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Elastic Fault Interactions and Earthquake Rupture Along the Southern Hellenic Subduction Plate Interface Zone in Greece
Author(s) -
Saltogianni Vasso,
Mouslopoulou Vasiliki,
Oncken Onno,
Nicol Andrew,
Gianniou Michail,
Mertikas Stelios
Publication year - 2020
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 - 10.1029/2019gl086604
Subject(s) - subduction , geology , seismology , episodic tremor and slip , slip (aerodynamics) , thrust , intraplate earthquake , fault (geology) , interplate earthquake , seismic gap , earthquake rupture , tectonics , physics , thermodynamics
Abstract The importance of splay‐thrust faults in subduction seismogenesis is increasingly acknowledged; however, their elastic interaction with the plate interface remains unclear. Here, we use GPS velocities, constrained by millennial fault slip rates, to study elastic fault‐interactions between the plate interface and its upper‐plate splay‐thrust faults from the southern Hellenic Subduction System (HSS). We find that, despite its largely aseismic character, the HSS plate interface zone is kinematically segmented, with slip rate deficits locally reaching ~85% and ~45% of the plate convergence rate on the western and eastern segments, respectively, and on structures different from those that ruptured historically. Although western Crete has been more active seismically during late Holocene, we find that the eastern HSS has higher seismic potential for large‐magnitude ( M > 6) earthquakes and its interface zone is closer to failure. Elastic fault interactions are responsible for both significant intersegment variability in strain accumulation and uniformity in earthquake rupture segmentation along the HSS over millennial timescales.