The 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake and its relationship to tremors.

Abstract

<p>The relationship between slow earthquake and regular earthquake is fundamental question in seismology. It was already shown that some slow slip event may have led to some megathrust event. In return, passing surface wave from earthquake may also trigger tremors and slow slip event. Documenting these possible triggering effects between slow and fast events is of primary importance to understand them.</p><p>In this study we will focus more particularly on Marlborough region, in a region that was subject to the Mw 7.8 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Two years before Kaikoura earthquake, we observed a Northeast to Southwest migration of tremors, getting closer to the hypocenter of Kaikoura earthquake. Despite being speculative, this may indicate that a slow slip event is happening shortly before Kaikoura earthquake, which is also supported by a small signal in two GPS stations nearby. After the earthquake, the rate of tremors increased in the region. Studying the relationship between tremors and the Kaikoura earthquake may provide some information on the role of the subduction in the region, as well as provide a new documented interaction of slow earthquakes with a crustal earthquake.</p><p>To detect and locate tremors, we use broadband and shortband velocity traces from the GeoNet network. The traces are bandpass filtered between 2-8Hz, and transform into envelope. Then we apply a classic cross-correlation technic to detect and locate the events. To remove unexpected events (i.e.: earthquakes), we used a criteria base on seismic energy and duration. Finally, we manually check each velocity traces and spectrograms.</p>