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Along‐strike variability in the seismogenic zone below Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Author(s) -
Newman A. V.,
Schwartz S. Y.,
Gonzalez V.,
DeShon H. R.,
Protti J. M.,
Dorman L. M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl015409
Subject(s) - geology , subduction , seismology , oceanic crust , crust , peninsula , transition zone , tectonics , geophysics , geography , archaeology
At the subduction zone in northwestern Costa Rica, the seismogenic zone lies directly beneath the Nicoya Peninsula, allowing for near source seismic studies of earthquake activity. We located 650 earthquakes along the seismogenic plate interface using a dense seismic network in the vicinity of the Nicoya Peninsula. Using these data we constrained the updip limit of the seismogenic zone there and found a transition in depth, 10 km in the south to 20 km in the north, that occurs where the subducting oceanic crust changes from warmer Cocos‐Nazca Spreading center (CNS) origin to colder East Pacific Rise (EPR) origin. We argue that the temperature of the incoming oceanic crust controls the seismogenic updip limit beneath Nicoya, Costa Rica; subducting colder oceanic crust deepens the seismogenic updip limit.