On 12 September 2007, an Mw8.4 earthquake occurred within the southern section of the Mentawai segment of the Sumatra subduction zone, where the subduction thrust had previously ruptured in 1833 and 1797. Traveltime data obtained from a temporary local seismic network, deployed between December 2007 and October 2008 to record the aftershocks of the 2007 event, was used to determine two‐dimensional (2‐D) and three‐dimensional (3‐D) velocity models of the Mentawai segment. The seismicity distribution reveals significant activity along the subduction interface and within two clusters in the overriding plate either side of the forearc basin. The downgoing slab is clearly distinguished by a dipping region of highVp (8.0 km/s), which can be a traced to ∼50 km depth, with an increased Vp/Vs ratio (1.75 to 1.90) beneath the islands and the western side of the forearc basin, suggesting hydrated oceanic crust. Above the slab, a shallow continental Moho of less than 30 km depth can be inferred, suggesting that the intersection of the continental mantle with the subducting slab is much shallower than the downdip limit of the seismogenic zone despite localized serpentinization being present at the toe of the mantle wedge. The outer arc islands are characterized by low Vp (4.5–5.8 km/s) and high Vp/Vs (greater than 2.0), suggesting that they consist of fluid saturated sediments. The very low rigidity of the outer forearc contributed to the slow rupture of the Mw 7.7 Mentawai tsunami earthquake on 25 October 2010.

Knowledge of seismic velocities in the seismogenic part of subduction zones can reveal how material properties may influence large ruptures. Observations of aftershocks that followed the 2010 M w 8.8 Maule, Chile earthquake provide an exceptional dataset to examine the physical properties of a megathrust rupture zone. We manually analysed aftershocks from onshore seismic stations and ocean bottom seismometers to derive a 3-D velocity model of the rupture zone using local earthquake tomography. From the trench to the magmatic arc, our velocity model illuminates the main features within the subduction zone. We interpret an east-dipping high P-wave velocity anomaly (>6.9 km/s) as the subducting oceanic crust and a low P-wave velocity (<6.25 km/s) in the marine forearc as the accretionary complex. We find two large P-wave velocity anomalies (∼7.8 km/s) beneath the coastline. These velocities indicate an ultramafic composition, possibly related to extension and a mantle upwelling during the Triassic. We assess the role played by physical heterogeneity in governing megathrust behaviour. Greatest slip during the Maule earthquake occurred in areas of moderate P-wave velocity (6.5-7.5 km/s), where the interface is structurally more uniform. At shallow depths, high fluid pressure likely influenced the up-dip limit of seismic activity. The high velocity bodies lie above portions of the plate interface where there was reduced coseismic slip and minimal postseismic activity. The northern velocity anomaly may have acted as a structural discontinuity within the forearc, influencing the pronounced crustal seismicity in the Pichilemu region. Our work provides evidence for how the ancient geological structure of the forearc may influence the seismic behaviour of subduction megathrusts.

On February 27th 2010, a MW8.8 earthquake struck the coast of south‐central Chile, rupturing ∼500 km along the subduction interface. Here we estimate the amount of seismically‐released afterslip (SRA) and the mechanisms underlying the distribution of aftershocks of this megathrust earthquake. We employ data from a temporary local network to perform regional moment tensor (RMT) inversions. Additionally, we relocate global centroid‐moment‐tensor (GCMT) solutions, assembling a unified catalog covering the time period from the mainshock to March 2012. We find that most (70%) of the aftershocks with MW> 4 correspond to thrust events occurring on the megathrust plane, in areas of moderate co‐seismic slip between 0.15 and 0.7 fraction of the maximum slip (Smax). In particular, a concentration of aftershocks is observed between the main patches of co‐seismic slip, where the highest values of SRA are observed (1.7 m). On the other hand, small events, MW< 4, occur in the areas of largest co‐seismic slip (>0.85 Smax), likely related to processes in the damage zone surrounding the megathrust plane. Our study provides insight into the mechanics of the seismic afterslip pattern of this large megathrust earthquake and a quantitative approach to the distribution of aftershocks relative to coseismic slip that can be used for similar studies in other tectonic settings.

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