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A Near-Vertical Slab Tear in the Southeastern Solomon Islands
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  • Ching-Yu Cheng,
  • Hao Kuo-Chen,
  • Wei-Fang Sun,
  • Chin-Shang Ku,
  • Yu-Ting Kuo,
  • Bor-Shouh Huang,
  • Yue-Gau Chen
Ching-Yu Cheng
National Central University
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Hao Kuo-Chen
National Taiwan University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Wei-Fang Sun
National Dong Hwa University
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Chin-Shang Ku
Academia Sinica
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Yu-Ting Kuo
National Chung Cheng University
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Bor-Shouh Huang
Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
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Yue-Gau Chen
Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica
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Abstract

The Solomon Islands is one of the most seismically active areas in the southern Pacific with high earthquake hazard potential. The regional seismic network, equipped with six broadband seismic stations, was constructed as late as October 2018. On January 27 and 29, 2020, two moderate earthquakes, Mw 6.3 and 6.0, respectively, occurred in the southeastern Solomon Islands. The entire foreshock-main-shock-aftershock sequence was recorded by this seismic network for exploring the seismogenic structures. Based on the spacial distribution of the foreshock-aftershock sequence, the interaction of the subduction and transform zones between the Pacific and the Australia plates could lead to the near-vertical dip-slip tear slab. Confirmed with PREM and the new 1D velocity model for testing the robustness of the earthquake locations, a seismic gap at depths from 25 to 35 km is observed as the “jelly sandwich” rheology of the continental crust of the Australia plate.
26 May 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
01 Jun 2023Published in ESS Open Archive