Abstract
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 372 combined two research topics, slow slip events (SSEs) on subduction faults (IODP Proposal 781A-Full) and actively deforming gas hydrate-bearing landslides (IODP Proposal 841-APL). Our study area on the Hikurangi margin, east of the coast of New Zealand, provided unique locations for addressing both research topics.SSEs at subduction zones are an enigmatic form of creeping fault behavior. They typically occur on subduction zones at depths beyond the capabilities of ocean floor drilling. However, at the northern Hikurangi subduction margin they are among the best-documented and shallowest on Earth. Here, SSEs may extend close to the trench, where clastic and pelagic sediments about 1.0-1.5 km thick overlie the subducting, seamount-studded Hikurangi Plateau. Geodetic data show that these SSEs recur about every 2 years and are associated with measurable seafloor displacement. The northern Hikurangi subduction margin thus provides an excellent setting to use IODP capabilities to discern the mechanisms behind slow slip fault behaviour.
Highlights
Slow slip eventsSlow slip events (SSEs) involve transient aseismic slip across a fault at a rate intermediate between the plate boundary displacement rate and the slip velocity required to generate seismic waves
Due to weather-related downtime, the gas hydrate-related program was reduced, and we focused on a set of experiments at Site U1517 in the creeping part of the Tuaheni Landslide Complex (TLC)
slip eventsSlow slip events (SSEs) appear to bridge the gap between typical earthquake behavior and steady, aseismic slip on faults, the physical mechanisms that lead to SSEs and their relationship to destructive, seismic slip on subduction thrusts are poorly known
Summary
This publication was prepared by the JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (JRSO) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) as an account of work performed under the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Funding for IODP is provided by the following international partners: National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), People’s Republic of China Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) Australia-New Zealand IODP Consortium (ANZIC) Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), India Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Brazil Portions of this work may have been published in whole or in part in other IODP documents or publications. I.A., Barnes, P.M., LeVay, L.J., and the Expedition 372 Scientists, 2018.
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