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A double Benioff Zone beneath the central Aleutians: An unbending of the lithosphere
Author(s) -
Engdahl E. R.,
Scholz C. H.
Publication year - 1977
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/gl004i010p00473
Subject(s) - lithosphere , geology , seismology , induced seismicity , merge (version control) , seismometer , compression (physics) , tension (geology) , geophysics , tectonics , materials science , information retrieval , computer science , composite material
Seismicity located using the Adak seismograph network shows the Benioff zone below a depth of 100 km consists of two thin zones of earthquakes about 25 km apart that merge at a depth of 175 km. Focal mechanisms in the upper zone are consistently down‐dip compression, while those of the lower zone are down‐dip tension. An elastic‐plastic model of the lithosphere predicts that these two zones reflect the stresses in the elastic core of the lithosphere due to unbending.