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\begin{document}

\title{Tectonic Context of the August 2021 South Sandwich Islands Earthquake
Sequence: Plate Boundary Geometry and Kinematics at Active STEPs}



\author[1]{Rob Govers}%
\author[1]{Taco Broerse}%
\author[2]{Matthew Herman}%
\affil[1]{Utrecht University, The Netherlands}%
\affil[2]{CalState Bakersfield, CA}%


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  \date{May 18, 2024}


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\begin{abstract}
Most of the seismic moment release of the complex earthquake sequence
beneath the South Sandwich Islands occurred on the central part of the
SS megathrust. Significant aftershock activity indicates that the
central and southern megathrust was subsequently activated, i.e., where
young South America lithosphere is subducted. Seismic activity thus
seems to have been restricted by the lateral termination in the south of
the SS Trench. ~ Relatively little energy release occurred on the
northern part of the megathrust. It was hypothesized by Govers and
Wortel (2005) that here the South America slab breaks away from the
surface part of the plate at the active STEP. Geochemical observations
and earthquake P-axes orientations do not seem to agree with the
hypothesis and we investigate the cause. ~ We show results of new
physical analog lab models that aim to elucidate what controls the
geometry of the lithospheric STEP Fault. We study lithospheric tearing
in the process of STEP evolution, which is dynamically driven by the
buoyancy of the subducting slab. In our experiments,~the lithosphere as
well as asthenosphere are viscoelastic media in a free subduction setup.
A stress-dependent rheology plays a major role in localization of strain
in tearing processes of lithosphere such as slab break-off. The results
show that the highly curved northern plate boundary is a STEP Fault
following from lithospheric tearing at a depth of
\textasciitilde{}100km. This is a modification of the original STEP
model of Govers and Wortel (2005). This is consistent with available
observations along the northern Sandwich plate boundary, and likely
exists in other STEP regions. The region's largest recorded event, the
1929 Mw 8.3 earthquake, may reflect horizontal extension perpendicular
to the STEP fault, which is also expected based on our experiments.%
\end{abstract}%



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