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The seismogenic zone in the Central Costa Rican Pacific margin: high-quality hypocentres from an amphibious network

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Abstract

Transition from subduction of normal to thickened oceanic crust occurs in the central portion of the Costa Rican margin, where large interplate earthquakes (M ~ 7) and abundant interseismic seismicity have been associated with subduction of bathymetric highs. We relocated ~1,300 earthquakes recorded for 6 months by a combined on- and offshore seismological network using probabilistic earthquake relocation in a 3D P-wave velocity model. Most of the seismicity originated at the seismogenic zone of the plate boundary, appearing as an 18° dipping, planar cluster from 15 to 25–30 km depth, beneath the continental shelf. Several reverse focal mechanisms were resolved within the cluster. The upper limit of this interseismic interplate seismicity seems to be controlled primarily by the overlying-plate thickness and coherency, which in turn is governed by the erosional processes and fluid release and escape at temperatures lower than ~100 to 120 °C along the plate boundary. The downdip limit of the stick–slip behaviour collocates with relative low temperatures of ~150 to 200 °C, suggesting that it is controlled by serpentinization of the mantle wedge. The distribution of the interseismic interplate seismicity is locally modified by the presence of subducted seamounts at different depths. Unlike in northern Costa Rica, rupture of large earthquakes in the last two decades seems to coincide with the area defined by the interseismic interplate seismicity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the outstanding work of the masters and crews of RV Sonne and RV Meteor during cruises SO163 and M54, respectively. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam generously provided the equipment for the temporal land network. The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad contributed excellent field support and conducted the land explosion. We appreciate valuable insights from R. Harris and L. Linkimer and technical expertise by W. Pérez, N. Zamora, and G. Leandro. Most of the figures were created with the Generic Mapping Tool (GMT) by Wessel and Smith (1998). The constructive reviews from H. DeShon and an anonymous reviewer significantly improved the manuscript. This work is contribution 232 of the SFB574 “Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones” at the University of Kiel, funded by the German Research Society (DFG).

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  1. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung (GEOMAR), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

    Ivonne G. Arroyo & Ernst R. Flueh

  2. SFB574, Kiel, Germany

    Ivonne G. Arroyo & Ernst R. Flueh

  3. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, ETH Hoenggerberg, Zurich, Switzerland

    Stephan Husen

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Correspondence to Ivonne G. Arroyo.

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Arroyo, I.G., Husen, S. & Flueh, E.R. The seismogenic zone in the Central Costa Rican Pacific margin: high-quality hypocentres from an amphibious network. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 103, 1747–1764 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-013-0955-8

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