Abstract Despite a lack of modern large earthquakes on shallowly dipping normal faults, Holocene M w > 7 low-angle normal fault (LANF; dip<30°) ruptures are preserved paleoseismically and inferred from historical earthquake and tsunami accounts. Even in well-recorded megathrust earthquakes, the effects of non-linear off-fault plasticity and dynamically reactivated splay faults on shallow deformation and surface displacements, and thus hazard, remain elusive. We develop data-constrained 3D dynamic rupture models of the active Mai’iu LANF that highlight how multiple dynamic shallow deformation mechanisms compete during large LANF earthquakes. We show that shallowly-dipping synthetic splays host more coseismic slip and limit shallow LANF rupture more than steeper antithetic splays. Inelastic hanging-wall yielding localizes into subplanar shear bands indicative of newly initiated splay faults, most prominently above LANFs with thick sedimentary basins. Dynamic splay faulting and sediment failure limit shallow LANF rupture, modulating coseismic subsidence patterns, near-shore slip velocities, and the seismic and tsunami hazards posed by LANF earthquakes.
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Late Quaternary Surface Displacements on Accretionary Wedge Splay Faults in the Cascadia Subduction Zone: Implications for Megathrust Rupture
Because splay faults branch at a steep dip angle from the plate-boundary décollement in an accretionary wedge, their coseismic displacement can potentially result in larger tsunamis with distinct characteristics compared to megathrust-only fault ruptures, posing an enhanced hazard to coastal communities. Elsewhere, there is evidence of coseismic slip on splay faults during many of the largest subduction zone earthquakes, but our understanding of potentially active splay faults and their hazards at the Cascadia subduction zone remains limited. To identify the most recently active splay faults at Cascadia, we conduct stratigraphic and structural interpretations of near-surface deformation in the outer accretionary wedge for the ~400 km along-strike length of the landward vergence zone. We analyze recently acquired high-frequency sparker seismic data and crustal-scale multi-channel seismic data to examine the record of deformation in shallow slope basins and the upper ~1 km of the surrounding accreted sediments and to investigate linkages to deeper décollement structure. We present a new fault map for widest, most completely locked portion of Cascadia from 45 to 48°N latitude, which documents the distribution of faults that show clear evidence of recent late Quaternary activity. We find widespread evidence for active splay faulting up to 30 km landward of the deformation front, in what we define as the active domain, and diminished fault activity landward outside of this zone. The abundance of surface-deforming splay faults in the active outer wedge domain suggests Cascadia megathrust events may commonly host distributed shallow rupture on multiple splay faults located within 30 km of the deformation front.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2103713
- PAR ID:
- 10521753
- Publisher / Repository:
- Seismica
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Seismica
- Volume:
- 2
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2816-9387
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Within the fore‐arc of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, there are significant along‐strike differences in the orientation of splay faults, sediment consolidation, and fault roughness. Here, we use dynamic rupture simulations of megathrust earthquakes on different realizations of a fault system that incorporate fore‐arc properties representative of offshore Oregon and Washington to estimate how splay faults may behave in future megathrust earthquakes in Cascadia. While splay faults were activated in all of our simulations, splay orientation is a primary control on slip amplitude. Seaward vergent faults accommodate significant amounts of slip resulting in large seafloor uplift and significantly larger tsunami amplitudes. For example, our median tsunami heights including splay faults are about a factor of two larger than those that did not include splay fault deformation. We suggest that there is an urgent need to revisit existing approaches to tsunami hazard assessment in Cascadia to include the influence of splay faults.
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We investigate the impact of outer-rise normal fault subduction on the structural evolution of the décollement and frontal prism in a portion of the Japan trench that hosted the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. We use seismic reflection data to map the relative occurrence of sediment accretion, sediment subduction, and frontal tectonic erosion in the shallow portion of the subduction zone and correlate these deformation styles to the magnitude of outer-rise fault throw and incoming plate sediment thickness. These data reveal spatial heterogeneity in the modes of deformation over distances of 5-10 km that necessitate correlative heterogeneity in the geometry and composition of the shallow décollement over similar length-scales. We find that sediment accretion predominantly occurs in regions where incoming plate sediment thickness is greater than fault throw. In these areas, the décollement appears to be non-planar and compositionally homogenous. Conversely, frontal tectonic erosion and slope failures are predominantly observed in regions where fault throw is greater than sediment thickness. In these areas, the décollement may be planar but compositionally heterogeneous. Additionally, spatial variations in near trench slip appear to correlate with the dominant deformation modes, suggesting that both sediment thickness and outer-rise fault throw may be important controls on shallow megathrust behavior.
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Abstract The south central Chilean margin regularly produces many of the world's largest earthquakes and tsunami, including the 2010
Mw 8.8 Maule and 1960Mw 9.5 Valdivia events. In 2017, we acquired seismic reflection data along ~1,000 km of the margin using the R/VLangseth 's 15 km long receiver array and 108.2 l (6,600 in3) seismic source to image structures associated with these ruptures. We focus on the Valdivia segment with the largest coseismic slip (~40 m). The outer 40 km of the forearc is an accretionary wedge constructed primarily of stacked sedimentary packages with irregular lengths and thicknesses and little along‐strike continuity. Forearc structures indicate that the accretionary wedge grows primarily through basal accretion of the downgoing trench fill. The décollement propagates along a weak boundary near the top of the trench fill but occasionally branches downward into the underthrust sediment along bedding horizons, peeling off slices that are underplated to the forearc. The shallow décollement level and the rarity of underplating events allow most of the trench sediment to subduct. As a result, only ~30% of the incoming sediment has been accreted since the Early Pliocene. This implies that, on average, ~1 km of sediment must subduct beyond the outer forearc, an inference that is supported by our seismic images. We propose that the thickness and great downdip and along‐strike extent of the underthrust layer, which separates the megathrust from the underlying roughness of the igneous ocean crust, ensures a smooth broad zone of strong coupling that generates the world's largest earthquakes and tsunami. -
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Abstract Inelastic wedge deformation likely plays an important role in the generation of tsunami and ocean acoustic waves in accretionary subduction margins. In an elastic dislocation model, whether or not the fault breaks the trench has a significant effect on seafloor deformation and resulting tsunami. However, this boundary condition is less important when significant inelastic deformation in the overriding wedge occurs, because large seafloor uplift can occur with little or no slip at the trench. Here we incorporate wedge plasticity in fully coupled dynamic rupture and tsunami simulations for a buried fault in the Cascadia subduction zone with realistic fault geometry, bathymetry, and velocity structure. A linearized Eulerian approach is verified and used to simulate gravity waves in the ocean. Our coupled models show that the inelastic deformation of wedge sediments can significantly contribute to seafloor uplift, producing tsunami heights at least twice as large as in purely elastic simulations, whilst generating weaker ocean acoustic and seismic waves. Inelastic wedge deformation is therefore an important mechanism to consider in tsunami hazard assessment in the Cascadia subduction zone. These results have important implications for tsunami generation and early warning in accretionary and other sediment‐filled margins worldwide.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v2i4.1158
