An insight into the Bucaramanga nest

Abstract

We used the local seismicity for the period of 1993 to 2001, in the northeast of Colombia to show the existence of two slabs in the north and south of the Bucaramanga nest. The northern slab has a dip angle of about 25° and the southern slab has a 50° dip angle, while the dip in the Bucaramanga nest is about 29°. In order to explain the nature of the Bucaramanga nest, we proposed the scenario of collision between these two slabs. Using a 3D Finite Element Model (FEM) we show that collision can concentrate, modify and perturb the stress field. The active process of dehydration embrittlement at intermediate depths and the concentrated stress field in the collision zone may explain the high rate of seismic activity inside the Bucaramanga nest. The perturbed and modified stress field resulting from the simultaneous effect of collision between two subducted slabs and subduction of the lithosphere under its own weight can explain the variation in the focal mechanism of micro-earthquakes and the complexity in the source of the moderate size earthquakes in the Bucaramanga nest.