Two volcanic tsunami events caused by trapdoor faulting at a submerged
caldera near Curtis and Cheeseman Islands in the Kermadec Arc
Abstract
Two unusual submarine earthquakes (Mw 5.8) occurred near volcanic
islands, called Curtis and Cheeseman, in the Kermadec Arc in 2009 and
2017. Following both earthquakes, similar tsunamis with wave heights of
about a meter, that are disproportionate to their moderate seismic
magnitudes, were observed by coastal tide gauges. We investigate the
source mechanism for both earthquakes by analyzing tsunami and seismic
data of the 2017 event. Preliminary analysis of tsunami data indicates
that the earthquake uplifted a submerged caldera around the islands.
Source modeling using tsunami and seismic data reveals that a trapdoor
faulting, involving ring-faulting and deformation of an underlying magma
reservoir, occurred due to magma overpressure in the reservoir, possibly
in association with caldera resurgence. The relationship between the
maximum fault slip and the seismic magnitude for trapdoor faulting
events found at global calderas is different from that for regular
earthquakes, reflecting the peculiarity of the volcanic earthquakes.