scholarly journals Slow slip events and the 2016 Te AraroaMw7.1 earthquake interaction: Northern Hikurangi subduction, New Zealand

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (16) ◽  
pp. 8336-8344 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Koulali ◽  
S. McClusky ◽  
L. Wallace ◽  
S. Allgeyer ◽  
P. Tregoning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events ◽  
Earthquake Interaction

scholarly journals Using low-frequency earthquakes to monitor slow tectonic deformation in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Laura-May Baratin Wachten
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Matched Filter ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Focal Mechanisms ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events ◽  
Event Time ◽  
Alpine Fault ◽  
Occurrence Patterns

<p>This thesis involves the study of low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) in the central Southern Alps. The Alpine Fault is the principal locus of deformation within the Australia–Pacific plate boundary in the South Island of New Zealand and it is late in its typical ∼300-year seismic cycle. Surveying the seismicity associated with slow deformation in the vicinity of the Alpine Fault may provide constraints on the stresses acting on a major transpressive margin prior to an anticipated great (≥M8) earthquake. Here, we use 8 years of data from the Southern Alps Microearthquake Borehole Array (SAMBA) (amongst those, 3 years of data were collected as part of this project) in order to: (1) generate an updated LFE catalogue using an improved matched-filter technique that incorporates phase-weighted stacking; (2) compute LFE focal mechanisms and invert them to infer the crustal stress field on the deep extent of the Alpine Fault; (3) expand the LFE catalogue to cover a wider range of spatial/temporal behaviours; (4) study LFE families’ characteristics to identify periods where slow slip might happen.  We first use fourteen primary LFE templates in an iterative matched-filter and stacking routine, which allows the detection of similar signals and produces LFE families sharing common locations. We generate an 8-yr catalogue containing 10,000 LFEs that are combined for each of the 14 LFE families using phase-weighted stacking to produce signals with the highest possible signal-to-noise ratios. We find LFEs to occur almost continuously during the 8-yr study period and we highlight two types of LFE distributions: (1) discrete behaviour with an inter-event time exceeding 2 minutes; (2) burst-like behaviour with an inter-event time below 2 minutes. The discrete events are interpreted as small-scale frequent deformation on the deep extent of the Alpine Fault and the LFE bursts (corresponding in most cases to known episodes of tremor or large regional earthquakes) are interpreted as brief periods of increased slip activity indicative of slow slip. We compute improved non-linear earthquake locations using a 3D velocity model and find LFEs to occur below the seismogenic zone at depths of 17–42 km, on or near the hypothesised deep extent of the Alpine Fault. We then compute the first estimates of LFE focal mechanisms associated with continental faulting. Focal mechanisms, in conjunction with recurrence intervals, are consistent with quasi-continuous shear faulting on the deep extent of the Alpine Fault.  We then generate a new catalogue that regroups hundreds of LFE families. This time 638 synthetic LFE waveforms are generated using a 3D grid and used as primary templates in a matched-filter routine. Of those, 529 templates yield enough detections during the first iteration of the matched-filter routine (≥ 500 detections over the 8-yr study period) and are kept for further analysis. We then use the best 25% of correlated events for each LFE family to generate linear stacks which create new LFE templates. From there, we run a second and final iteration of the matched-filter routine with the new LFE templates to obtain our final LFE catalogue. The remaining 529 templates detect between 150 and 1,671 events each totalling 300,996 detections over the 8-yr study period. Of those 529 LFEs, we manage to locate 378 families. Their depths range between 11 and 60 km and LFEs locate mainly in the southern part of the SAMBA network. We finally examine individual LFE family rates and occurrence patterns. They indicate that LFE sources seem to evolve from an episodic or ‘stepped’ to a continuous behaviour with depth. This transition may correspond to an evolution from a stick-slip to a stable-sliding slip regime. Hence, we propose that the distinctive features of LFE occurrence patterns reflect variations in the in-situ stress and frictional conditions at the individual LFE source locations on the Alpine Fault.  Finally, we use this new extensive catalogue as a tool for in-depth analyses of the deep central Alpine Fault structure and its slip behaviour. We identify eight episodes of increased LFE activity between 2009 and 2017 and provide time windows for further investigations of tremor and slow slip. We also study the spatial and temporal behaviours of LFEs and find that LFEs with synchronous occurrence patterns tend to be clustered in space. We thus suggest that individual LFE sources form spatially coherent clusters that may represent localised asperities or elastic patches on the deep Alpine Fault interface. We infer that those clusters may have a similar rheological response to tectonic forcing or to potential slow slip events. Eventually, we discover slow (10km/day) and rapid (∼20-25km/h) migrations of LFEs along the Alpine Fault. The slow migration might be controlled by slow slip events themselves while the rapid velocities could be explained by the LFE sources’ intrinsic properties.</p>

scholarly journals A preliminary catalogue of Hikurangi, New Zealand, Slow Slip Earthquakes, from January 2000 to February 2014

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
B. Peter Baxter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Processing Route ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events ◽  
Slip Rates ◽  
The North ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Significant Step

<p>This thesis documents processing carried out on cGPS data from 115 sites in the North Island and the top of the South Island of New Zealand in order to produce a catalogue of slow slip events (SSEs) for the Hikurangi Margin covering the period Jan 2000 to Feb 2014. It covers the background to the concept of SSEs and the reporting to date on their occurrence along the Margin, the methods used in the processing and analysis, the results of each significant step, and discussion of the results.  It has been shown that the processing route adopted in this work has reduced the average noise levels in the cGPS data by up to 67%, and has eliminated virtually all correlated (“pink”) noise, thus enabling the detection of small-amplitude events (~ 2mm in cGPS signals).  One hundred and fifty events are catalogued in total, of which 137 are considered likely to be SSEs or similar. The catalogue includes estimates of the uncertainty in each parameter and is thus considered the most comprehensive to date. Sixteen of the inversion results were able to be directly compared with published information and showed satisfactory agreement on location and equivalent moment magnitudes.  The important aspects of the project that have been developed further than has been documented to date in the literature include: partitioning of the secular velocity field over the margin to allow the underlying tectonic signal to be better understood; detailed characterization of the temporal evolution of the SSEs; the identification of approximately 40 events that show slips in the opposite direction to that expected; and some preliminary conclusions concerning event scaling.  One of the objectives of the project was to identify whether there were fundamental differences in the characteristics of SSEs in the northeast and southwest of the margin. On the basis of the analyses to date, it appears that the events form a continuum, at least in terms of depth, temporal evolution, source slip rates and scaling, but in general terms the events in the southwest have been confirmed to be of longer duration than those in the northeast.  The project has identified further work that needs to be carried out or is ongoing in order to maximize the value of these new results.</p>

Three‐Dimensional Modeling of Spontaneous and Triggered Slow‐Slip Events at the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (12) ◽  
pp. 13250-13268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bunichiro Shibazaki ◽  
Laura M. Wallace ◽  
Yoshihiro Kaneko ◽  
Ian Hamling ◽  
Yoshihiro Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events ◽  
Three Dimensional Modeling ◽  
Dimensional Modeling

scholarly journals Seismic reflection character of the Hikurangi subduction interface, New Zealand, in the region of repeated Gisborne slow slip events

2010 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Bell ◽  
Rupert Sutherland ◽  
Daniel H. N. Barker ◽  
Stuart Henrys ◽  
Stephen Bannister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events

Slow Slip Events in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The North ◽  
Interseismic Coupling ◽  
Natural Laboratory

Continuously operating global positioning system sites in the North Island of New Zealand have revealed a diverse range of slow motion earthquakes on the Hikurangi subduction zone. These slow slip events (SSEs) exhibit diverse characteristics, from shallow (<15 km), short (<1 month), frequent (every 1–2 years) events in the northern part of the subduction zone to deep (>30 km), long (>1 year), less frequent (approximately every 5 years) SSEs in the southern part of the subduction zone. Hikurangi SSEs show intriguing relationships to interseismic coupling, seismicity, and tectonic tremor, and they exhibit a diversity of interactions with large, regional earthquakes. Due to the marked along-strike variations in Hikurangi SSE characteristics, which coincide with changes in physical characteristics of the subduction margin, the Hikurangi subduction zone presents a globally unique natural laboratory to resolve outstanding questions regarding the origin of episodic, slow fault slip behavior. ▪  New Zealand's Hikurangi subduction zone hosts slow slip events with a diverse range of depth, size, duration, and recurrence characteristics. ▪  Hikurangi slow slip events show intriguing relationships with seismicity ranging from small earthquakes and tremor to larger earthquakes. ▪  Slow slip events play a major role in the accommodation of plate motion at the Hikurangi subduction zone. ▪  Many aspects of the Hikurangi subduction zone make it an ideal natural laboratory to resolve the physical processes controlling slow slip.

scholarly journals Observations of Laboratory and Natural Slow Slip Events: Hikurangi Subduction Zone, New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt J. Ikari ◽  
Laura M. Wallace ◽  
Hannah S. Rabinowitz ◽  
Heather M. Savage ◽  
Ian J. Hamling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Slow Slip ◽  
Slow Slip Events
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