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The 2006 slow slip event and nonvolcanic tremor in the Mexican subduction zone
Author(s) -
Kostoglodov Vladimir,
Husker Allen,
Shapiro Nikolai M.,
Payero Juan S.,
Campillo Michel,
Cotte Nathalie,
Clayton Robert
Publication year - 2010
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 - 10.1029/2010gl045424
Subject(s) - subduction , episodic tremor and slip , geology , seismology , slip (aerodynamics) , slow earthquake , seismic energy , tectonics , interplate earthquake , physics , thermodynamics
The last decade featured an explosive sequence of discoveries of slow slip events (SSE) and nonvolcanic tremor (NVT) in different subduction zones and continental faults. Many observations show that SSE is usually associated with an increased NVT activity but it is not clear yet if those events are the result of the same process or are independent expressions of a common underlying seismotectonic source. A large SSE in Central Mexico occurred in 2006 during the Meso‐American Subduction Experiment (MASE) which provided continuous observations of the NVT for the years 2005–2007. GPS and abundant seismic data show that although the NVT energy increased notably during the 2006 SSE, the two phenomena were separated spatially and not completely synchronized in time. Significant NVT episodes occur during the period between SSEs, suggesting again that large slow slip events and NVT observed in the Mexican subduction zone are of different origins. The results presented here contribute to uncovering the nature of these two separate phenomena that have been indistinguishable in some other regions.