an earthquake doublet shook the southwestern part of Iceland. The first main shock originated beneath Mt Ingólfsfjall, located near the western margin of the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) approximately 40 km east of the capital Reykjavík. Immediate aftershock activity was recorded by the SIL seismic network, operated by the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), with both N-S and E-W structures illuminated over a broad area. A continuous GPS (CGPS) network, also operated by the IMO, recorded coseismic offsets with up to 200 mm of horizontal motion at the closest stations. We estimate the coseismic surface deformation observed by campaign and continuous GPS and satellite radar data (InSAR). We invert the geodetic data to find the optimal geometry, location and slip on the main faults, accounting for variation in the elastic parameters of the crust with depth. Our models indicate that most of the slip occurred on two N-S structures spaced ∼5 km apart. From a joint inversion of GPS and InSAR data for variable slip models we find that most of the slip for the first (Ingólfsfjall) event was concentrated at 2-4 km depth with a maximum of 1.9 m, whereas the slip on the second (Kross) fault was located deeper, at 3-6 km depth with up to 1.4 m of motion. The models give similar geodetic moments for the two main events, equivalent to a moment magnitude of M w 5.8 and M w 5.9 for the first and second event, respectively. Our estimated composite moment therefore equals a M w 6.1 for the doublet, smaller than the M w 6.3 estimated from teleseismic data (e.g. NEIC and Harvard).The geodetic data support rupture on two main faults and analysis of high-rate (1 Hz) CGPS data suggests that slip on the second fault initiated within 3 s of the first main shock. Static Coulomb failure stress calculations indicate that the first event caused a stress increase in the area of the main asperity (i.e. at the location of the largest slip patch) on the second fault. However, we cannot rule out dynamic stress triggering due to the short time between the two main events. The 2008 May 29 earthquake doublet appears to be a continuation of the earthquake sequence that started in 2000 June, when two M w 6.5 events struck the eastern and central part of the South Iceland Seismic Zone, in the span of 81 hr. The 2000 June-2008 May sequence has released about half of the moment accumulated by plate motion since the previous earthquake sequence in [1896][1897][1898][1899][1900][1901][1902][1903][1904][1905][1906][1907][1908][1909][1910][1911][1912]. Therefore, continued earthquake activity with moderate size events rupturing N-S faults in the SISZ in the coming decades is likely.

Abstract. Methane seepage occurs across the western Svalbard margin at water depths ranging from < 300 m, landward from the shelf break, to > 1000 m in regions just a few kilometres from the mid-ocean ridges in the Fram Strait. The mechanisms controlling seepage remain elusive. The Vestnesa sedimentary ridge, located on oceanic crust at a depth of 1000–1700 m, hosts a perennial gas hydrate and associated free gas system. The restriction of the occurrence of acoustic flares to the eastern segment of the sedimentary ridge, despite the presence of pockmarks along the entire ridge, indicates a spatial variation in seepage activity. This variation coincides with a change in the faulting pattern as well as in the characteristics of the fluid flow features. Due to the position of the Vestnesa Ridge with respect to the Molloy and Knipovich mid-ocean ridges, it has been suggested that seepage along the ridge has a tectonic control. We modelled the tectonic stress regime due to oblique spreading along the Molloy and Knipovich ridges to investigate whether spatial variations in the tectonic regime along the Vestnesa Ridge are plausible. The model predicts a zone of tensile stress that extends northward from the Knipovich Ridge and encompasses the zone of acoustic flares on the eastern Vestnesa Ridge. In this zone the orientation of the maximum principal stress is parallel to pre-existing faults. The model predicts a strike-slip stress regime in regions with pockmarks where acoustic flares have not been documented. If a certain degree of coupling is assumed between deep crustal and near-surface deformation, it is possible that ridge-push forces have influenced seepage activity in the region by interacting with the pore-pressure regime at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. More abundant seepage on the eastern Vestnesa Ridge at present may be facilitated by the dilation of faults and fractures favourably oriented with respect to the stress field. A modified state of stress in the past, due to more significant glacial stress for instance, may explain vigorous seepage activity along the entire Vestnesa Ridge. The contribution of other mechanisms to the state of stress (i.e. sedimentary loading and lithospheric flexure) remain to be investigated. Our study provides a first-order assessment of how tectonic stresses may be influencing the kinematics of near-surface faults and associated seepage activity offshore of the western Svalbard margin.

S U M M A R YWe use annual GPS observations on the Reykjanes Peninsula (RP) from 2000 to 2006 to generate maps of surface velocities and strain rates across the active plate boundary. We find that the surface deformation on the RP is consistent with oblique plate boundary motion on a regional scale, although considerable temporal and spatial strain rate variations are observed within the plate boundary zone. A small, but consistent increase in eastward velocity is observed at several stations on the southern part of the peninsula, compared to the 1993-1998 time period. The 2000-2006 velocities can be modelled by approximating the plate boundary as a series of vertical dislocations with left-lateral motion and opening. For the RP plate boundary we estimate left-lateral motion 18 +4 −3 mm yr −1 and opening of 7 +3 −2 mm yr −1 below a locking depth of 7 +1 −2 km. The resulting deep motion of 20 +4 −3 mm yr −1 in the direction of N(100 +8 −6 ) • E agrees well with the predicted relative North America-Eurasia rate. We calculate the areal and shear strain rates using velocities from two periods: 1993-1998 and 2000-2006. The deep motion along the plate boundary results in left-lateral shear strain rates, which are perturbed by shallow deformation due to the 1994-1998 inflation and elevated seismicity in the HengillHrómundartindur volcanic system, geothermal fluid extraction at the Svartsengi power plant, and possibly earthquake activity on the central part of the peninsula.

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[1] We investigate the seismicity and the state of stress along the obliquely divergent Reykjanes Peninsula plate boundary and compare the directions of stress from inversion of earthquake focal mechanisms with the directions of strain rate from GPS data. The seismicity on the peninsula since early instrumental recordings in 1926 shows a systematic change from primarily earthquake swarms in the west to main shock-aftershock sequences in the east. The largest earthquakes on the Reykjanes Peninsula typically occur by right-lateral slip on N-S faults and reach magnitude 6 on the eastern part of the peninsula. During 1997-2006 most earthquakes on the Reykjanes Peninsula were located in two areas, Fagradalsfjall and Krísuvík on the central part of the peninsula, as recorded by the South Iceland Lowland (SIL) seismic network. The state of stress estimated by inversion of microearthquake focal mechanisms from the SIL catalogue is mainly oblique strike slip, with a tendency toward a normal stress state. Mapping the directions of the least compressive horizontal stress (S hmin ) shows an average S hmin direction of N(120±6)°E and a remarkable agreement with the directions of greatest extensional strain rate ( _ Hmax ) derived from GPS velocities during [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006]. The agreement between the directions of stress at depth and strain rate observed at the surface indicate that the earthquakes are primarily driven by plate motion.Citation: Keiding, M., B. Lund, and T. Á rnadóttir (2009), Earthquakes, stress, and strain along an obliquely divergent plate boundary: Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland,