Do intermediate‐ and deep‐focus earthquakes occur on preexisting weak zones? An examination of the Tonga subduction zone

Abstract

It has been proposed that intermediate‐ and deep‐focus earthquakes occur on preexisting planes of weakness that were created at shallow depth. The purpose of this study is to test this hypothesis. We examined fault plane solutions for 360 events that occurred in the Tonga subduction zone from January 1976 to February 1999. For events in the slab, each fault plane solution is rotated by the slab dip angle so that the slab is in its original horizontal position. We then compare fault plane solutions for events in the slab with those for events at the outer rise. We find that an asymmetric fault system, corresponding to that found for outer rise events, persists down to about 450 km depth. This suggests that earthquakes down to this depth are caused by the reactivation of preexisting faults created in the oceanic plate before subduction. A similar pattern, though less well constrained, is found in the Kurile subduction zone down to 200 km depth. For earthquakes deeper than 450 km the fault plane solutions are much more scattered. In some places the fault plane pattern suggests the creation of new fault planes along orientations of maximum shear with zero internal friction. The pattern of fault plane solutions in particular localized volumes cannot be easily explained by the creation of new faults in the direction of maximum shear under a coherent regional tectonic stress field. Thus, either a highly heterogeneous stress field exists or preexisting planes of weakness also account for some deep earthquakes.