Large earthquakes in the macquarie ridge complex: Transitional tectonics and subduction initiation

Abstract

While most aspects of subduction have been extensively studied, the process of subduction initiation lacks an observational foundation. The Macquarie Ridge complex (MRC) forms the Pacific-Australia plate boundary between New Zealand to the north and the Pacific-Australia-Antarctica triple junction to the south. The MRC consists of alternating troughs and rises and is characterized by a transitional tectonic environment in which subduction initiation presently occurs. There is a high seismicity level with 15 large earthquakes (M > 7) in this century. Our seismological investigation is centered on the largest event since 1943: the 25 MAY 1981 earthquake. Love, Rayleigh, and P waves are inverted to find: a faulting geometry of right-lateral strike-slip along the local trend of the Macquarie Ridge (N30~ a seismic moment of 5 x 1027 dyn cm (M w = 7.7); a double event rupture process with a fault length of less than 100 km to the southwest of the epicenter and a fault depth of less than 20 km. Three smaller thrust earthquakes occurred previous to the 1981 event along the 1981 rupture zone; their shallow-dipping thrust planes are virtually adjacent to the 1981 vertical fault plane. Oblique convergence in this region is thus accommodated by a dual rupture mode of several small thrust events and a large strike-slip event. Our study of other large MRC earthquakes, plus those of other investigators, produces focal mechanisms for 15 earthquakes distributed along the entire MRC; thrust and right-lateral strike-slip events are scattered throughout the MRC. Thus, all of the MRC is characterized by oblique convergence and the dual rupture mode. The "true" best-fit rotation pole for the Pacific-Australia motion is close to the Minster & Jordan RM2 pole for the Pacific-India motion. Southward migration of the rotation pole has caused the recent transition to oblique convergence in the northern MRC. We propose a subduction initiation process that is akin to crack propagation; the 1981 earthquake rupture area is identified as the "crack-tip" region that separates a disconnected mosaic of small thrust faults to the south from a horizontally continuous thrust interface to the north along the Puysegur trench. A different mechanism of subduction initiation occurs in the southernmost Hjort trench region at the triple junction. Newly created oceanic lithosphere has been subducted just to the north of the triple junction. The entire MRC is a "soft" plate boundary that must accommodate the plate motion mismatch between two major spreading centers (Antarctica-Australia and Pacific-Antarctica). The persistence of spreading motion at the two major spreading centers and the consequent evolution of the three-plate system cause the present-day oblique convergence and subduction initiation in the Macquarie Ridge complex.

Underthrusting at the Hjort Trench, Australian‐Pacific plate boundary: Incipient subduction?

“…Regional magnetic isochron map showing interpreted isochrons (numbered) from Weissel et al [1977], Wood et al [1996], and the PLATES database [ Lawver et al , 2001]. Amount of underthrusting of SEIR crust (labeled) at the Hjort Trench proposed in this paper (large gray dot pattern) is significantly less than that predicted by Weissel et al [1977] and Ruff et al [1989] asterisk pattern) based on the observed truncation of magnetic anomalies 5 through 8 (∼10 to 25 Ma) [ Cande and Kent , 1995] as compared to their conjugate anomalies on the south side of the easternmost segment of the SEIR. Continental crust of the Campbell Plateau (grey‐colored region outlined with a dashed black line) is shallower than 2000 m water depth; oceanic crust created at the extinct MRC spreading center (light gray area) formed from 40 to ∼10 Ma.…”

On The initiation of subduction

“…Oblique convergence is indicated by the occurrence of thrust-related seismicity along a zone that primarily fi•nctions as a transform boundary [Ruff et al, 1989]. Oblique convergence is indicated by the occurrence of thrust-related seismicity along a zone that primarily fi•nctions as a transform boundary [Ruff et al, 1989].…”

Fault parameters and tsunami excitation of the May 23, 1989, MacQuarie Ridge Earthquake

“…Paper number 90GL00714; 0094-8276/90/90GL-00714$03.00 997 Ruff et al [1989]. They found that the mechanism of large events had bimodal distribution; either strike-slip along the ridge axis or dip-slip with the Australia plate subducting beneath the Pacific plate.…”

“…They found that the mechanism of large events had bimodal distribution; either strike-slip along the ridge axis or dip-slip with the Australia plate subducting beneath the Pacific plate. Ruff et al[1989] interpreted this complexity as an initiation of the subduction process in this region.…”