturity to search for evidence of frictional heating within turbiditic sediments of the Pāpaku fault. Four zones of localized high temperature are found near the top of the fault zone, which are interpreted to be zones of localized seismic slip. Thermal modeling shows that the most likely maximum displacement on the shallow Pāpaku fault during each event was 14–17 m. Our results demonstrate that the Pāpaku fault, and potentially other splay faults along the margin, host coseismic slip and have the potential to produce large tsunami (e.g., runup heights of >1 m as observed in the 1947 Poverty and Tolaga Bay earthquakes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:56:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b7dd37af7d344459aa0f502eed9bd57 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1525-2027 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:56:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b7dd37af7d344459aa0f502eed9bd572023-11-03T17:00:37ZengWileyGeochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems1525-20272021-08-01228n/an/a10.1029/2021GC009638Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction ZoneGenevieve L. Coffey0Heather M. Savage1Pratigya J. Polissar2Francesca Meneghini3Matt J. Ikari4Åke Fagereng5Julia K. Morgan6Maomao Wang7GNS Science, Earth Structure and Processes Lower Hutt New ZealandDivision of Earth and Planetary Sciences University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USADivision of Earth and Planetary Sciences University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz CA USADepartment of Earth Sciences University of Pisa Pisa ItalyMARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences University of Bremen Bremen GermanySchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences Cardiff University Cardiff UKDepartment of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Rice University Houston TX USACollege of Oceanography Hohai University Nanjing ChinaAbstract The Hikurangi subduction zone is capable of producing moderate to large earthquakes as well as regularly repeating slow slip events. However, it is unclear what structures host these different slip styles along the margin. Here we address whether splay faults can host seismic slip at shallow (<1 km) depth by investigating the Pāpaku fault, sampled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 375. We use biomarker thermal maturity to search for evidence of frictional heating within turbiditic sediments of the Pāpaku fault. Four zones of localized high temperature are found near the top of the fault zone, which are interpreted to be zones of localized seismic slip. Thermal modeling shows that the most likely maximum displacement on the shallow Pāpaku fault during each event was 14–17 m. Our results demonstrate that the Pāpaku fault, and potentially other splay faults along the margin, host coseismic slip and have the potential to produce large tsunami (e.g., runup heights of >1 m as observed in the 1947 Poverty and Tolaga Bay earthquakes.https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GC009638Hikurangiearthquaketsunamibiomarkerfrictional heatingseismic hazard |
| spellingShingle | Genevieve L. Coffey Heather M. Savage Pratigya J. Polissar Francesca Meneghini Matt J. Ikari Åke Fagereng Julia K. Morgan Maomao Wang Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems Hikurangi earthquake tsunami biomarker frictional heating seismic hazard |
| title | Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone |
| title_full | Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone |
| title_fullStr | Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone |
| title_short | Evidence of Seismic Slip on a Large Splay Fault in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone |
| title_sort | evidence of seismic slip on a large splay fault in the hikurangi subduction zone |
| topic | Hikurangi earthquake tsunami biomarker frictional heating seismic hazard |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GC009638 |
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